From fancy to funky and fusilli to udon, no Denver restaurateur uses his noodle quite like Frank Bonanno, who has made a go of Italian destinations and Asian hangouts alike (see Luca d’Italia and Bones, respectively). Osteria Marco is his savvy nod to the enoteca.
Occupying a dark, glittering, buzzing subterranean cave on Larimer Square, it serves up a deceptively casual menu of salumi, antipasti, panini, and pizzas—all of which are as carefully crafted as Bonanno’s most elaborate $40 entree at Mizuna. While the housemade burrata is a justly ballyhooed must, there’s nary a miss on the menu, be it the whole grilled artichoke or the Sunday special—whole roast suckling pig.