Lake Como, Transposed to Cheyenne
Ristorante Del Lago. "restaurant of the lake". Sits on the shore of Cheyenne Lake at The Broadmoor, and on a summer evening it is the most convincingly European room in Colorado. Designed by Adam D. Tihany, whose portfolio reads like a short-list of the most important hotel restaurants of the past thirty years, the space takes its cues from the villas of Lake Como: warm stone, open kitchen, copper pots, a tiled wood-fired oven, and a terrace that pulls the whole thing outdoors whenever the weather cooperates.
The menu is regional Italian without affectation. House-made pasta every day. Wood-fired pizza from the visible oven, burrata from a rotating Italian cheese program, rotisserie proteins carved at a station in the middle of the room. The aging room displays authentic salumi and formaggio imported from Italy. Not for theatre, but because the kitchen actually uses them. It is the kind of place where the first course is often a plate of prosciutto and mozzarella, and that plate is better than it has any business being in a Rocky Mountain resort.
What to Order
Begin with a board. The salumi program rotates seasonally and is one of the best in the state. The pastas are the heart of the menu. The tagliatelle Bolognese is textbook, the cacio e pepe arrives correctly peppery and correctly glossy, and the pappardelle with short-rib ragù is the dish that most people will remember a week later. The wood-fired pizzas are thin, blistered, and properly seasoned; the margherita is a good test of a kitchen's restraint, and this kitchen passes.
From the rotisserie, the porchetta and the roasted chicken are the headline dishes. The whole branzino, filleted tableside on request, is a convincing argument for letting a kitchen cook fish over fire at altitude. A rare success. Desserts are handled in-house: freshly made cannoli, homemade gelato, and a tiramisù that does not rely on brandy to do the emotional work.
The Atmosphere
The Broadmoor's service standards are the second reason Ristorante Del Lago earns its place on any serious Colorado dining list. Every course arrives at the correct temperature, at the correct moment, served by a team that understands the difference between attentive and intrusive. The wine list is Italian-heavy and intelligently priced for a resort restaurant; the sommelier program is competent; the cocktail list leans toward Campari and Negronis and the lighter Italian amari, which is exactly right.
The terrace in summer is the seat to request. In winter, the stone-and-wood interior is warm enough to feel like the best version of a Piedmont farmhouse. Del Lago is one of four distinct Broadmoor dining experiences, and the one that travels best as an argument. That a resort can serve food with genuine regional character, rather than the generic hotel Italian that most resorts have settled for.