Ristorante Del Lago — Restaurant in Colorado Springs

This Italian restaurant we visited in Colorado looks across a lake. Ristorante del Lago at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs specializes in Italian hospitality & cuisine with house-made pasta & wood-fired pizzas with a view. We dined here for dinner during our stay at The Broadmoor.

We arrived and were seated on the indoor patio with a view of the lake. Our server Megan was such a pleasure - she had fabulous recommendations, advised us on the most popular and seasonal items, and had the sweetest demeanor. She was a real testament to The Broadmoor’s commitment to exceptional service.

We started our meal with two Zero-Proof Specialties - the Meleto and the Lapo's Spritz. The Meleto was made with apple cider infusion, NA Ginger Beer, & Soda. The Lapo's Spritz was made wtih Lapo's NA Apertivo, Orange, Vanilla, Lemon, & Soda.

The Antipasti Misti was made with the Chef's selection of Formaggi & Salumi.

The Aosta Pizza was made with house-made sausage, charred pepper, roasted garlic, & fontina. The wood-fired cooking method gave the crust and toppings a lovely smoky, slightly charred flavor. The house-made sausage was meaty, and the fontina cheese (a semi-hard Italian cheese) provided a creamy, nutty flavor that melted beautifully over the pizza.

The Lobster Pappardelle was made with main lobster, cherry tomato, & saffron butter. The lobster had a delicate sweetness to it that was countered by the burst of acidity from the cherry tomatoes.

The Tortelli Al Brasato was made with braised veal stuffed pasta with roasted cipollini, red wine, rosemary, butter, and Parmigiano cheese. This seasonal pasta was a rich and flavorful dish with a complex taste profile. The braised veal filling imparted a deep, meaty flavor, while the red wine and rosemary added depth. The butter added a smooth, creamy texture to the pasta. This was our favorite pasta of the night.

Of course, we had to leave room for the homemade gelato. We had the Cookies & Cream, Strawberry, & Chocolate Crunch gelatos that were served in a beautiful silver goblet with a...

It seems like I'm giving Broadmoor lots of 3-star reviews. I've stayed at the Broadmoor many times, and it's a wonderful hotel, but after a while you find things they could be doing better.

Where's the carpaccio?

The food at Ristorante del Lago is good, but not fabulous. I enjoyed my puttanesca and the proscuitto plate is top quality. I wish they'd informed me that their olives haven't been pitted. Nothing bad happened, but dang, those pits are hard. The spaghetti pomodoro is fine but not great, the meatballs are OK, and the Italian sausage is really good. The gnocchi dish wasn't enough for my guests, and I wish the staff would inform better about the size of portions. The Pinot Nero was good, a perfect neutral accompaniment to my food. The bread and bread sticks are wonderful. The arugula salad with the Olivewood balsamico is, well, it's Olivewood balsamico good.

I wish they'd brought the standard parmesan sawdust shaker to the table, rather than the microscopic bowl of fresh parm. Maybe I'm a plebe. Kraft works. I'll bring my own next time. And also some good roasted hot red pepper.

Service has been better since the Broadmoor required the 20% gratuity last year. Timing can be a little off, but the staff is friendly and professional, even if a little standoffish. I prefer the down-to-earth experience with wait staff, good conversation, excellent knowledge of the offerings. I prefer an experienced waitperson who loves the job and loves the restaurant. One up side is that one of the bar staff was engaging in conversation as I bought a glass of wine to take back to my room. She told me her wine preferences, and we had a short, but enthusiastic, discussion.

I'll be dining at Ristorante del Lago several times to come, although I'd pay a little more for the perfect experience. Speaking of prices, I think they're reasonable considering the quality of the food and that you're in a 5-star location. Dinner will cost about $30/person, maybe a little more.

So, OK prices, OK service, OK...

World's worst lasagna. When bread is the best thing to rave about, and the front of the house is apologizing because they agree with you, the chef must be in denial about the quality of their food. This is our second night attempting this restaurant because we were hoping the first night was a fluke after our first inedible vinegar drenched salad.

But the reality is their recurring kitchen problem equates to a chef who can't figure out how to make classical Italian food taste good. Their "chef" flattens leftover meatball paste to form a patty reminiscant of dry mystery meat from a grade school lunch tray. The geriatric skin of the scarred flavorless cheese comprising the lasagna's top layer leaves you searching for an immediate pallate cleanser.

Every other table around us was sending back pasta dishes because the blunder was not limited to one rogue opinion.

This chef deserves time off to travel to I SODI in NYC, where James Beard winner Chef Rita Sodi reigns as the only Italian American to have successfully reinterpreted lasagna through the lens of a mille-fueille, with its twenty-some layers. Or perhaps invite an Italian grandmother into the kitchen so this problem can resolve itself at minimal expense.

Del Lago means "of the lake" - which is where these kitchen scars belong -- though fish would probably reject the scraps, too.

For having participated in a culinary nightmare while witnessing a recurring botched execution, the staff is as gracious as they could possibly be. No wonder the restaurant mandates a 20% service charge.

Luckily their pastry chef is immune to the whims of a failed dinner interpretation; desserts rose to the occasion with a properly soaked tiramisu and a cloud-light layer of custard in their successful interpretation of a strawberry zabaglione.

If you come here, come for the dessert -- or just the bread, which seems to be their only dinner item capable of rising to...