Pantaleone's — Restaurant in Denver

The myth, the legend, the beast.

I've been in Denver nearly all my life and finally got to meet Pete. He is a prideful, opinionated man, who's been around at this restaurant for about four decades.

I mentioned seeing him on television and he immediately cut me off, denouncing Ramsay. And yet both his website and business cards mention how his restaurant was influenced by that Michelin Star chef.

To be fair - Ramsay was pretty harsh on Pete, and 66 of 82 restaurants on Kitchen Nightmares have vanished.

Whatever the case, the pizza was decent. The best? I don't know. I'm pretty snobby with my preference on fancy, wood-fired pizzas that are served in small portions at dumb prices, these days.

If I were still a 90s kid where I could munch on cold slices while playing playing my N64, this would be a God-tier pizza. The sauce is dark, thick, and slightly sweet. The crust is about as good as it gets for an electric oven. The toppings are of decent quality. If I downed a 32 oz. portion of Hi-C, laden with corn syrup, and ate this pizza with it, I'd feel like a kid again.

If I were still a 90s kid, I'd listen to all of Pete's stories while not really paying attention to any of it. I'd be too busy pouring an entire shaker of black pepper into a cup of soda and daring my brother to drink it.

Maybe these days it's not really my preferred style of pizza, but there was a level of nostalgia that couldn't be ignored. I've been in Denver for over thirty years and never been to the place until today. And yet.. it somehow felt like I've known and been to the place my entire life.

I'm not sure if I'll be back to get this pizza again - but I'm glad, at the very least, that I got to meet a guy who's been around for a long while.

Pete, you're a riot. Don't change a thing...

We had seen this restaurant on Kitchen Nightmares in the past, so we decided to finally try it out and got a few pizzas for takeout. We were a bit disappointed to see that there was no longer a dine-in option when we placed our order online. However, it became pretty obvious why that was the case once I stepped inside. The restaurant has definitely changed its layout from when it aired on TV to be similar to many other pizza places where it's mostly just the kitchen and counter and a small seating area for people to wait for their pizzas.

As I walked in, the owner Pete was standing in the kitchen, and it was actually exciting to see him in person! He was super friendly as well! I was talking to my wife about the bakery next door, and he started talking about how they're a great place and was extremely supportive of them. He went over with us and introduced us to the owner of the bakery, chatted briefly, and then went back to his restaurant. Next time, I'll have to remember to grab a Napoleon for him

But back to the food, I really liked that he kept the pizzas near the oven so they would stay warm. The pizzas were a pretty good size even though they are called "small" on the menu. My wife got the Zesty Aloha and she ate half of it before we had even gotten home. My brother got the Roma and did the same thing. I was unfortunately driving, but I at least got a few bites in and loved it! I was able to eat my Carnivore pizza once I got home. The pizza sauce is great, the dough was perfectly cooked, and the toppings were plentiful and definitely quality! In fact, my wife told me I had to leave a review after seeing how big and how many toppings were...

My biggest complaint is that Pete is charging way too much for the quality of his food. It cost me $45 for one large pepperoni pizza and a linguini and clam pasta dish.

Pete's still using canned clam, and he's charging you $20 for it! The dish was swimming in oil and excess water, and overall had very little taste. Though you can't see it very well in the picture, there was almost no white sauce to go along with all the pasta. Stay away from the pasta!

The pizza I had wasn't bad, but it wasn't spectacular; especially when considering value. Believe all the other reviews saying how floury the dough is. I had raw flour all over my hands while trying to eat this pizza. It completely takes over any flavor the pizza could've had. I paid $18 for the large pepperoni pizza. In all honesty, it was just a basic pizza and completely forgettable. The fact that I can get THREE Little Caesar's pepperoni pizzas, arguably with similar or even better taste, for the same exact price of $18 just makes me feel like Pete ripped me off.

Personally, I'll never...