Eats & Beats: Denver’s Bar Red is incognito Italian cool
Bar Red, across Colfax from the City and County Building and the Denver Mint is one of those hidden, unassuming locations, but they squeeze so much cool energy into that historic space - an upscale bar with a downscale urban vibe. The Morning Set’s Abi Clark and Steve Chavis sat down at the bar with owner Zach Young and chef Luke McCoy to taste some handmade fried raviolis with a four-goat cheese filling and marinara sauce. The courses kept getting better. Handmade gnocchi was next, served with a pesto cream sauce. The Shrimp Diablo with pappardelle pasta had a surprise underworld kick, thanks to their house made jalapeño sauce. A thin slice of their pizza, and we were done - sated and inspired.
There’s no door on the kitchen space, says Young. Chef Luke has to make do. “You know he's making everything because sometimes you can hear him; it sounds like a workshop back there.”
Pro tips when you visit Bar Red:
- Ask about their monthly six-course wine and dinner tasting events. (Chef Luke: “(Zach) lets me do whatever I want. Sometimes it's seasonal, whatever it calls for, no limitations. If it needs to come from Egypt, that's where it needs to come from.”)
- Ask to see the basement tunnels used by bootleggers in the 1930s. Legend has it they’re haunted.
“We do exactly what we're good at, rather than trying to fit trends,” said Young, who has generational roots in the restaurant biz. “It’s why people come here and why they come back.”
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