Parker Restaurant Reviews
Armando's Restorante Italiano
9964 Twenty Mile Rd
720-851-6770
Lunch Dinner Carry-out
$$
The Armando family has been around Denver for a long time, and they have quite a following. This new addition to Parker seems to be very successful.
As we entered it was practically standing room only. The clatter and aroma of this busy Italian restaurant made my mouth water in anticipation of a big homemade plate of pasta.
It was a Saturday night, the weekend before Valentine's Day, and they were overwhelmingly busy. We put our name on the list and went into the adjacent bar and found a couple of seats.
It was a nice little section with several cabaret tables, where you could even order dinner or have an appetizer while you waited. I could tell it was way too crazy for service, so I went to the bar to order.
I had to wait several minutes and finally got the attention of the bartender to order 2 glasses of house Chardonnay ($6 each, I couldn't figure out the label). I wanted to order some mussels too, but knew that would never happen, so I stuck to the wine.
It was nice and robust, and a decent pour. I like the glass too. I hate when you order a glass of wine and it comes in one of those tiny little glasses.
As promised, we were seated in about 40 minutes. A very friendly waitress approached quickly for drink orders.
I ordered a bottle of Duetorri, Pinot Grigio ($22), and also added the Mussels I wanted at the bar ($11). The atmosphere and décor is kind of lodgey, left over from the previous ownership.
It has high ceilings with huge wood beams, lots of stone work and an oversized fire place in the middle of the dining room. The walls are adorned with pictures of wine and Italian type art. They had done a nice job sectioning off the large room into smaller parts.
The menu has everything you would want in a family owned Italian restaurant like this. From pizza ($16) to Cioppino (Italian stew $22).
I asked what the Pesce Del Giono (fish of the day $18) was. The waitress wasn't sure, "first day" she explained.
She quickly returned with her new found information, it was Red Snapper, topped with clams, mussels and shrimp.
Sounded good but I went with the Veal Piccata ($15) and added a house salad ($3) with the recommended house Italian dressing. My brother ordered Fettuccine Carbonara ($12) and the soup of the day (cream of asparagus $3).
The Mussels came quickly, about 15 of the little guys in a sparing white wine broth. Not very good and too salty, I asked for bread which came warm and house made, served with a side of marinara.
It had a salty buttery glaze which was good, but not good with the mussels, too much salt. The salad was mixed greens, no romaine or iceberg, just those weeds, drowning in the dressing, it was good but overpowering for a little salad.
The soup was perfect. The entrees were generous, mine came with a side of spaghetti, but the veal was dry and chewy and mixed with carpers and artichokes in a lemon garlic butter wine sauce, it was Ok, I didn't finish it.
I liked the Fettuccine Carbonara served in a big pasta bowl with chunks of prosciutto, it was hearty and delicate, and worth returning for.
There are lots of choices here, it's very traditional and I think very reasonably priced and they offer a nice affordable wine list too. The manager stopped by our table, and visited for quite a while.
He mentioned that Armando was cooking that night. I guess sometimes he even comes out and sings for his guests. What a great change from the big chains!
"Now go get your grub on"