Where Does Gusto Fit Into Denver’s Italian Food Scene?

Jump Ahead:

• The Review
• The Draw
• The Drawback
• Noise Level
• What to Order
• A Sloan’s Lake Dining Itinerary

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Along the Front Range, there are old-school red sauce joints sporting plaid tablecloths and serving heaping portions. Then there are upscale Italian eateries with petite bowls of lobster-studded handmade pastas and eye-poppingly expensive wine lists. Pizzerias, delis, and homey family-style bistros fill the spaces in between. But where does six-month-old Gusto fit in?

Even after my third visit to the new Sloan’s Lake spot from chef Lon Symensma, whose résumé includes owning Pan-Asian and French eateries ChoLon, YumCha, and now-closed Bistro LeRoux in downtown Denver, I still couldn’t decide. Then I realized that what the establishment does best is what makes it so difficult to define: Here, you don’t have to pick one Italian archetype over another, because Gusto, tucked inside the Lakehouse Residences building facing Sloan’s Lake Park, straddles them all.

While this sort of indecisiveness could result in an uneven menu elsewhere, it works at Gusto. I like that you can get both basic and fussier takes on starters, pastas, and pies. For instance, my favorite starter, the fritto misto—a staple at swankier Italian restaurants—sits alongside an omnipresent dish of meatballs on the appetizer menu. The golden pile of calamari rings, squid tentacles, shrimp, and lemon slices is barely covered in a light, crispy batter. Dip them into the sharp piccata aïoli and they get even better. The plate of four golf-ball-size wagyu beef rounds served with garlic toast is a reliable appetite suppressor, but nothing about the meatballs stands out from others I’ve eaten.

When I visited in early June, the entrée side of the rotating menu featured a wild boar pappardelle—not a dish you see at your everyday trattoria. Sadly, the gamey cubes of boar overpowered the otherwise delicious Tuscan ragu of red wine, tomato paste, garlic, and sofrito (onion, carrot, and celery). Without the protein, I would’ve delighted in the way the sauce clung to the toothsome house-made ribbons of pasta, how the briny Manzanilla olives cut the plate’s richness, and how a gremolata of breadcrumbs, parsley, and lemon zest added crunch.

Spaghetti all’assassina is a hot pasta of 2024, and seemingly every TikTok chef worth their likes has a variation of this recipe right now. For Gusto’s rendition, the spaghetti cooks dry in the pan like risotto, rather than being boiled in a pot of water. The noodles become slightly charred and absorb the sauce, which is slowly added as the starchy strands cook. The result is a punchy marinara that permeates the charred, crunchy noodles. Symensma adds puréed Tuscan artichokes to his version for creaminess, making for a delicious, hearty dish of deeply concentrated flavors.

The same could be said for the pizzas, which Symensma fires in an Italian-sourced gas oven that reaches 800 degrees. All six of Gusto’s variations nail that bubbly, crackly, chewy halo of crust that encircles toppings such as house-made sausage, mushrooms, and fresh basil. In this way, Gusto feels like the pizzeria you’ve always wanted in your neighborhood. The most interesting pie is the Amalfi, crowned with spicy Calabrian chiles, pecorino, piped-on dollops of whipped ricotta, and razor-thin slices of simple-syrup-poached lemon. I liked the combo, but my friend was turned off by the unexpected flavors—the citrus rind’s bitterness combined with the savory creaminess of the ricotta is unusual—so if you’re unsure, I’d order the more traditional margherita or meaty Calabrian instead.

Gusto may be a lot of things, but it isn’t a destination for sweet tooths, as desserts lean more savory than saccharine. The chocolate-pistachio-dipped cannoli needed sugar, and servers finish the tiramisù tableside with grated espresso cheese—yes, cheese—yielding an overly savory end to the meal. The limoncello olive oil cake is the best of the bunch, but on a menu that’s heavy with lemon, it is, ironically, not so lemony. The generous slab of cake is, however, moist and well-balanced with candied olives and a swoosh of chantilly cream.

To drink, order the perfect Negroni on tap, a smooth sipper with balanced bitter and sweet notes, or the spicy, smoky Calabriation with Calabrian-
chile-infused tequila and mezcal. The citrus in some of the other house cocktails can be overpowering, especially considering how much citrus Symensma deploys in his dishes.

Despite some of its missteps, Gusto more than adequately fills a void for both low- and high-brow Italian food in the Sloan’s Lake food scene. Do I think the eatery serves the best version of either in Denver? No. I’d rather go to more niche spots, like Restaurant Olivia if I’m feeling fancy or to Marco’s Coal-Fired for pizza or up to Boulder’s Il Pastaio for my favorite pastas. But there’s something to be said for Symensma’s broad, dependable menu. No restaurant can be all the Italian things to all the people, but Gusto comes close enough.

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In Summary

• The Draw: A well-crafted lineup of Italian favorites such as antipasti, pizzas, and pastas
• The Drawback: Some flavor combinations can be off-putting; desserts lack enough sweetness
• Noise Level: Low
• What To Order: Fritto misto, house-made pastas, pizzas, Negroni on tap

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A Sloan’s Lake Dining Itinerary

Over the past few years, the neighborhoods around Sloan’s Lake have blossomed into coveted places to live. That’s thanks in part to all of the bars and restaurants that have opened in the area. If you want to spend the day eating and drinking in and around the district, this itinerary takes you from breakfast to dinner.

• 9 a.m.: Be inside Edgewater Public Market when 18-month-old Black Box Bakery opens to grab a latte or Americano and one of its viral croissant cubes.
• 10 a.m.: If you need a midmorning mimosa, decade-old Rupert’s at the Edge does bottles for $18.50.
• 12 p.m.: Grab some pad krapow gai (spicy chicken with basil) and drunken noodles to go from two-year-old La Mai Thai Kitchen, located on the west side of the lake. Devour your lunch at one of the park’s picnic tables, where the people-watching is as captivating as the skyline views.
• 4 p.m.: Toast the day with a bubbly Sunset Spritz at the four-year-old Patio at Sloan’s or a refreshing Black Razz Blonde at 10-year-old Joyride Brewing Company.
• 6:30 p.m.: Head to six-month-old ChoLon Sloan’s Lake, situated in the same building as Gusto, for French onion soup dumplings. Or mosey over to Side Pony, which opened in 2023, for a snack-centric dinner of jalapeño cheddar queso, charcuterie, and pickled curry cauliflower.

Read More: Where to Find Denver’s Best Italian Food