Jovanina's Broken Italian — Restaurant in Denver

Jovanina's Broken Italian is one of my favorite restaurants in Denver. They continue to impress with their ever-rotating menu of seasonal dishes all incorporating the best local & regional ingredients.

We arrived at Jovanina’s and were seated upstairs in the main dining room. The restaurant embodied a rustic Italian style with exposed brick walls, tall candles, and several wooden tables and chairs with simple, yet elegant designs. Jovanina's showcased their kitchen allowing diners to catch a glimpse of the chefs in action - this added to our overall experience.

Our server Tiffany was professional, poised & kind - she had fabulous recommendations on the menu and knew which seasonal items to highlight. General Manager Charlie was actively supporting his team on the restaurant floor and checking in with guests to ensure their dinners were running smoothly.

For cocktails I had to explore Jovanina's Summer Spritz program. I went with the Peaches & Peppers made with Fresno & Jalapeno infused Tequila, Peach, Aloe Vera Liqueur, Lime, & Prosecco.

Lord have mercy - the Peaches & Peppers Spritz was everything and I sucked two down. The spritz had a refreshing bubbly juiciness that gave way to the Fresno & Jalapeno infused Tequila leaving gentle heat on the palate.

For Antipasti we had the Marinated Castelvetrano Olives mad with Fresh Rosemary, Orange Zest, & Calabrian Pepper.

Fabulous - the olives were meaty with lingering spice from the Calabrian pepper.

For Salads & Vegetables we had the Fresh Bufala Burrata and the Oak Ember Roasted Rainbow Carrots.

The Fresh Bufala Burrata was made with Cherry Tomato, Watermelon Balsamic, & Pistachio Basil Pesto.

This is the best burrata I have ever had. The creamy burrata against the sweet and juicy summer melon & tomatoes made for refreshing & luxurious bites.

The Oak Ember Roasted Rainbow Carrots was made with Carrot Butterscotch, Crunchy Seeds, Whipped Feta, Citrus, & Torn Mint. The colorful carrots were generously coated in sticky sweet butterscotch.

For Wood Fired Pizza we had the seasonal Spring Squash Blossom made with Squash & Parmesan Puree, Zucchini, Pecorino, Mozzarella, & Fontina. Unreal; this white pizza was beautiful in presentation & taste. In the heart of the summer season, the zucchini and squash flowers were at their peak. With each bite, the tender zucchini pieces & fine golden squash blossoms gave way to hot melty cheese and the soft chew of crust.

For Handmade Fresh Pasta we had the Amatriciana made with Bicicleta, Roasted Peppers, Sausage, Tomato, Marjoram, Kale. The Amatriciana was hearty with a burst of heat. Squisito!

For Main Plates we had the Diver Scallop Prima Vera made with Sweet Pea Risotto, Spring Vegetables, Pea Tendrils, & Tarragon. The light buttery scallops were perfectly pan-seared. The delicate taste of the scallops was enhanced by the irresistible flavors of pesto, basil, & parmesan in the sweet pea risotto.

For dessert I had the 2012 Capezzana Riserva, thanks to Jovanina’s sommelier. The Capezzana was a well-structured dessert wine that tasted of...

Just earned a customer for life!!! I can’t sing these guys’ praises enough. This is well worth the read!! First a backstory– My husband and I originally went to another restaurant in Uptown in search of a great pasta dish. This restaurant who shall not be named; cough cough Coperta cough cough; had hostesses who were extremely rude and immediately halted us in saying it would be more likely that hell would freeze over before we could even have a seat at the bar before 9:30pm. (Please keep in mind this was at 5:30!) Guess who did a walk out after being treated this way. 😊 Then in his next search, my husband called a new place named Jovanina’s and gentleman named Tom immediately answered the line and said they were pretty booked up, but he said, “we’ll make it happen.” Now this started to make us feel better about the night! We headed over, and upon our arrival we were immediately greeted with open arms and an amazing ambiance! Fresh walls, décor, and real candlelit lighting. So warm and inviting! The hostess knew we had talked to Tom and gave us two seats right at the bar. We were immediately greeted by the sweet and sincere Kimberly. Kimberly took the time to go over the menu and provide us a proper introduction to the new establishment. As we were having our first drinks, we informed her of our negative experience prior to coming in and she ensured us her and the team would make up our evening! Tom, whom my husband first spoke to on the phone with, came right over to us and was so ecstatic that we came in and we informed him he made our night! He totally understood our previous situation and was happy to turn it around for us. From there, we had the most amazing meal! Oysters, sweet sausage pizza, gnocchi and the most amazing short rib we had ever had. Don’t get us started on the drinks either! We had a huge carafe of prosecco and lovely glasses of red wine, handpicked for our meal. This where we also met Sean, another bartender, who treated us amazingly. He treated us to a mesmerizing lemon drink concoction he created, and an amaro aperitif that tasted like nectar of the Gods. He and Kimberly were so knowledgeable on our drinks, we just couldn’t get enough! Real talk….I am a daughter of a first generation Napolitano who owned a pizzeria for over 15 years. Jovanina not only speaks to great Italian food, but most of all speaks to great Italian hospitality! I spend my summers in Italy, and the experience we had this evening transcended us back to Rome and Naples way of life in which when you are there, you are treated with first class hospitality. Thank you so much for a truly magical evening Tom, Kimberly, Sean, and the Jovanina family! We can’t wait to spend more memorable nights there!...

What a fantastically quaint little restaurant. You’ll love the small stuff. From custom wall paper and the beautiful & fluffy seat backs, to the gobs of wax everywhere. Especially in the basement. I for one am in love with how classy this place was decorated. So much going on and some how not to much going on. Cudoo’s to the designer of this gem. The wine selection was extensive and a global effort was sourced for your list. Having all of this said, it’s a shame the quality & expertise seems to stop there. Never before have I gone to a restaurant where the server didn’t go through the trouble to even introduce himself. In fact it was a good 15 minutes before we were even acknowledged by the wait staff. So long in fact fighting the urge to leave. My date and I actually decided to get up and explore the basement. Which, to there credit, was really really cool. So we decided to stay and sat back down. Another 6 minutes passed until waters were poured. Their was no special featured, no welcome. No introduction or explanation of any kind. Hey guys here’s your menu and wine list and a glass of water. He failed to great us and to even to attempt to articulate at sort of Dialog, that you would expect from any semi formal restaurant. “That’s OK, we got this my love”. Or at least I thought so. With no guidance we gazed down at a quite limited menu. I’m not sure if it was because of Covid still or that’s just the norm. But we essentially had 3 veggie options, 4 apps, 4 pizzas,3 pastas and 4 Entrées to choose from. Or something like this. I’m not far off. But that seems to be it. Believe me when I say that I am not a fan of the huge novels sized menu’s, that some places through on you when you’re seated but this just seemed a bit underwhelming. And there was no medium road or balancer it was entrees or pizza. It’s unfortunate also that the chef is such a proponent of kale. No salad without it. So be ready to graze. Another thing that lacked was a soup option. I’m a huge soup lover and always asked so either, no makey or no selli, either way. We both lose. We did order an appetizer it was the oysters, which, I did enjoy. However they say baked but they’re still raw. So if you, “ no likely”, be sure to tell’em “well done.” I for one liked them. My date not so much. All and all, my recommendation is, you should go. Tour the place. But go for wine or cocktails. Maybe an appetizer. Hopefully the bar tender is a little more professional. In fact the only thing saving this place is the decor. It’s really neat inside....