Osteria Alberico

We had made a reservation for a Friday night dinner. I dont know what the wait would have been if we did not. The service was an art with nearly everything being presented or cleaned up by multiple people. It was very busy and a little loud but my wife and I could could still talk comfortably sitting next to each other. Food was amazing overall. For Italian I would count it amoung the top 5 in Denver. Currently my favorite but I have a few more high end places to try. The Facasia with a marmalade balsamic was an interesting twist I enjoyed. The Ragu and their version of a shrimp scampy(sorry I forget what they called it) were equally as enticing. My wife and I definitely shared a lot. Everything we ordered was definitely carefully thought out. We took a desert to go as we were full but had to try at least something on the sweat side. The flourless chocolate cake with i believe some orange shavings and sea salt gave just enough to make it unique and extemely good. I really enjoyed the experience. Most tables seemed to get a pizza so we felt like we might have been missing something and plan to go back for pizza. My only con is the chairs are hard but I might be biased a little since it was my squat day.

Spontaneous drop-in to check it out, Sat at the bar. Fabulous atmosphere, felt chic and classy, reminiscent of 1920s European glamour. Outstanding cocktail recommendation (Il Brigante with mezcal) and the Tuscan martini paired well with the cacio e pepe. But what was most impressive was the service. Every person we interacted with, from the hostess to the bartender to a staff member bidding us farewell, seemed calm, kind, competent, and like they actually liked their job. For that kind of environment alone would I return. We left already wanting to go back to say hi to our bartender and get the signature house made gnocchi!

The service was good and very polite, and the staff made us feel welcome. The atmosphere, however, was quite noisy, which made it a bit hard to fully enjoy the experience. The food was okay, but the portions were surprisingly small for the price. For example, the menu listed a whole Mediterranean branzino, but what arrived was half a branzino with four baby carrots for $46. The tajarin al tartufo was $54 and the portion was extremely small literally just a couple of forks’ worth swimming in butter. I also asked the waiter if the tiramisu was made in-house and was told yes, but unfortunately the tiramisu that arrived appeared to be a pre made product, the kind typically supplied by food companies, rather than freshly made. Based on value for money, I would normally give no more than 3 stars, but knowing how hard this business is, I’m giving 4 stars. There is potential here, especially with portion size, transparency, and overall value.

Hubby and I went here for the first time, for our anniversary. Everybody was so nice and polite, welcoming us in with a smile. Our server knew it was our anniversary and offered us a complimentary glass of rose. Throughout the meal he frequently checked on us and someone was refilling our water glass all evening. The server also offered to walk us through the menu, since it was all in Italian. Our food was really delicious, fresh and a good portion, but not too big. We'll definitely be back! We sat on the heated patio area and it was cozy, intimate and easy to hear our conversation.