We ate out twice in Grand Junction (one night we just barbecued some steaks, etc., which was equally pleasant). Both times were at Italian restaurants — with two different, yet similar, results.
Pantuso’s Ristorante is up near the airport, on Horizon, just below I-70. It’s ostensibly the oldest Italian restaurant in Grand Junction.
The food was fabulous. Everything was extraordinarily tasty, the portions were large, and I was sorely disappointed that my leftover lasagna got consumed by someone else for lunch. It was some of the best Italian food I’ve ever tasted.
Which was the only bright point of the evening, which saw us walking in the door, on a Thursday, at 6:15 p.m., and finally leaving at 9:15 p.m. In short, the service was wretched. Not evil or nasty or rude — just disorganized to the point of being almost comical.
The restaurant is relatively small. The main dining room seats around 40 or so, I think. There’s also a private dining room toward the front, too. And the staff was sorely impacted by both the private dining room having a large group in it plus another group of 16 or so with a bunch of tables pulled together as well.
So when we were told that a table would be free for us in 30 minutes, and it turned into an hour, and the two ladies at the front counter seemed confused as to who we were when we’d poke our heads out from the bar to ask about what was up … that was just the first sign.
Well, getting two big mistakes on our drink orders (olive vs twist in the martini, salt vs sugar in a Scotch Old Fashioned) was probably the first sign.
We got seated.
We waited.
Took … forevah.
Orders took forevah.
Wine service took forevah.
Food arrival took forevah.
Check took forevah.
We’d request something (more butter, for example) from the waiter on the rare occasions he came by. The lead lady at the front desk would come by, and we’d ask for the same stuff. The bus boy came by frequently, and we’d ask stuff of him, too.
The bus boy did great. He kept our water filled, our plates removed, and he actually followed up on requests. I wish we could have tipped just him. Or maybe the musician, too — live music on a Thursday night was nice, and the overall ambience was quite pleasant.
I had seriously entertained thoughts of having dessert, even though I hadn’t finished my beloved lasagna. They evidently make a faboo tiramisu. But as the forevah stuff continued, I realized it wasn’t worth another 30-45 minutes of my life.
When we were finally leaving — then we got apologies and inquiries as to how it went, etc. I was scrupulously honest in saying that the food was wonderful. Which it was.
It may be that, on a Thursday, the “A” team wasn’t on the line. And it may be that having two very large groups (with another one evidently taking over the bar, adding to the mix) just overwhelmed them. But … the quality of the food was just barely enough to make me want to try the place again, despite three hours of frustratingly confused neglect.
(They evidently also have another restaurant in Denver (Aurora). We may try it.)
Dolce Vita in Grand Junction is located downtown, on Main Street, tucked back into a building in a small shopping arcade.
Food was quite good — not quite as amazing as Pantuso’s, but absolutely nothing to complain about. We had a variety of dishes, of various complexity, and all enjoyed them. Kitten even dug into a plate of gnocchi with Gorgonzola sauce that was quite yummy. Serving sizes were adequate — nothing to take home, but no sense that we’d been shorted. Prices were quite reasonable.
The ambience was nothing special to write home about — 70s fern bar chic with Italian paintings overlaid — but it wasn’t bad.
The service was attentive and friendly. The place was very kid-friendly — no individual kid’s menu, but they offered up half-servings of anything, plus offered to do a simple spaghetti with marinara. The staff came over and checked on us a number of times, and focused a lot on how Kitten was doing (just fine, albeit eager to dip into her Halloween candy from the Main St. festivities).
We got there at 6:15p or so on a Saturday evening, and the place was just beginning to fill up; by the time we left, it was full up, so make reservations. Well worth it, and definitely a place I’ll patronize again if my travels bring me to downtown Grand Junction again. I wouldn’t make it a destination restaurant, but it definitely added to our trip’s pleasure.