There is no worse feeling than craving a perfect plate of pasta after a long day and realizing you’re about to settle for another mediocre meal. It doesn’t matter if you’ve bookmarked every Italian spot in town. In a matter of minutes, you’ll be staring at a bland marinara, wishing you were anywhere else but at that table. Let’s change that.
The Garlic Knot
$ | (303) 422-7333 | WEBSITE
Dinner at The Garlic Knot arrives just as the Denver evening rush begins to fade. This cozy Westminster spot serves its famous deep dish pizza fresh and fast, with slices starting around $5 and whole pies from $20. The spinach and cheese deep dish is a vegetarian favorite, while the classic pepperoni delivers that rich, cheesy goodness everyone craves. The catch: the garlic knots, though tasty, sometimes let the tomato sauce overshadow the garlic—more bread and tomatoes than garlic punch.
Still, with kind staff, kid-friendly options, and a ramp for easy access, it’s a satisfying meal that beats the traffic any day.
Massino’s Pizzeria
$ | (303) 430-9999 | WEBSITE
Finding a hidden gem is a great strategy for avoiding crowds, inflated prices, and mediocre food. That’s why it’s a smart move to seek out Massino’s Pizzeria – a random yet endearing Italian hole-in-the-wall spot in Westminster. From this perspective, you’ll be able to taste whether or not the pizza and pasta are still absolutely amazing. If they are, settle in at Massino’s with a stone oven cooked pizza and some delicious calzones.
It certainly beats paying twice as much for half the flavor elsewhere.
Sarpino’s Pizzeria Westminster
$ | (720) 823-0600 | WEBSITE
Sarpino’s Pizzeria Westminster is another solid Westminster option for those days when you really don’t want to battle Highway 36 traffic right now. The casual pizza spot does $12 deep dish pies, $8 calzones, and $5 breadsticks (get the cheesy ones with vegan garlic butter) while the rest of the city is busy trying to find parking. Vegans also get a full menu, like specialty pies and plant-based meats.
Ask for delivery because it’s more convenient that way, especially on holidays when the last thing you want to worry about is cooking.
Romano’s Macaroni Grill
$$ | (303) 439-9333 | WEBSITE
When the search for authentic Italian in Westminster feels like trying to find a needle in a haystack, it would actually be easier to just train a gondolier to paddle you straight to Romano’s Macaroni Grill. Of course, the proud and noble gondolier serves no Coloradan, so instead settle into a booth at this local staple. This restaurant feels more like a family kitchen when the wine is flowing, and there’s a reliable service that’s been consistent for over 20 years.
The best part is the chicken marsala, but the Truffle Mac & Cheese and Pomodoro Tortellaci are a welcome bonus. The incredible wine specials are sadly not any cheaper than normal, but they’re still so worth the $18 you would have spent anyway on a forgettable meal elsewhere.
Scalzotto Italian Restaurant Westminster
$$ | (720) 853-3330 | WEBSITE
Navigating Westminster’s evening rush hour feels like trying to herd cats through a car wash, which happens just about every day around 6pm. Fortunately you can avoid all that chaos if you head straight for Scalzotto. This cozy and very flavorful Italian spot feels especially welcoming during dinner service, when they have $18 chicken parmigiana, $12 bruschetta plates, and affordable kids’ meals that make the whole family happy.
The spacious dining area with its warm lighting also gives you a comfortable view of the relaxed atmosphere – and the friendly staff who remember your name, which you could also fill with more attentive service and it would still be a more pleasant place to enjoy a meal than sitting in traffic at 6:30pm.
Olive Garden Italian Restaurant
$$ | (303) 650-0889 | WEBSITE
The stretch of I-25 through Westminster deserves to be punched in the face. The traffic generally sucks during dinner rush, and if you don’t have the patience, your best bet is to pull off and hide out at Olive Garden. It’s Westminster’s best-known Italian spot and they have locations across the metro area. Honestly, any of them will work for escaping gridlock, but the Westminster location is the best bet along this particularly hellish highway.
The pasta is excellent, you can see the parking lot from inside, and the service is strong in case you need to relax.
The Old Spaghetti Factory
$$ | (720) 306-8874 | WEBSITE
The Old Spaghetti Factory is one of the coziest spots to enjoy classic Italian in Westminster, which is saying a lot since just about every restaurant in the area serves some sort of pasta. Its dining room extends into a spacious banquet area, where you have to worry more about accommodating large groups than finding a quiet corner.
In addition to some excellent vegetarian options on the regular menu, The Old Spaghetti Factory has $12 pasta dishes – like angel hair with brown butter and mizithra cheese – and $8 starters, including a very good house salad and spumoni.
Carrabba’s Italian Grill
$$ | (303) 940-5620 | WEBSITE
You know where there’s no traffic? A book. Unless the book you’re reading takes place in a traffic jam, which sounds kind of interesting and is still a lot more fun than being in actual traffic. Carrabba’s Italian Grill in Westminster – this location of the Italian restaurant chain – has a very solid menu that offers soups, pasta, and appetizers with charming brick walls and attentive service, and it’s a lovely spot to unwind with some food, sangria, and good company.
There is also, of course, a great selection of Italian classics, which is exactly what you need after a long day of staring at a white screen.
Asti D’Italia
$$ | (303) 457-3900 | WEBSITE
For such a convenient location, Westminster can have some hectic traffic during peak hours. Luckily, this is an area that appreciates a good authentic meal, and Asti D’Italia is a great post-work spot to unwind while the roads clear up.
This lively Italian restaurant serves excellent food, like the Parmesan garlic bread, chicken parm, and Buffalo Lasagna, which comes with a glass of house wine for $12 every Friday in a special they call a “Roman Weekend.” Asti D’Italia also has great comforting dishes that won’t overwhelm your appetite, like the Butternut Squash soup, homemade pasta, and enough robust reds to have you savoring that meal you’ve been anticipating all week.
There’s some cozy booth seating too so you can watch the lively atmosphere settle as the evening winds down.
Sano’s Italian Kitchen
$$ | (303) 421-1790 | WEBSITE
You could spend 45 minutes circling Westminster looking for parking, only to find yourself stuck behind a minivan unloading soccer gear for another 20 minutes, until you finally reach the restaurant and see that the wait is 30 minutes because everyone’s ordering the chicken parmesan. Or you could just take a seat at Sano’s Italian Kitchen and enjoy a few generous plates that’ll cost you $15-$22 from opening to closing.
The manicotti, caprese salad, and limoncello spritzer are going to be so much less stressful.
