Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems).
A pizza shop that’s been slinging pies for just over 20 years wouldn’t, in most cases, be considered historic. But as fast as downtown Denver changes these days, Proto’s Pizzeria Napoletana looks like a landmark.
Proto’s red-brick building at the corner of 15th and Platte streets, which came to life around the turn of the (last) century, helps provide a distinguished aura. So does the nearby My Brother’s Bar, which has been serving booze since 1873, before Colorado was even a state.
But look south, or travel northeast on Platte, and you’ll see layers of new construction anchored by the upscale, high-density Central Platte Valley, just across the South Platte River. It’s no stretch to say that someone who only visits downtown every few years would get lost there.
Proto’s, founded in Longmont in 1999 by Boston transplant Pam Proto, has held down its Platte Street location since 2001. While the business counts a half dozen locations now, the Denver version is where my wife, sister and I used to confab before a night out, or bring family during visits from Ohio. The wood-fired pies, pillowy panini, peppery arugula and showers of crushed red chile flakes draw me back, as I was reminded on a sunny afternoon last week.
There have been a few peaks and valleys, but the overall consistency there reminds me of also-dearly departed names such as The Med in Boulder, and Benny’s Restaurant & Cantina in Denver. In other words: family friendly spots with decent (if not deep) wine and beer lists, and a flair for special occasions and big groups. Proto’s is a bit more modest than those, with a high-ceilinged but cozy interior and south-facing patio that offers excellent people-watching.
The spicy, specialty pie known as The Atomica has always been my favorite, with its raw garlic, Italian sausage, gooey mozzarella and liberal amounts of crushed red pepper. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar are always within reach, and pretty much everything benefits from a dredging.
The menu, which is mercifully focused and unchanging, sports prices that may seem unusually low: fantastic salads for $6-$7, small pies for $6-$10, and bigger ones that hold lots of occasionally weird toppings (sauerkraut? OK.). The small staff busts their butts to get everything done, and as with anywhere, your patience is appreciated.
Like other, older pizza joints in town — Enzo’s End Pizzeria and The Walnut Room, for instance — Proto’s has retained a sincere, pizza-focused personality in a town of ever-shifting transplants and one-size-fits-all bars. My wife goes for the Friday-night clam pizza specials, my kids love the heavy glass decanters of Coca-Cola, and I’m all about the ultra-fresh panini appetizer ($3.75), which arrives hot and ballooning from the inside. And the pizza crust? Thin, charred, crispy and utterly irresistible, even when you’re feeling full.
Bars, restaurants, the massive REI flagship store, and Confluence Park are all within a stone’s throw, making it worth the effort to find parking. A few doors down from Proto’s, there’s fancy tea and ice cream and outdoor recreation rentals and bike paths and, yes, the sparkling South Platte River. Regardless of where, or how much, you want to roam, Proto’s is a wonderful home base.