Osteria Marco

Reviews

• Sarah K.

  star star star star star 11 June 2026

  I honestly think I had the best meal of my life last night at Osteria Marco. Dramatic, yes, but oh my goodness, it was amazing. I couldn't find a Hooves and Hops Beer Dinner event on Yelp, so I thought I should write a review on the host's page. I almost don't want to write the review in fear of people taking spots next year, but the chefs deserve a lot of credit for the meal last night. I kid I kid, kind of.
  
  I joined two friends for the 9th Annual Hooves and Hops Beer Dinner at Osteria Marco with little information, and I'm so glad I went. I wasn't expecting it, but there was a 5 course meal with 5 beer pairings with Four Noses Brewery. The food, the beer, and the pairings were unreal. My favorite dish had to be the ciccioli - a pork slider with sweet apple slaw, spinach, calabrian chile and bacon jam & a side of PORK BELLY FRIES. You may read pork belly fries and think, "hmm, cooking french fries in pork belly fat, sounds great," (as did I), but Osteria Marco's chef took it to the next level. It was actually slivers of fried pork belly. I wanted to cry into these fries, that's how good they were. The Perfect Drift beer cut the fat and made for a smooth slightly fruity finish amongst the different flavors.
  
  I also really enjoyed that the head chef, cooks, and Four Noses' Brewers spoke about each course and each beer. It was really interesting to learn how the dishes and beers were thought up and why the pairings were made. The discussions were interactive, fun, and educational. It was unlike any dinner I've been to. It was intimate, yet fun.
  
  I can't wait to check out the 10th Annual Hooves and Hops Dinner next year. Bravo to everyone who helps put this event together. I'll be back.

• Anmy V.

  star star star star star_border 9 June 2026

  Soo good! The fig and goat cheese was $17 and was amazing and different.
  
  Prosciutto was also my second fav at $19
  
  Carne was delicious at $14 but more standard fare
  
  The margherita was also very tasty $15
  
  Crust is so crispy and seems wood fired. So so good!

• Anna B.

  star star star star star 4 June 2026

  Cheese, salami, wine... what more could a girl want??
  
  I came here with a large party of 12 colleagues and had an incredible time. We got a few appetizer cheese and salami platters along with the bruschetta of the day to start.
  
  PRO TIP: if the bruschetta of the day is the sweet corn bacon kind, get some. Or don't. Your pants will probably have more room without it, but your soul won't be quite as happy. From one Iowa-born pork and corn loving midwestern girl's lips to your ear, that bruschetta is the stuff of dreams. Four huge pieces of bread piled with thick cut cubes of bacon and crisp sweet corn. The bread had a balsamic sauce that was to die for. I had more than my share, but did not regret that choice at all.
  
  For the rest, we had a variety of shared plates. Standouts were the lamb meatballs (incredible), the  carne pizza, the fig pizza, and the arugula salad.
  
  I'd go back in a heartbeat, likely in stretchy pants the next time.

• Janelle S.

  star star star star star 26 May 2026

  I like this place for a date night, a girls night, when family/company is visiting town, or you need someplace fast, yet high-end and delicious to eat before a show or sporting event. My fiance and I went here for an early dinner on a Sunday. I was a little worried about getting seated right away because there was a lot going on downtown, but it was very quiet. When it's just the two of us, we opt for the bar, which was very open.
  
  The wine list is a little overwhelming...and that's coming from a wine drinker. It is all in Italian and a bit hard to read. I ended up getting a couple of glasses of the 'Lagone' Aia Vecchia '16 Toscana (Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon). It was VERY good!
  
  For food, we shared the calamari and wild mushroom flatbread with truffle oil. The calamari was some of the best I've ever had. It was beautifully fried and it came on this delicious bed of warmed greens (spinach and arugula). (I was pleased with that because we were debating between a starter or a salad, so we kind of got a two for one!) And, the dish had a deliciously spicy kick! It comes with some red peppers that definitely had some heat. The bartender gave us a heads up. They were pretty hot, but I really like that. The tastes of this calamari were top notch and I kind of like that it seemed lighter than other calamari appetizers...and it didn't come with the cream/mayo aioli that it usually does, which I'm A-OK with.
  
