Panzano, Kimpton Hotel Monaco Denver

We stayed at Kimpton Hotel Monaco Denver over the weekend and had the pleasure of eating at their restaurant, Panzano on Friday night for dinner. Panzano is a posh Italian eatery that serves sustainable Northern Italian cuisine with rotating seasonal options on the menu.

We arrived at Panzano and we were seated in the bar area. Panzano's aesthetic is modern with classical touches - there are red italian glass chandeliers throughout the space, calming shades of grey & copper accents.

The Panzano team was awesome. Our server Carlos has been with the Kimpton brand for 10+ years and was able to give us great background on the company, Panzano & the hotel. Carlos was vivacious & had a great sense of humor that made our dinner really fun. Assistant Manager, Matt and General Manager, Mac both ensured our meal ran smoothly and were active on the dining floor assisting the bar, kitchen and customers throughout our meal. We love seeing that kind of enthusiasm and commitment from restaurant management! Executive Chef, David Gross stopped by and walked us through Panzano’s seasonal offerings - he is SO talented.

We started off our meal with cocktails. I had the Signature Cocktail, Bees Have Knees. The Bees Have Knees is made with malfy limonata gin, lavender honey syrup, & lemon.

The Bees Have Knees was my favorite drink of dinner - it was light and floral and had a beautiful purple color. The gin, lavender honey & lemon all came together for a smothness on the tongue making this the perfect drink for spring & summer to get your buzz on.

Ross had the Barrel Aged Manhattan. The Manhattan is made with buffalo trace bourbon, carpano antica vermouth, contratto rosso vermouth, punt e mes & bitters.

The Manhattan was complex with a mellow sweetness that can be attributed to the vermouth. The vermouth was spicy & sweet with a subtle bitter edge. Ross really enjoyed this Manhattan.

For Antipasti (Italian appetizers) we had the Cozze and Cavolini Di Bruxelles.

The Cozze are bangs island mussels served in saffron-tomato brodo, n'duja, braised fennel, & fregola with a side of grilled bread.

Wow, the Cozze was amazing - this appetizer was warm yet light and fresh-tasting all in one. The mussels were sweet, steamed, plump and tender little food gems that were cooked in the spicy saffron-tomato brodo. The spicy broth brought out the flavors of the earthy saffron and acidity from the tomatoes which paired great with the brine of the mussels.

The Cavolini Di Bruxelles are fried brussels sprouts served with apple cider reduction, pistachio, rosemary salt & sliced green apple.

The Cavolini Di Bruxelles is a staple on the Panzano menu and we can see why - Ross and I both agreed these are the best brussel sprouts we've ever had. Since the brussel sprouts are fried, it really brought out their best flavor. The brussel sprouts were generously coated in a tangy apple cider vinegar reduction then topped with crunchy apples & pistachios. The snap of the apples and pistachios gave this appetizer brilliant texture variation.

Next up was the seasonal Pizza Maiale. The Pizza Maiale is made with roast pork, giardiniera, white sauce & fresh mozzarella.

The Pizza Maiale was a fresh surprise - warm homemade dough, handsomely topped with soft, ooey-gooey mozzarella and sprinkled with giardiniera. The giardiniera gave the pizza sweetness from bell peppers and carrot & savory notes from onions and herbs.

For Pasta Della Casa (homemade pasta) we had the seasonal Coniglio Alle Panzano. The Coniglio Alle Panzano is made with creste di gallo, braised rabbit, english pea crema, speck & pea tendril.

This was a pasta delicacy -10/10 - that highlighted the sweet pea crema and mild taste of the braised rabbit meat. The soft texture of the pasta against the chewy rabbit and crunchy speck was divine. The speck was characterized by a tantalizing, deep prosciutto like flavor which famously mixed in with the creaminess of the Coniglio Alle Panzano.

For Secondi we had the Porchetta. The Porchetta is made with pork tenderloin + belly, asparagus, green garlic pesto & pork jus.

Meat lovers this entree is for you - the porchetta had a light crispy exterior that was wrapped around a very tender, juicy piece of roasted pork. The seasonings of garlic, sage, & rosemary made for lovely aromatics.

It was time for more cocktails and we had the Flight to Yamasaki and the Don't Rum Away. The Flight to Yamasaki is made with Suntory Japanese whisky, amaro nonino, aperol & lemon.

The Flight to Yamasaki was bubbly & had great effervescence on the tongue. It was a refreshing cocktail with subtle undertones of whiskey and a whisper of lemon.

The Don't Rum Away is made with Appleton Estate Rum, strawberry & lemon.

This cocktail really highlighted the Appleton Estate Rum and the main flavors here were that of oak, nutmeg, and spices.

For dessert we had the seasonal Pistachio Bomba. The Pistachio Bomba is made with olive oil cake, pistachio mousse & raspberry jam.

The Pistachio Bomba was a lovely dessert - just look at the plating and presentation. The pistachios, mousse & raspberry jam made a heavenly match with the olive oil cake bringing great color & texture. The raspberry jam was sweet & tangy and went well with the fruity olive oil flavor of the cake itself.

Huge thanks to Panzao, Carlos, Matt, Mac, David Gross, Haroon Chaudhry, Danielle Vazquez and the Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants team for hosting us! We will be back soon!

Check it out babes & let them know that denv.her. sent you! xx

Panzano

Service options: Dine-in · Takeout · Delivery
Located in: Kimpton Hotel Monaco Denver
Address: 909 17th St, Denver, CO 80202
Menu: places.singleplatform.com
Phone: (303) 296-3525
Reservations: opentable.com