DiFranco's

Spectacular food! The staff were super friendly and attentive and were able to accommodate for a severe gluten allergy. We had the Vodka Penne (with gluten free pasta), and the sausage french bread pizza. Both were really tasty, lots of flavor. We also ordered one of their gluten free cannolis and a piece of strawberry cheesecake to-go and were very pleased with both. I am not gluten free but my wife is, and her pasta and cannoli didn't taste any different from traditional recipes! I would actually order it myself. The restaurant had a cool atmosphere. It's a pretty small place (only 10 or so tables) with family photos on the walls.

For weeks I've been craving a nice pasta with ricotta and red sauce. When I was looking for an easy, casual place for Italian in Denver, I saw stuffed shells on DiFranco's menu and knew I had to go. These were the best stuffed shells I have ever had in my life. The filling went beyond ricotta, the blend of cheeses was so flavorful and balanced. The sauce was bright and delicious. There was plenty of extra to dip my bread into which tasted amazing. I also ordered the garlic bread which was fantastic. I found the prices a bit high for the portion size, but I'm not willing to deduct a star because the quality was so high.

Where can you have fresh made pasta? Everything is made fresh in-house. The sauces are delicious. We will definitely be back.

Absolutely the best chicken Parmesan I’ve ever had! And, the spaghetti was cooked perfectly al dente! Huge shout out to the owner for also giving us a free bottle of champagne for our honeymoon!

The food was amazing! Fresh pasta, amazing chicken cutlet, red sauce was just spicy enough. If anything, I'm mad I don't have one where I live. The service was good. Seemed to be a family operation. The atmosphere was pretty good. It was a bit small, but that is more than understandable for Denver.

If you’re going to take one of these reviews into consideration, let it be this one! I am extremely disappointed about my experience here. I payed about $55 for our meal without tip, and I think it may have been some of the worst food for the price that I have found in Denver so far. The bread was not toasted, dry and obviously cheap. The stuffed shells were actually decent, but the Alfredo tasted bland and just not good at all. The salad we started with was completely underdressed, and not even worth eating. I truly am astonished as to how this place has 4.5 stars. It is as cheap as it gets ingredient and quality wise. Please save your money and go somewhere where the service is good and the food is at least worth eating. Denver is huge there are countless better options!!

DiFranco's is a must-visit for anyone craving incredible Italian food. The Chicken Parmesan was perfectly tender with a golden crust, complemented by a flavorful red sauce and spaghetti. The Carbonara was outstanding, with fresh sauce and perfectly cooked pasta; the shrimp we added was spot on. Don't miss the garlic broccoli side—it's delicious! The service was fantastic, and the complimentary garlic bread for first-timers was a lovely touch. Highly recommend this hidden gem for a memorable dining experience!

My husband and I had lunch here because it was close to our hotel. So glad we did. It was the best food we had while visiting Denver. Great ceasar salad, meatballs and stuffed shells. Very small menu but everything was delicious.

Food: wonderful handmade pasta, chicken parmigiana that makes me salivate in memory and one of the two best Caesar salads I've had. Snag their amazing deal on Wednesday date night (two salads, two mains, two desserts and a bottle of good wine for $65!?!?) Service: everyone here is always sweet and helpful. It is a deli counter but it makes you feel special when you dine in. Ambiance: always a great soundtrack and cheery/ clean vibe. I always appreciate their tasteful Xmas decorations, too.

Got takeout and enjoyed their chicken parm, garlic bread, and 2 penne for a penny deal. Chicken parm was pretty good and we enjoyed that. It came with 2 cutlets. Garlic bread was also good, it was a good price for a few pieces of bread. Honestly the disappointment was the penne vodka, it barely had any sauce on it with some tomato chunks. Definitely request double sauce unless you like dry pasta. Honestly I'd request 3x sauce that's how dry it was. Maybe I just got a bad batch and it doesn't speak to DiFrancos as a whole. Not sure I'll return anytime soon but not a bad option if you're in a pinch.

