Ristorante del Lago – Fabulous Italian Food at The Broadmoor (That’s Affordable!)

My husband and I had been dying to visit the newest restaurant at The Broadmoor (in Colorado Springs,) Ristorante del Lago, so for our anniversary last week, we went. When you hear The Broadmoor, a lot of us, who are on budgets, might think, “out of our budget,” but we had one of the most enjoyable evenings and fabulous dining experiences for less than we’ve spent at chain restaurants. It was seriously one of the best evenings we’ve had. You can totally enjoy the evening for $100. If $100 is out of your budget, you can definitely get the full experience by ordering less courses, or just stop in for a drink and appetizer. If you’re not on a limited budget, well, there are a lot of choices of the best foods we’ve personally tasted for you to sample.

Just pulling up to The Broadmoor is exciting for me! The Broadmoor is the longest-running consecutive winner of both the AAA Five-Diamond and Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star awards. People visit from all over the world so if you live in the area, you really should check it out. And if you have future vacation plans to be in Colorado Springs, I highly recommend you stop by.

RISTORANTE AND BAR DEL LAGO…

Inspired by the finest culinary regions of Italy, Ristorante del Lago offers a unique and authentic Italian dining experience. It features unique recipes gathered from every great culinary region of Italy. Designed by internationally renowned architect, Adam D. Tihany, it feels like you’re visiting a luxurious villa at Lake Como. The design incorporates exposed wood beams, terra-cotta tile, an open, bustling kitchen, custom walnut millwork, leather banquettes, a communal dining table, and an indoor/outdoor fireplace…all to create an inviting ambiance.

Even the ceiling of the porte cochere when you’re pulling up to the entrance of the hotel, looks like a piece of art!

And did I mention the lake views? (Ristorante del Lago means “Restaurant of the Lake.”)

Before dining we had a drink on the patio at Bar del Lago, which offers an extensive list of wines, specialty drinks, and non-alcoholic choices. We tried the house wine, Bar del Lago Vino (Rosso and Blanco) for $8 each, which we both enjoyed.

The attire is “Resort casual attire for breakfast. Smart resort casual attire for dinner, dressy shorts or denim is permissible; please no shorts, pool attire, athletic wear or hats.” But feel free to get “dressy” like we did. I enjoy pulling out a little black dress and making the effort to dress up whenever we visit The Broadmoor because for me, it just adds to the feeling of “special occasion.”

THE RISTORANTE (RESTAURANT) –

Breakfast and dinner is available, and believe me, we will be going back to sample the breakfast dishes!

In the morning, there are a variety of breakfast options from frittatas and pancakes, to a decidedly European breakfast buffet. (The brunch is $24 per person and includes juice, coffee and tea.)

Dinner offers fragrant wood fired pizzas, a selection of meats off the rotisserie, and pasta made fresh in-house. The aging room also boasts authentic salumi and formaggio (cured meats and cheeses,) imported straight from Italy. And make sure you save room for the classic Italian desserts that are wheeled by on their Sambonet dessert trolley which includes tiramisu, cannoli, and homemade gelato.

The menu reads, “We encourage you to begin your meal with a selection of antipasti to share at the table. We then recommend 2 to 3 courses per guest, as our portions are designed to allow you to sample more variety from our kitchen.” Which means, the portions are on the smaller side. BUT the food is so decadently rich and delicious, the smaller portions fill you up.

WHAT WE SAMPLED…

The complimentary bread and breadsticks were delicious. In fact, the breadsticks were some of the best I’ve ever had…light, buttery, flavorful. (I’m going to try not to gush too much, but everything was just perfect.)

To start off, we ordered the Antipasti Misti ($15,) which is a daily selection of Verdure, Formaggi & Salumi and the Pizza with Tomato Sauce, Basil, Mozzarella ($12). We were in Heaven! The pizza was perfectly cooked and smelled so good. You could definitely taste the wood fire flavor. For a light lunch or snack with a glass of wine, this would be a perfect portion and wouldn’t cost too much.

*We got to taste the Zucchini, Chilies, Basil & Mozzarella pizza too and it was out of this world! I highly recommend this if you like a bit of spiciness and something different.

