The Italian restaurant offers well-made Italian food, with an irregular balance of garlic and a friendly pool table.
TJ Journal Food Critic Sean Gonzalez loves his job. Photo by Hanna Kazlouskaya.
I first heard of the new Pasquini’s in the Denver Tech Center over the summer of 2010 when my mom was opening the mail. Coupons for the new restaurant were sent to us because we live in the surrounding area. We had never actually been to a Pasquini’s before, so we tried it out.
Pasquini’s is a pizzeria that was started in Denver by Antonio Pasquini in 1977. They advertise and make delicious fresh American Italian food. The first restaurant was opened on Broadway and Louisiana, and since then the franchise has sprouted four more locations around the Denver area. The Denver Tech Center restaurant is the newest one to open up, located on Belleview and Ulster.
I entered Pasquini’s for the first time over the recent summer, and I was not quite sure of what to expect. I knew it was an Italian style restaurant, and that was about it. The menu sported a wide variety of tasty sounding foods in which a typical Italian pizzeria would specialize. There were salads, sandwiches, pasta, and of course, pizza. The pizzas were specialty pizzas, offering the ability to choose a pre-designed pizza or make your own with any topping. The same went with the calzones, pre-made or a custom calzone. The menu had my stomach growling as I waited to taste the food.
The menu has many different options to offer. The big thing Pasquini’s Pizzeria is about is the Pizza. Five different sizes of pizzas are present with 37 toppings to choose from. The smallest pizza is 10” and it is $10 while the biggest is 18” and is $22. Along with the pizzas, the calzones offer the same amount of toppings, and are as equally delicious as the pizza, with $12 being the most expensive.
There are twelve different types of salads, with the smalls usually running about $6 and the larges anywhere from $8-$9. Italian and classic subs are offered for the same prices as the salads, while the Panini’s run $9.50. The pasta’s are quite delicious, and are full entrées that come with a house salad and garlic bread. If someone does not feel like eating the pizza, the pasta is a great option.
My family decided to have an appetizer of Garlic Bread, and upon asking the waitress if they were good, she replied, “Of course.” When the steamy bread came to us, I instantly grabbed one, dipped it in the marinara sauce, and took a large bite. Here comes the downfall. I am not a gigantic fan of bread with too much garlic, and to me, I thought there was a little too much butter and garlic on the bread. After that disappointment, I wondered if the food I ordered would be the same way.
I decided to go with the club sandwich, afraid the pizza and calzones would be too garlic-ridden. The sandwich was delicious; the bread was the best part. It tasted as bread would fresh out of the oven: delicious, soft, and luxurious. My sister ordered a personal pizza, and I decided to have a small section. The pizza was better than I expected. The garlic balance on the pizza was not at the same heart-attack level as the bread. The cheese was gooey but not at the point of dripping off the pizza entirely. There was however, a little too much sauce, and it was very messy to handle.
The best part of my meal was the Italian soda. This drink is made from carbonated soda and certain syrups, which can be anything from fruity, such as cherry or grape to desert, like chocolate or tiramisu flavored. It is rare to see these drinks in restaurants because – as the name implies – only certain Italian restaurants seem to carry them. I was happy to see these luscious drinks on the menu, and was very pleased at the taste of my blackberry Italian soda.
The second time around I had a calzone, and that was the best calzone I have ever had. It was the meatiest and grandest sausage calzone I had ever put in my stomach. The dough was soft as sheep’s wool, except it did not taste like wool, more like wondrous dough that had a plethora of sauce and sausage and cheese to fill my stomach.
The atmosphere of the restaurant does not seem overwhelming. The times when the small pizzeria gets noisy are at night. During the days, a person can enjoy the easy-going classical music and silence inside the restaurant. Many families will end up eating out at Pasquini’s, either on the patio or inside the restaurant depending on the weather. The restaurant has billiard tables, where brave players can test their skills against a random foe, or engage in a friendly game with a family member or acquaintance.
Overall, Pasquini’s is a restaurant with decent Italian food and pizza at a semi reasonable cost. It is not just a place for pizza or Italian food, but for enjoying time with friends or family. Enjoy a game of pool while at the restaurant to have a great experience at Pasquini’s Pizzeria.
