Monarch Pizza in Denver's Uptown: Wood-Fired Pies Worth Knowing

There's a building on North Grant Street in Uptown that's been through a few lives. Most recently it housed Little Johnny B's, then Johnny Bechamel's. Now it's home to Monarch, a wood-fired pizza concept operating inside Urban Cowboy Public House at 1665 N Grant St. I've walked past that building more times than I can count, so when I heard something new had moved in — with a chef I actually recognized — I wanted to see what was going on in there.

The chef behind Monarch is Justin Freeman, who previously ran the kitchen at Somebody People. That alone was enough to get my attention. Freeman isn't working from a static menu, either. The whole thing rotates weekly based on what's coming in from local farmers' markets, which sounds like a marketing line until you're actually looking at a pizza built around ingredients that clearly didn't come out of a freezer bag.

The Pizza Itself

The oven runs at 700 degrees. You can tell. Every pie that came out had that blistered, slightly charred crust that you only get from real wood fire — not a gas oven trying to approximate it, but the actual thing. I tried the Margherita, which is a good baseline for any pizza spot, and it held up. Clean tomato, fresh mozzarella, the kind of basil that still smells like basil. Nothing overloaded, nothing masking a weak foundation.

The Fungi pizza was the more interesting one. Seasonal mushrooms, cooked at that heat, get a depth that's hard to pull off otherwise. The edges were properly charred without the center going soggy — which is harder than it sounds when you're working with mushrooms that release moisture. That's the kind of detail that separates a kitchen that knows what it's doing from one that's just using a good oven and hoping for the best.

The Tableside Touch

One thing that stood out: the side dishes come with tableside descriptions, almost like a fine dining experience. Inside what is essentially a bar space in Uptown, that was a little unexpected. Whether that's your thing or not probably depends on the night and who you're with. For me, it added some personality to the meal without feeling out of place — the staff clearly knew what they were talking about, which made it land differently than if it had felt like a scripted bit.

It's worth noting this is still a new restaurant, and menus that rotate weekly based on market availability can be inconsistent across visits. What I had was good, but I'd be curious to go back on a different week and see how the menu shifts. That rotating format is either a feature or a minor inconvenience depending on how attached you get to a specific pizza.

What the Space Feels Like

Urban Cowboy Public House has a certain character to it — it's not a sleek, minimalist build-out. Monarch fits inside that without trying to fight it. The historic building has some texture to it, and the wood-fired setup adds a practical warmth to the room. It's a comfortable place to eat without feeling like it's trying to be a destination for its own sake.

Uptown already has decent pizza options, so Monarch isn't arriving into a vacuum. What sets it apart, at least right now, is the combination of a chef with a real track record, a weekly-changing menu that takes sourcing seriously, and an oven that actually does what a wood-fired oven is supposed to do.

Worth Adding to the Rotation

If you're in Uptown and want pizza that has a bit more thought behind it than your average slice, Monarch is worth a visit. Go in knowing the menu will look different week to week, and treat that as part of the point rather than an inconvenience. It's early days for this one, but the foundation is solid. I'll be back to see where it goes from here.