Daniel S.
Yelp
From the Windy City to the Mile High City, Giordano's delivers their famous Chicago deep dish pizza to Downtown Denver. Although this is their only location in Denver, Giordano's is very popular in Chicago with restaurants all over the Windy City. They have been serving Chicago since 1974. Since then they have gained a stellar reputation winning several accolades for their pizza. And, it was in the very city of Chicago back in July of 2014 that I reviewed one of their Chicago Loop locations. Subsequently about a year later they opened up the first Giordano's in Vegas where I lived. I have dined there quite a few times. Fast forward, a few years later and they opened up the 16th Street Mall location (address is technically California Street) in the summer of 2018 with the adjacent Target.
It was our familiarity with Giordano's fantastic pizza that got my family and I to dine here one night on our vacation. It turned out to be a good choice.
When we walked inside, our friendly waiter handed us our menus. It was a two page menu with one page dedicated to pizza. Regardless that the menu is impressive, they do not sell slices. Our friendly waiter stated that the deep dish pizza takes around forty minutes to make. In our case this did not matter because we prefer the thin crust which reminds us of the New York pizza that we are so familiar with, and tastes so good. With this said, it is a shame that the famous New York pizza chain Grimaldi's that was up the Mall closed all their Denver locations. If they were still open, it is questionable that I would be writing this review. Anyways, it would take around twenty minutes for our waiter to deliver our pizza pies.
In between family conversation and sips of the bottomless cola which our waiter was on top of refilling, I took in the restaurant. In similar fashion to the Target above this street corner restaurant, this Giordano's is relatively small. Away from the streets, the interior is a brick wall (could be fake) with big red letters that shout out "Eat Pizza." Close to the streets, the interior highlight are the tables facing California Street. What is interesting is that the street-facing tables overlook California Street instead of the infamous 16th Street Mall and that the windows appear to be a garage style that opens up in nice weather creating a patio feel. There is also a bar with a large screen TV. A black warehouse style ceiling that holds level 2 of the Target above covers the restaurant .
Disparate from the small Target above, the individual small pizza pie was large. To tell you the truth, it should be at $21.45 before taxes. I ordered the Super Veggie Thin Crust Small. All twelve slices were delicious and filling. In my opinion, one of the reasons I prefer the thin crust is that the ingredients taste more vivid. Ingredients that include mushrooms, green peppers, onions, broccoli, spinash, onions, cheese, and sauce. The crust was good yet not overwhelming. As the "Eat Pizza" letters shouted out, I gladly ate nearly every last crumb of it.
From the streets of Chicago to the streets of Denver, Giordano's is a nice addition to the downtown dining scene. I hope that it does not meet the same ending as it's sister store on Broadway that recently closed and the few Denver Grimaldi's that suffered the same fate. The fact that I am saying this means that I am a fan of the Downtown Denver Giordano's. I am a fan that gives it 4 Stars.