Probably these best Italian I've had living in Denver the last 7 years. We heard about DiFrancos through our Passport Book, so we made a reservation since there are about 10 tables in the restaurant. When you walk-in you go to the counter and they will hand you a menu and you go to a table. Once you decide on what you will order you place your order at the counter. We ordered the pizza logs to start and boy they didn't disappoint!! Pepperoni wrapped around mozzarella cheese and then fried. We wolfed these down with the marinara sauce. I could have ordered another plate of these bet held off. The carbonara and spaghetti were delicious. You can tell it was made there just how the noodles had a certain type of texture. The pasta was amazing and the sauces didn't disappoint. I did buy 3 ricotta cookies sorry no photos but they were delicious. Again I should have bought at least 3 more to snack at home the next day. The service was great. They came out to make sure your food was good and they did ask how we heard of their restaurant. They do very little marketing and rely on reviews, word of mouth, and the passport book. If you want homemade Italian I can't stress enough DiFrancos. You can park in the garage for easy parking and not needing to pay for it.

In Denver for the day and wanted some good Italian food. Pasta was great! Stuffed shells and Vodka Penne were what we had, as well as gluten free pasta. Really appreciated the attention they paid to our dietary requests. Staff was so friendly and we got our food fairly quick! 10/10 recommend!

Fun for a fast casual Italian place! You order at the counter but food and drinks are brought to your table. Love that there's a free parking garage next door. Tried the carbonara, spaghetti chicken Parmesan, and a few appetizers (garlic bread, garlic broccoli and meatballs). Everything was delicious and we left very full and happy

This is a different but cool place. They have you order at the front and then seat you at your table. They then service you as a normal restaurant would. The food is great and super quick. This is definitely a family friendly place and is a good quick choice for dinner

Fresh and Tasty! Food is absolutely amazing and incredibly fresh. I ordered the Penne Vodka Pasta with garlic bread and a glass of red wine. Ambiance is fabulous. Don't expect to have a designated server, which surprisingly doesn't impact the great quality of service I experienced.

DiFranco's serves delicious deli, Italian, and Mediterranean dishes with fresh ingredients and great flavor. Friendly staff and a cozy atmosphere make it a must-try spot! Highly recommended!

This is an ok place however a bit to pricey. I have been here several times out of convenience. Their pasta is great but the pizza rolls or other concoctions just doesn't have the flavor and quality as expected. It feels like they could do so much better but they are missing better ingredients. They also needs a better ventilation system as every time I have been there I smell like a kitchen. Even the windows when they are busy are full with condensation.

This is really small place but their pasta is delightful. It's all made from scratch and prepared after you order it.

Fast casuals like this I'm totally on board. Everything that we tried here is delicious! We started with their delicious Arugula Caesar with this incredible housemade dressing and croutons. I could eat a big bowl by myself! They're not kidding with their fettuccine Alfredo. Pasta is made in-house. Suppose you order the adorable and delicious pizza log. Think of them as really fancy mozzarella sticks only to be wrapped with an egg roll wrapper and stuffed with mozzarella and pepperoni, and served with a side of warm red sauce. A staff favorite :) 4 pieces to an order. The addicting Garlic Broccoli ( I swear!) is soo good! Their chicken Parm with eggplant is so yummy! You have to order the sizeable house-made meatball. Finger licking good! They carry their own house white and red wines. And some local beers. Now for dessert, they have this house-made Ricotta cookie to die for! For 11 years Ryan the owner has been running this lovely little Italian heaven. Highlights: Arugula Caesar with an incredible house made dressing Pizza Log-housemade Meatball-housemade Garlic Broccoli Spaghetti Eggplant Parm Italian Sausage Ricotta Cookie All the photos on the walls are actually the owner's Ryan DiFranco's family! Solid legacy here. Good food, good HH and great staff. THANK YOU Patricia for your awesome recs.

This place is great! I love the food here so delicious, I will be going back. The service was fast and the portions were perfect. The place is tiny but the taste is big .

Ambiance: this is a cute little hidden gem. The seating is small but offers a family feel. Nice touches with family photos on the walls. You can make reservations and I recommend since it is a small family locally owned restaurant. Service: staff has always been lovely to us. Helps make decisions on what we want with asking us questions what we like and don't like flavor wise. Makes wine suggestions. Food: you can't beat their in house made pasta and sauces. You can see right into the kitchen and watch them make the food. They have lovely dessert as well. Being Italian this reminds me of home, my mom, and my grandmother. Nostalgic feeling with great tasting food. The food is priced right.

The spaghetti and meatball isn't great. It's not even good, to be honest. It has a bit of sauce and still tastes dry. The pasta is too al dente. Not recommended.