  The flatbread was really, really good. I will have to say, it was a little bit oily, but it was still very tasty. Be aware, this is SUPER rich! If you can't handle very oily, creamy, truffly tastes, opt for another flatbread. But, it was good! The two of us had a full flatbread and a good-sized starter. We probably ate a bit too much, but it was good fuel for the rest of the night.
  
  I love the downstairs space. It is nice for an intimate time. There are TVs if you want to watch sports, but they usually don't have the TV sound on. The outdoor area is sweet too. It isn't big and this particular evening, it was pretty packed on the patio because it was a very nice night out. The bar was perfect for our quick meal before we moved on for a comedy show.

• Denyce M.

  star star star star star_border 22 May 2026

  This was a lovely and pleasant surprise for The Doctor and me while visiting Denver.  We were looking for someplace nearby to celebrate our anniversary (22 yrs and counting) that served Italian food.  This place popped up on Yelp.  I read some of the reviews and decided to make a reservation.  Yelp World was not wrong about this place...so much so that we went back the next day for lunch.
  
  For dinner, I made a reservation on OpenTable and mentioned that it was our anniversary.  We arrived at a very lovely street that reminded me of a scene from an Italian square.  We walked inside and were immediately greeted by our hostess, who wished us a happy anniversary once I gave my name.  To the right of us was a salumi preparation station, which was interesting to see walking into the place.  The set up was different as the hostess station was situated at the top of the stairs; the restaurant is actually downstairs.  There was outdoor seating as well.
  
  Once we were shown to our table, we were greeted by our waiter Pete, who also wished us a happy anniversary.  Nice touch.  Pete recommended the chef's salumi board (three of each, meats and cheeses).  The things I loved about this board was the creamy ricotta, Ubriacone (red wine aged cheese that reminded me of Swiss) and meats served with grilled bread and a berry jam,  There were some peppered Italian crackers, but didn't really bother with those as the grilled bread was much nicer.  Our second course was the meatball sliders.  The order consisted of three sliders, but Pete mentioned he could add another one on for us.  This was an excellent dish.  The bread used to house the meatball was made on sight and was delicious, golden and topped with pesto and Parmesan cheese baked into it.  The meatballs were tasty and were not covered in sauce, so you got the full flavor.  With these two dishes, we were sort of full, so decided to split a Margherita pizza (San Marzano Tomato and basil).  The crust was just lovely, nice and soft even to the crust.  The pizza was very thin and I had to roll it to eat it, but that was fine with me.  We didn't finish it and ended up taking it home.  I had two slices for breakfast and it heated up fine in the microwave in our room.  When the bill came, Pete had comped us several glasses of bubbles for our anniversary.
  
  We decided to come back here for lunch the next day.  The same hostess was at the station and greeted us warmly.  She asked if we had a good time the night before and asked if we had a great evening for our anniversary.  We were shown to our table and got David as our server.  He was very nice and pleasant and took our order.  The restaurant offered a lunch special for $15 (an appetizer and a main course) but we opted to order from the menu.  We started with the Seasonal Bruschetta (lemon goat cheese, sweet corn, house cured bacon, roasted tomato & pepper relish, and a 12 year Balsamic drizzle).  This was absolutely amazing.  The flavors just all came together, with that grilled flavor from the bread adding to it.  I am now so in love with lemon goat cheese and need to find this in Chicago; so so good.
  
  The Doctor got the Sausage Rigatoni (marinara, Parmigiano Reggiano and sausage).  This was a very nice dish, with the pasta cooked just right, with just enough bite but not too hard.  The sausage was good but had a kick to it.  I got the Lamb Meatball panini (arugula pesto, goat cheese, smoked pepper-tomato jam).  There was a choice of arugula or potato salad; I got the potato salad.  The sandwich was amazing; again there was a little kick to it.  The tomato jam was very nice and there was a lot of meatball on that sandwich.  Didn't really care for the potato salad as it seemed on the bland side for me, but The Doctor loved it and ate it with his pasta.
  
  Both meals were very good and the service was great.  Pete and David were laid back, but attentive at the same time.  They were there when we needed them, but not hovering or rushing us.  A trip back to Denver will find us here for a meal.