Pasquini's Pizzeria
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: Yes
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Alcohol: Full Bar
20 Reviews for Pasquini's Pizzeria
The patio in the back of the Pasquini's on 17th is killer, but the food is so, so.
We rarely eat pizza (carbs bad :)) but decided to treat ourselves and were completely disappointed. We had the typical meat lovers style pizza on wheat and it just wasn't all that good. The crust was soggy and the sauce was too sweet. Next time we have pizza it would be at Wazee's Supper Club. YUM!
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You know what they say about pizza, right? Pizza is like sex. Even when it's not great, it's still pretty good.
Such is the story with Pasquinis. I dig the place because, forgive me, breadsticks simply can't be "too buttery," I like the decor, they're in several of my favorite Denver neighborhoods, and they have yummy alternatives like wheat dough and bianca-style (no marinara).
If pizza is truly like sex, Pasquinis is good. It's not mind-blowing, tracing-lazy-circles-on-your-tummy, toe-curling, make-you-breakfast-the-next-day-and-call-you-to-se e-how-work-went good. But it's at least maybe-we-could-do-this-again, let-me-give-you-my-email-address, nice-kiss-on-the-mouth-and-say-goodbye-at-the-door good.
Plus, they deliver and have killer salads. Which makes Pasquinis' a member of my top-ten pizza joints in town.
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I've had pretty good luck whenever I've been to any of Pasquini's locations. I went to this one most recently, so I'll review it.
I get the same thing every time I go - the asparagus, chevre and roasted garlic pizza. Ridiculously delicious. I eat every single bite and always wish I had more. I've never tried anything else entree-wise, but I did share the Pomodoro salad with a friend last time and I liked it. We just got the small one and it was plenty for both of us.
The only reason I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 4 is because my daughter can't seem to find anything she likes here. She's not the most adventurous eater, but she hasn't liked just their regular old pizza(the sauce no good I guess?) and she got a calzone once that upset her stomach at the newer North Denver location.
I don't know, I really like what I get here, but I'm pretty easy to please I guess. Maybe just try out the asparagus pizza if you're into that sort of thing. I wholeheartedly recommend it!
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I hesitate to give only one star simply because a previous experience I had at the Broadway location was just fine. But this location was so bad I walked out before ordering, and I don't think I've ever done that before (and no, I did not walk out on my tab...we left before we were ever helped).
We went on a Sunday night, which are understandably crowded. This was ridiculous however. Although we didn't have to wait for a table, we DID have to wait 10 minutes at the host stand to even be noticed. Once seated I could barely even hear my husband speak the acoustics were so bad. The tables were as close together as the tiny hole in the wall places you find only in NYC.
I'm not a big fan of the decor at this location either--it's a casual menu but they present themselves as being a sit down, somewhat nice Italian place. I was unispired to say the least.
The worst was that we waited 20+ minutes without a server ever coming to our table. Normally at restaurants I give the waitstaff the benefit of the doubt on busy nights, but I noticed 3 different servers in our section and not one ever came to even get our drink orders or acknowledge us. We finally just left and went somewhere else. Not worth the wait for a sub sandwich or unmemorable pizza.
Also we caught a glimpse of the particularly nasty looking kitchen on the way back to the car. I've worked in restaurants and know what to expect, but this was dingy enough to catch my attention.
I won't be going back to this location again.
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We go here pretty frequently and have always found the food to be very good. Calzones are great, pizza is good. I also like the lasagna. Dinners like the baked or pasta dishes come with salad and everyone gets fresh baked breadsticks. It's always packed and pretty noisy, but there is never a long wait for a table. Summertime is my favorite because they have a nice patio and you can avoid some of the inside noise.
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So.....uh Pasquini's....yeah. It sucks? so not so sure why it is getting such decently high ratings....
I went there tonight...the bread-sticks were a nice perk, but that is about it. The service was decent, the atmosphere was well....exactly like Old Chicago but with less booths. Not scoring anything special here yet.