I was in the neighborhood, feeling like eating Italian, and I found this place. The food was really good. I had the Eggplant Parmesan Sandwich, and it reminded me of the Eggplant Po'Boy I had in New Orleans. The eggplant, the sauce, and the bread could not have been better. We had absolutely no complaints with the food, or the service, but the place is not without problems. One thing people need to know before going is that there is no traditional table service. You can go in, and sit down, but they won't take your order at the table. You have to go up to the counter to order. The process runs smoothly enough, and I suppose more places are going this way these days, but you need to know before you go. Another thing people need to know is that the place is small. That's not really a problem unless you get a lot of people in there who are drinking. People naturally get louder when they drink, and it can end up with one group trying to talk over another, and it gets loud. It got loud when we were in there, and it really kind of ruined the experience for us. I suppose some people don't mind, but it hurt my ears, and all I could think about was finishing, and getting out of there. You could run into the same problem in any number of restaurants, but the size, and the construction of this place makes it more likely to happen here. You can, of course, eat on the sidewalk. There are tables out there, but it is on a busy street, you if the smells of the city and vehicles get to you, it may not be too pleasant, either. Finally, we encountered a language/communication problem. That may or may not be a problem for everyone, but it can be. I don't want any of this to take away from the food, but people should know ahead of time to they can plan accordingly. The food is worth the trouble.

Good food, nice service, great for take out. I find myself craving the Italian sub which is very filling (I eat half at a time) and has terrific bread. They have summer time specials that are creative and delicious, e.g., corn and short rib ravioli in Alfredo sauce. Yummy!!

Got take out - as a previous review said, penne vodka had no sauce on it, pasta extremely overcooked, and the garlic bread wasn't toasted. Chocolate cake slice was tiny but came in a huge box, very mediocre

Delicious food atmosphere was not what I expected more like a fast food environment. Order at the counter pick your seats etc.We sampled lots of food items and everything was terrific chicken parm, eggplant parm, spaghetti and stuffed shells

Gluten free pasta was amazing!!! The guy that bought the place checked on us frequently. My boyfriend got the shells and he LOVED them. They looked amazing too. Everyone that worked there was very sweet. Other customers also loved the food.

We ordered from their catering buffet menu for an office holiday party. They were super accommodating with the various food allergies and were able to provide us with an amazing Italian feast with various options for everyone! The food was ready when they said it would be and helped load it all into our car. Absolutely everyone at the party loved the food and raved about it. If you like East Cost style Italian this is the place for you! We ordered meatballs (mouthwatering!!), spinach lasagne, meat lasagne, salad, garlic bread, spaghetti with red sauce, chicken parm, and garlic broccoli. Highly recommend!!

Delicious! Love the casual vibes, staff was really nice. Food was yummy. We came on a Tuesday where they have a penne for penny, buy a penne order and pay a penny for another!

Delicious, house made Italian cuisine with the sweetest staff and quaint atmosphere. Love this local spot!

I'm not a big review person. But let me tell you something this little gem here is amazing Dave the owner kills it when it comes to customer service. And with the GF options and freshness of the pasta it sets this place apart from the 5 star Italian restaurants in town. Good location good music and quality food. Check it out.

My husband and I had a lovely dinner at Difranco's on Friday night. They have a really small space so definitely call early and try to get a reservation. We were too late on this but decided to try our luck as walk-ins. When we got there they were really busy and only had seating at their "bar". However, they allow reservations a 15 minute grace period, so that's how we ended up with a table- someone else didn't show up. You have to order and pay at the counter, which is something we noticed that lots of people seemed confused about. It would be helpful if they would post this somewhere in the restaurant or on the menus or tell you when they greet you. We started with their pizza logs, which, if you can get over their unappealing name, are AMAZING. Seriously, all meals should start with Difranco's pizza logs. I had Eggplant Parmigiana and their homemade spaghetti and it was so good. I have leftovers in the fridge at home that I both want to finish but don't want them to be gone. My husband had the fettuccine, which he said was good but didn't like the cream sauce as much as the red sauce. He also had a side sausage, which was a nice portion and very tasty.

Gluten free pasta, garlic bread, and cannolis. Are you kidding me?? Absolutely delicious!! Service was excellent and it was the perfect date night Italian food!

This is what my husband says, in his own words: Dave the owner and the staff were fantastic. The chow is really good. Truly great Italian food.

