Restaurant Olivia
Italian restaurant · Washington Park ·
Handmade pastas, inventive cocktails, and global-inspired dishes abound
Handmade pastas, inventive cocktails, and global-inspired dishes abound
"A pasta-focused, Michelin Guide–recommended restaurant in Denver’s Washington Park neighborhood, opened by Austin Carson, Heather Morrison and chef Ty Leon just seven weeks before the pandemic, it pairs premium cooking with an ambitious sustainability program. From the start they moved beyond recycling to composting and embracing the principle of “refuse,” which led them to remove their once-popular lobster spaghetti (it arrived in styrofoam and carried a high carbon footprint). They hired sustainability director Paula Thomas—an experienced pastry chef with work at Slow Food International and a master’s in World Food Cultures—to formalize supplier relationships (using Seafood Watch and sourcing grain from the Rye Resurgency Project) and to introduce creative waste-to-ingredient practices: fermenting spent lemons and kabocha skins into misos and vinegars, turning rhubarb and ginger trimmings into kombucha, and pressing fibrous pea shells into wildflower seed–embedded papers given to diners. Those efforts reduce composting costs and let the kitchen justify more environmentally responsible indulgences—fair-trade vanilla, sugar and chocolate—while the owners continue to wrestle with the economic balancing act of paying staff fairly and keeping the business viable as they plan a sister restaurant, Emilia." - Cynthia Barnes
"Run by three seasoned Mizuna alumni, this Italian date-night retreat in Wash Park emanates class and grace. Handmade pastas take special pride of place here — consider malloreddus in Sherry cream with mushrooms and walnuts or ravioli inspired by French onion soup — and the sizeable wine list was naturally built to showcase them. But no meal is complete without at least one concoction from the bar, be it a chile-laced mezcal Negroni or an Old Fashioned infused with roasted squash." - Ruth Tobias
"Even after a modest expansion, this contemporary ristorante at the edge of Wash Park possesses an intimate feel that the gracious service underscores. It’s a natural for anniversaries and other capital-O occasions, which are made all the more special by a five-course tasting option. But the a la carte Italian menu itself abounds in indulgent twists and turns — from focaccia with whipped bison tallow, plum agrodolce, and pine nut brittle to pecorino cheesecake with huckleberry preserves and every pasta and entree in between." - Ruth Tobias
"If you’ve been planning on finally confessing some deep feelings to someone and need a white tablecloth to do it over, come to Restaurant Olivia. Especially if that certain someone likes quiet, candle-lit dining rooms, excellent service, and pastas with ingredients like prosciutto and plum or caramelized onions and gruyère fondue. As with everything else here, the cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks are spot on, featuring combos like olive oil-washed martinis and a Manhattan jazzed up with chai and angostura bitters." - allyson reedy, patricia kaowthumrong
"Always a sure bet for a splurge, this intimate Italian rendezvous at the edge of Wash Park has a splendid five-course tasting menu in store for $175 per person (plus $95 for wine pairings). Two choices per course range from oysters with pomegranate, ginger, and Champagne mignonette to blue corn cannelloni with milk-fed pork to poached salmon with grilled Swiss chard, almond, and sunchokes to struffoli with caramelized honey and hazelnut brittle." - Ruth Tobias