The food arrived after a bit and was simply...bad. Maybe it was because my lady friend and I ordered something sort of strange (pineapple and black-olive pizza. It's good...NO SERIOUSLY....DON'T GIVE ME THAT LOOK!!!). Anyway, the pineapple was seriously white and tasted like the oblivion.
The bill said the restaurant was upscale-ish...at least in price and yet the food said it was the equivalent of a dive bar. Worst of both worlds?
I also used to know a waitress that worked there who constantly complained about the management. Not a good place to eat or work apparently.
I'd give a 1.5 if possible. It definitely doesn't deserve a one...but there were really no redeeming characteristics about the place.
Not recommended in the least.
----
On second thought since you all are smoking something and giving it 4s and 5s, I will give it a 1. HA!
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I enjoy the atmosphere and the great service, but I'm disappointed in the variety of the menu. Sure, it's a huge menu but it's pretty much just pizza and sandwiches. I wish they had more pasta dishes. The sauce is decent, but not spectacularly flavorful. I do love the breadsticks, salad, and desserts.
I ate at the is location last week and was underwhelmed. Service was agonizingly slow. It was a busy night and I'm more than happy to cut places slack for such circumstances, but this was beyond ridiculous. It took us over an hour and fifteen minutes to get three entrees and a kid's meal. The food itself was disappointing. I had the spinach calzone and it was eh. Not horrendous, but not fantastic either. It was just sort of generic, run of the mill food. I also tasted one of my dining companion's veggie lasagne and it too was just eh. I'm also not a huge fan of their tomato sauce. I'm not sure what's wrong with it, but something about it is just off - I think maybe it needs a little more brown sugar and seasoning to combat the acidity of the tomato.
Basically, I was disappointed. I frequented the Broadway location when I was in college and always found it slightly above average, so this location was disappointing. It may have been an off night, but I'm not sure I'd consider dropping another $20 to give them another chance.
Why is it that when a group of women go to a pizza joint they order salads? If I dare order a salad while my boyfriend and I are at a pizza joint, I wont hear the end of it. Girls do this because why they are really going is for the bread sticks, and Pasquini's represents with tasty buttery and garlicky bread sticks. Order up a side of marinara and dip away. We go through many baskets before our salads arrive, and then I go ahead and start dipping in my array of salad dressings.
When with the ladies I order the Pomodora Salad, which has fresh buffalo mozzarella... which I just can't get enough of!
When with the man I act all masculine and order up a New York style pizza with Mushrooms, onions, black olives, pepperoni, provolone cheese, roasted garlic cloves and chicken breast.... RAW chicken breast so I feel really manly. Ok, I just made that up, but I felt manly saying it.
Only sit in the inside if you have to, they have a back patio that is cozy and away from street traffic. Order up some wine by the glass and prepare your belly for either that overstuffed "I just ate horrible Mexican feeling," or the "That was perfect, I am glad I have leftovers for breakfast tomorrow feeling..." Sometimes the meal chooses the feeling, so be careful, feelings are sneaky.
* Star one for being in the cool part of Uptown right on 17th
** Pizzeria star two is for pretty darn good pizza, even if the altitude does make it harder to cook good crust
*** Cheesy star three is for giving me extra cheese when I quietly demand it
**** Star four is for the horrible art work... I guess you have to support the community somehow, and sometimes you just can't say no
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This is another place that I miss terribly after moving from Denver. I still pine for the garlic-butter breadsticks, which I often gorged on and made a large portion of my meal.
The salads are creative, tasty, and filling. The pizzas are solid and the calzones are huge and delicious.
And, then, there are the desserts. An array of fatteningly scrumptious Italian deliciousness. Try them.
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I don't get it? Dessert looks pretty darn good. The bread sticks are way too buttery. I think it's over rated.
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Got take-out from here with friends while visiting Denver-- everything was delicious. They have some really excellent vegetarian combinations. Lots and lots to choose from-- the menu is huge.
I am a total pizza snob, being from Boston, and I actually found this pizza to be quite tasty, which is completely shocking.
