Ponti

The Ponti is a new restaurant opened in the remodeled Denver Art Museum last month. Operated by Jen Jasinski and Beth Gruitch, Ponti is the newest star alongside their other stellar restaurants Rioja, Bistro Vendome, Stoic and Genuine, and Ulteria. The setting at the Art Museum is beautiful! The Ponti is the name of the original architect who designed the castle (or jail) shaped north building of the museum. The restaurant is open seven days a week for lunch and only Tuesday evenings for dinner. Plan ahead as it mirrors the hours the museum is open.

We started with appetizers dishes of trout ravigote and the mezze plate. The main dishes were the cavatelli, seared king salmon, and the beans and Brodo. We had to Google the menu with all the different languages to describe the food.

The trout ravigote (French for herb sauce) was an excellent starter. It has smoked trout, avocado, and herbs separated by layers of phyllo. The herbs and trout provide a delicious taste to start your meal.

The mezze plate had a beautiful presentation of goat cheese, eggplant, hummus, olives, and lamb kofta with a side of grilled flatbread. The eggplant and hummus were bland tasting compared to the delicious goat cheese and olives. The skimpy grilled flatbread was not enough to handle all of the hummus and eggplant.

The one main entrée that was disappointing was the cavatelli. It was composed of small pasta with lamb sugo (red sauce), tomatoes, and rosemary. Sadly, the pasta was undercooked and tough.

The best dish of the evening was the seared king salmon that was presented with crispy skin, cabbage, black rice and green curry. Not only was it a good presentation it tasted excellent. The black Thai rice with the curry added a great spicy flavor.

We finished with beans and brodo (broth). It’s a large size bowl filled with mushrooms, chanterelles, large Gordo beans, and lots of vegetables. Sitting on top was two excellent pieces of sourdough bread toast with aioli. The bread was delicious! A great entrée for a cold winter evening.

My ratings are: It’s OK, Good, Very Good, and Excellent.

The verdict ⚖️ for the Ponti is Very Good as the two fish dishes stood out.