Hi I dined here yesterday and as we walked in the woman working the front asked to take a seat and she would bring us water. We sat and waited for our water and then ended up asking for it. Mind you we were confused if it was counter service or not because she asked us to sit down. The appetizer was bruschetta with some sad grocery store bread. We asked for more bread and the lady forgot. We received our wine and meals for an overpriced $65. The spaghetti was disappointing. The stuffed shells were okay. The wine was terrible and we left the rest on the table I think the best part was the cannoli unfortunately. Don't waste your time ordering an entree. It's almost worth going to Olive Garden instead because this was so underwhelming. It's sad to support local overpriced restaurants when the food is overpriced and underwhelming. Lastly another review pointed out that this place is a catfish. Reviews and pics are great then you arrive and are extremely disappointed. I think Gordon Ramsey would call this a kitchen nightmare.

My fiance and I love this place. It's one of our favorite local spots to order from. The salads, pizza logs, chicken parm, and desserts have all been great (we haven't ventured into more of the menu much because we've enjoyed those orders so much). The service has always been top notch and very friendly. One critique that only long-time patrons may notice - its seems they recently changed their pizza logs from using a very thin, flakey dough to be much more doughy - almost like a mozzarella stick. We 10/10 prefer the original version and hope they're just testing new recipes.

SO GOOD! My husband and I have been twice now, and everything we've had has been amazing! I've gotten the seasonal special both times, they're so good I wish they would add them to the permanent menu. Lot's of vegetarian options, it's hard to pick what to order, it all sounds so good. The food is amazing, service is always great, and we look forward to going back again. The place is small but we've never had to wait long for a table, make a reservation if you can.

Spaghetti and Meatballs were awful! i make better that what i had! fire your chef! i won't be back until you fix quality of food! So sad i had to experience this.

Ugh I feel so bad reviewing this place only 2 stars. I was super excited to try it out because it is the top rated Italian restaurant in Denver. I had it bookmarked for my trip to the area and my sister and I went here on a Thursday night for dinner. The reason I feel bad is because the service here is SO GOOD! Everyone is so nice. You basically go up and put your order in or you can use the QR code from your table. We opted to use the QR code. The girl helping us seriously couldn't have been nicer. But aside from that, I just didn't enjoy my meal at all. It came out piping hot and I felt like I couldn't eat it for about 15 minutes until it cooled down. Also, it was the weirdest Italian meal I've ever had because the sauce didn't taste like marinara or pomodoro or really even a tomato base at all. There is some seasoning they use in it that makes it overpowering (I felt like it tasted like curry?). So it just wasn't jiving with my palette at all. I only ate a few bites of it. The meatball also wasn't good. I truly love food and very rarely do I order something at a restaurant and barely touch it. So really this would be a one star review for me, but because the service was so nice, I am going with two stars. I'm obviously in the minority here....

I want to shake Mr DiFrancos hand... I had my ratatouille moment, and it was beautiful

Free parking in garage shared by other businesses. Fun and eclectic interior The food was tasty and made to order. They offer desserts as well. Will come back again.

Homemade pasta is yummy for sure but I don't think the value is there. The pictured carbonara is $17. $9 for the chicken parm "add on". For counter service style dining, I think that's steep. Chicken parm with pasta is $20.59 though... Carbonara was way too peppery, it overpowered the flavor. Dessert cookies were the best part of the meal.

We came to Denver in search of delicious Gluten Free Food, and DiFranco's did not disappoint! I had the GF Carbonara and it was hands down the most delicious gf pasta dish I have ever had in over 5 years. Taste and texture were perfection. Topped it off with the GF Chocolate Cake and the GF CC Cannoli and we were in heaven. Thank you for making our Italian Gluten Free dreams come true!

The food was amazing. The service is great to the people that work there are really kind. The ambiance is so calm and its a vibe.

Ok so I've ordered from here before and generally had a great experience. I ordered the impossible penne. No joke, one meatball for 17$. Also, a lot pepper. Idk. Disappointed.