I ordered one of the Spaghetti options, Cacio & Pepe, (Roman Style Cheese and Pepper $13.) Now I will say, this looks like a very small portion of pasta, not like huge plateful you can get at the Italian restaurant chains, but it is so rich, I couldn’t even finish my dish (on top of the pizza and antipasti we had already split.) Because they use some of the finest ingredients you can find, this simple dish becomes extraordinary. (I had the leftovers for breakfast.) Rich, creamy, melt in your mouth delicious! (We took a picture but it was so blurry, it didn’t do it justice so you’ll just have to go and check it out yourself.)

My husband ordered the Sicilian Fire Roasted Swordfish with Eggplant Argo Dolce ($25). My husband, who has worked in the fine-dining industry for most of his life, and can be very “discerning” said, after one bite that it was perfection. Moist, perfectly cooked, and even though I’m not a huge fan of eggplant, I could have sopped up the sauce with my fingers…but I didn’t.

Sometimes you find a restaurant with excellent food but the service or décor might not be that great. Or you might discover a place where the food is only ok, but the ambiance is so inviting, you continue to go back. I can happily say we not only tasted some of the best food, but the entire evening was perfection with attentive, friendly, and knowledgable staff, the beautifully decorated building itself, the music, and the views. We had 6:15 dinner reservations which allowed us to enjoy not only the scenery, but enabled us to enjoy the beautiful sunset. As the sun went down, we also enjoyed the bagpipe player who makes an evening appearance around the lake nightly. Oh, and did I mention the graceful swans gliding across the lake? If you go, request a table alongside the windows if possible…just makes it that much more magical.

The Broadmoor actually sent Chef de Cuisine Justin Miller and Executive Sous Chef of Restaurants David Patterson to Italy to study before del Lago opened. They were able to work in the kitchen of Violetta, a one-star Michelin restaurant near the town of Calamandrana. There, they worked alongside 84-year old chef/owner Maria Lovisolo. They also visited quality local producers and family owned farms, along with a visit to Bersano Winery, where they were able to taste wines from this 600 acre winery that’s been producing wine for a century. No wonder every single aspect reflected a true spirit of Italy!

Even though we rarely order dessert, we just couldn’t end the evening without trying a few out. Again, if you’re on a tight budget but want the experience, a sample of desserts with a glass of wine or coffee, is an affordable route to go. But I bet you’ll be back to try out the other foods.

We chose the Tiramisu Clasico, espresso soaked lady fingers with mascarpone cream $7, and the Torta Limonde Di Caprino, lemon bars with brown butter crust, goat cheese cream, and pine nuts $7.) How many times can I say heaven? It was heaven!

Again, our pictures don’t do justice, but we didn’t bring our good camera (and we were having such a good night, we started eating our desserts before we took the pictures!)

Ristorante del Lago is located at One Lake Terrace, on the first floor of Broadmoor West.

Breakfast Hours: Monday thru Saturday 7 AM to 11 AM and Sundays from 7 AM to 11:30 AM

Dinner Hours: 5:30 PM to 9:so PM and closed on Sundays

The price range is $16 – $36 and reservations are highly recommended 719-577-5733

An experience, practically in our backyard (if you live in the area,) that combines architectural expertise, authentic regional Italian Cuisine, Italian wines and cocktails and an attentive staff…it was like a magical evening in Tuscany.

In closing, I want to give a shout out to Sommeliers, Michael Buckelew (Bucky,) and Eric Ewers, who were working that evening. They can and will answer any and every question you might have about wine. And if you’re on a budget, have a certain price-range you need to stick with, believe me, they will help you find the perfect fit for you. (Translation-no snobbiness here.) A personal thanks to Allison Scott who treated us to dessert and the perfect bottle of wine, Sessantan Old Vines, Primitivo Di Manduria, vintage 2010, which helped make the evening even more special.

A truly perfect evening in every single way. And right here in Colorado Springs.

For more information about The Broadmoor, Ristorante del Lago, or any of the other restaurants…

http://www.broadmoor.com/