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In the past we've been to the Pasquini's down on Broadway because it's not far from our house. We thought we'd try the new location at W. 32nd and Zuni just for kicks.
I'm having a hard time reviewing the restaurant, because it was such a mix of good and bad. So, good or bad first? Giving Pasquini's the benefit of the doubt I'll give you the bad first and end on a good note.
So, the bad-
- WHAT!? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? Yeah, that's sort of how the conversation was. The space is lofty and really nice, but they seriously need to invest in some sound tiles to reduce the noise level so that you aren't spewing pizza at your dinner partner as you try and converse.
- I suppose I should have expected it but the "scene" crowd was in full effect. So much so there was even a very tame but tense exchange of words at the table next to us about something that had happened at a club the night before. Awkward.
- The pizza wasn't up to par by FAR. My kids usually love Pasquini's and they didn't even eat 2 pieces. That's a problem.
- The service was slow. As in 15 minutes to get the beer we ordered and then our pizza was delivered about 2 mins after we got our apps. I think they are still getting all the kinks worked out so I can give them a little on this one. It's a new place and it's really obvious they have some work to do on flow.
-They didn't have fruit tart even though it's on the menu. Not that they were out. They've NEVER had it (to our waiter's knowledge.) Now why have it on the menu if you've NEVER had it in the doors of the restaurant? bah!
The good:
- Our waiter was really laid back and friendly. He smiled and was apologetic about the food taking as long as it did. He was a nice guy working hard. I liked that.
- The decor is fantastic. I love the little pots of fresh herbs on every table and the really cool antique light fixtures. It would be very comfy if not for the noise level.
- The non-pizza items we ordered were good.
O.K. so looking back it really wasn't that great. I'd go there if it was convenient for friends, but otherwise I'm going to stick to the S. Broadway Pasquini's.
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When we can't think of anywhere else to go, we go to Pasquini's. It's easy to get a table and there's a lot to choose from. The calzones are absolutely massive and pretty good, and they also have a highly underrated selection of salads. For some reason, Pasquini's makes a great meal after you've gone to the gym. My only complaint is that the wine list could stand to be a little more diverse, but that's a minor gripe. The art is indeed often bad but they change it out frequently and I've seen some good stuff every once in a while.
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Yummy complimentary breadsticks served with a nice marinara and a cheap yet decent wine menu...wait, they have pizza here too? And it's pretty good in the gourmet pizza kind of way...not in the I love NY greasy pizza kind of way but that's good too sometimes.
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Absolutely horrendous. My friend and I would never go back again and are tempted to never try anything that is offered to us from there. Apparently, pizza is their specialty since their pasta is not. So if you go, I would order pizza. I ordered the Penne with Marinara and Meatballs and my friend Penne with Italian Sausage. The pasta was over cooked and broke into pieces with a kiss of the fork, the meat cold and the cheesy bread they served when we first sat down was okay but extremely cold. The marinara was slopped on the penne and had no taste, might as well have poured some Prego or Ragu, at least they use seasonings in their sauce. Their side salad was the only thing truly edible during our experince. The best thing that happened to us there was that they told me to move my car from Qdoba's parking lot so I wouldn't get towed. So unfortunate since I had heard so many good things about this place.
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GREASY!!
GREASY!!
Unusually dirty silverware!!
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you know that i love to complain, but i really can't when it comes to pasquini's. it's just a down to earth pizzeria with kind of ugly artwork on the walls (minus 1 star for the fugly art) featuring good food and excellent desserts.
i'm a huge fan of their salads and their breadsticks. plus, they have some amazing beer happy hour. i forget what day, but i think pitchers are like $2.
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Pasquini's is one of those places where you know you'll have to wait for a table but you don't mind. The food is great, the service is friendly and they run some pretty good happy hour specials too. This is one of those mom-n-pop places that just can't be copied.
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Great focaccia sandwiches and pizza! The buttery cheesy garlicky breadsticks are good as well.
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