The gist: this is a great spot for take out or for quick counter service. The food is pretty good, although a bit overpriced, and a $10 reservation deposit is not worth it here. I picked DiFranco's because it was highly rated on Yelp, and the food looked good. I definitely should have read the reviews better, because several of them mention that the interior/counter service did not match their expectations. I would agree. I felt pretty silly making a reservation and paying a $10 deposit for a place with only counter service. The staff is very nice and service was timely. They have affordable wine and heavy pours here. Both Chardonnay and a Sangiovese are available by the glass or by the bottle. We got the Caesar salad to start. The flavor was great and the greens were a mix of romaine and arugula. They also added tomatoes, which was a little strange for a Caesar. We split a meatball, which I really enjoyed. I thought it had great flavor and was a good size. However, my boyfriend thought that it left something to be desired and and wasn't outstanding. I had the pumpkin tagliatelle. The homemade pasta was outstanding, and the sauce was unlike anything I had before. It was more like a gravy than a red sauce. However I thought the favor was good. I would probably not order this dish again. My boyfriend had butternut squash ravioli. This dish was the winner tonight. The flavor was excellent and was topped with shredded pork. The a accompanying bread was pretty dry, unfortunately, but worked well to sop up sauce. We had cannoli for dessert, and it was super delicious and a good way to end the meal. We were disappointed by the atmosphere here but did enjoy our meal. However, it was not the show-stopping meal I anticipated

DiFrancos is probably the best Italian food in Denver. The atmosphere inside is amazing and the employees (shoutout to Melissa) are always friendly and so kind. The food is AMAZING!!!!!! 10/5 stars if that was possible.

Was here for Restaurant week. The food was amazing. Spaghetti and meatballs were great. Burrata and pesto on sour dough was awesome. One of the best Cannolis I've ever had. A little weird ordering at the counter but it worked out.

Stopped here for lunch after a day at the museum. Food was excellent and service was great. Very small place and it's counter order, but I would definitely go back !

Ravioli ravioli, give me the formioli. I was craving Fazoli's, but the D didn't disappoint. The fettuccini alfredo was muuah (chef's kiss). This split roasted sausage was asking for it, just look at it. Will be back. The bread was drier than my sense of humor dough. 4 noodles out of 5. Also, yelp really needs to make emojis happen. It's 2022.

I'm on the fence about this restaurant. 4 Stars for being so gluten free friendly. They offer fresh gluten free pasta and gluten free meat balls. The fresh pasta is a nice touch, both gluten free and regular pasta. The chicken parmigiana (pasta) was tasty, two stacked thin breaded chicken breast with melted moz between and on top. The chick was a bit over done, but not bad. My son struggled a little with the chicken parmigiana sub, he liked it, but navigating all the bread from the baguette wasn't easy. The pasta and sauces were great. My wife was very happy with the GF Cabernera. It's a small counter service restaurant. The staff was friendly, and accommodating, allowing us to be squeezed in between reservations. The atmosphere left a little to be desired. It was hot and humid, with moister condensing on the windows. Each time the door was opened we were tempted to prop it open because the fresh air was so nice. I liked the concept, but the location logistics and execution for the cost was slightly off.

start with the burrata. get the gluten-free cannoli for dessert. you're welcome. great service to boot. glad we found this place on our trip.

There's not enough good things to say about this quaint but AMAZING place. Best Italian I e had in Denver. Each time we travel to the city, we have to make a stop!

Been coming since before the pandemic and it's great every time. Usually end up getting something red sauce based with meat. They make their meatballs a little spicy like I make them, which I love. The people working there are always friendly.

This is my favorite Italian Restaurant in all of Denver! The staff is so friendly and omggggg is the food amazing! My go to is the fettuccine. The part about it is that it already comes with broccoli!!! The sauce is creamy and perfect. I'm drooling as I'm writing this. Next is the Caesar. Also fabulous! Highly recommend. If you're looking for a tasty starter then get the burrata. That cheese with their bread.. oh it's perfect. They're on the delivery apps so if you don't live nearby, you can still get it! Wins for everyone!

Always, always, always dining here is an experience in excellence. Just three people providing the best service, Italian food and community. The menu is extremely limited and flawlessly orchestrated to provide the most luscious experience for the palate. The space is cozy and curated. The team is incredibly well coordinated together and seamlessly dance through the evening, always in rhythm. Memorable! Thank you, Bill

This restaurant was above and beyond my expectations, My friends and I made a reservation but we were a bit caught off guard at the order at counter appearance. This restaurant's recipes are based on the owners grandmothers recipes (photographed on wall) and it was utterly amazing. Flavors were spectacular and the flavors were authentic. I would highly recommend this restaurant. We ordered the chefs special (large chells with artichoke and cilantro) as well as the spaghetti park with chicken. Phenomenal. We also started with the bread and oil, as well as the pizza wonton rolls. Please go here you will not be disappointed.