Valente's

12/23/08

Interesting Pizza by Marie A. at InsiderPages

Contributor at Insider Pages

I get takeout from here quite a bit as it is very close to my home. Overall, the food is not bad, but not great either. Valente's provided my first introduction to white pizza, and while I can say it is not my favorite, it is something everyone should try out.

09/23/08

Icky

by MissDollette at Citysearch

I normally would not write a neg review, but this was so bad. My family went there and we had one of the worst services ever. It was an older lady. She forgot our bread and never checked on us, we had to seek her out, she never refilled our drinks/water. The food was terrible too! I got marinara sauce and my husband got the other and we both didn't like it. Would never go there again.

• Pros: Nice atmosphere
• Cons: Service/Food

07/30/08

Great Food!! Great Service!! Personable!!

by mrbanks at Citysearch

Thank you! Walk-in group of 7- took them 5 minutes to set-up.

Very Good!! Service was excellent!!

and Mr Valente stopped by himself to say hello!!

11/13/07

a great local joint!

by shotz914 at Citysearch

We live less than a mile from Valente's but had never visited before due to all the other local italian restaurants around (Gaetanos, Mikey's, Abrusci's, etc.), we are sooo sorry we waited! Instead of dining at the restaurant we decided to get take out and the experience was great. The food was ready when they said it was going to be, was still piping hot when we got home and it was delicious! My boyfriend got the chicken alfredo and I had the lasagna. My only wish was for a little more red sauce with the lasagna, hence the 4 stars instead of 5. The next morning we got a phone call from Ray Valente asking how our experience was, what a nice touch! To answer his question, I replied, "it was fantastic".

• Pros: drive up window, great prices, family owned
• Cons: not enough sauce with the lasagna

08/20/07

Second visit even better

by xlsutter at Citysearch

This is the second time I have visited the restaurant and it was even better. We enjoyed the Frank Sinatra entertainment and a great meal with above average service........friendly and efficient. We had an "old fashioned" pizza...........no sauce, garlic oil, cheese, fresh tomatoes and Italian sausage. We also had a combination dinner, ravioli, spaghetti and lasagne. One couple had a special dinner for two several courses and a bottle of wine for $44.00 celebrating there 44 years in business. This is a local old time place not to miss in Denver.

• Pros: homemade pasta

08/13/07

Worst food ever!

by a_hinton at Citysearch

My husband and I drove past this restaurant and decided to try it since it looked interesting from the outside. The food tasted horrible. The pasta was way overcooked and the sauce tasted like they opened a can of tomato sauce. There was no flavor at all in the sauce. There was no seasoning. It was the worst Italian food I have every had. The service was ok. The environment was not desirable.

• Pros: convience to street
• Cons: food, ambience

07/28/07

Outstanding food & service, with down-to-earth atmosphere!

by thegraphite at Citysearch

My wife and I have been twice, and it's definitely one of our favorites in the whole Denver metro area. Cute, kitschy atmosphere downstairs and a darker, slightly more romantic area upstairs. The service was impeccable both times, and our waiter had an absolutely fantastic knowledge of wines. He clearly had many years of experience as a server, and was fun yet thoroughly professional. (We will request him always in the future, although his name escapes me at this moment. Tall, husky, black hair and (ha) big eye brows.)

As for the food, outstanding! Especially the pasta! I have not found better Italian food anywhere else in Denver. Equal, perhaps, but not better. The only reason I didn't give Valente's 5 stars was because of the down-to-earth atmosphere (and we personally like it, but we wanted to be fair to other restaurant goers - this place isn't a fancy-looking restaurant.) We were impressed enough to even take my father-in-law the very first time I met him.

Large portions, very reasonable prices, great specials, and as others have mentioned, $10 off wine on some days of the week! I *never* buy a bottle of wine at restaurants, but I did here. Call ahead and ask them what they have going in the coming month.

• Pros: Pasta, great wine recommendations, outstanding experienced server
• Cons: Can't think of one!

11/12/06

Carry out or dine in, the food can't be beat!

by italian_stallion80 at Citysearch

Living fairly close to Valente's, we have grown attached to the unique feature of a drive-up window. This is one of the many highlights of this restaurant. The drive-up specials are some of the best that I have ever seen, especially for their pizza and family specials. I can't think of another place that offers buy 1 get one free on large pizzas all the times. They also have family specials which include pizza, home-made rigatoni, chicken and salad for an unbeatable price. There are many other Italian joints in the area, but none of them have pizza that compares to Valente's. In one word...perfection! If you have more time, we highly recommend venturing inside the restaurant. You will more than likely be greeted by Ray Valente himself. The dine-in food is amazing as well. I recommend the Cavatelli, a specialty potato pasta that rivals gnochi only better! They have a great selection of affordable wines to accompany your meal and you can get in an out of there with a full belly without spending half what you'd spend at most other restaurants. If you are looking for authentic, home-made italian food, this is the place.

• Pros: Great food, low prices, family owned

Family-owned and -operated eatery proffers typical Old-World favorites with a side of friendly service.

by Contributor at Citysearch

In Short
Since 1964, this cozy little spot has been serving up typical Italian fare, such as marinated roast beef, burritos, sausage calzones and pizza. Service is chatty, and owner Ray Valente Jr. often drops in to talk with customers. To charm afternoon martini tipplers, there's Sinatra, Bennett and Elvis on the jukebox. Hungry customers might try the gondola--a giant calzone stuffed with meat and veggies, dripping with cheese.

08/19/06

Terrrible, terrible...and it gets worse

by london_bridge at Citysearch

Walking into this restaurant we were optimistic, but once seated upstairs in the tacky christmas-like-lit room it was downhill from there. The "entertainment" for the night consisted of a super-slick lounge singer who made it difficult for you to enjoy your company. The waitress was rude and sarcastic when I asked about the soups and I later found a piece of blue plastic in my side salad. There was a shortage of salmon for my friends salad, but instead of bringing out the replacement salad she ordered, she was given something totally different. When she told the waitress about the mix up she offered my friend a large piece of their chocolate cake to bring home to make up for the problems. It came to be about five inches long and two inches wide...it made up for nothing. And they made her pay for the original salad she ordered, which was more expensive. Overall, the atmosphere, the service, and the food was ridiculously terrrible...I think the best part about the experience was the bread!

02/18/06

Great local place

by neverbirdieone at Citysearch

Friendly restaurant with great authentic food. Not a cookie cutter chain place, pastas and sauces are homemade and plenty of choices on the menu from sandwiches, pizza & pasta plus fresh fish steaks and nightly specials. We have eaten upstairs in the cozy lounge that has entertainment several nights a week. Table clothed and a darker more romantic atmosphere, different from the dowstairs main part of the restaurant which is more family oriented. Service was very good and offered lots of extra info about the restaurant. Our server mentioned the takeout specials that are always available, where you can call head and pick up at there drive up window. Also invited us back Sun.-Tues. when when bottled wines are $10 off.

• Pros: food, entertainment, value