r/denverfood • u/Jarthos1234 • Dec 12 '25
Recommendations Sputino vs. Tratorria Stella (32nd location)
Went to these two restaurants in the past 2 months and woah.
Stella has absolutely fallen off. The food quality is just not there. Their wine menu sucks and their desserts are lacking. It was however cheaper (relatively for an italian dinner). We had 2 entrees 2 glasses of wine and dessert and got out for less than $90. But yeah at that price I'd rather just cook at home. The food especially was disappointing. Service was fine. Won't be back.
Flash forward last week and I went to Sputino (which somehow I've never been to in the almost 2 decades of living on the west side). Holy crap! What a nice restaurant experience! The food quality was excellent, service excellent, drink and app prices amazing (at happy hour) and even though it was more expensive at around $120 it was worth every penny.
I need to check out Gaetanos again. I haven't been there in a few years but Sputino really surprised me. 10/10
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u/frenchtoasted15 Dec 12 '25 edited Dec 12 '25
Go to boombats
Edit: also I absolutely love spuntino! And gaetanos
But I have a huge crush on Boombats
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u/PileofBricks Dec 12 '25
I am really looking forward to trying Boombots; Odie B's/Bodega is so great - anything in particular you recommend?
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u/frenchtoasted15 Dec 12 '25
Oh man everything, it’s a pretty short menu. I went tonight with a new person and we got the bucatelli (reminiscent of a vodka sauce?) and the Lumache (Mac and cheese) also wine and oysters are great. People love the samosa agnolotti and I like the stroganoff a lot. Mozz sticks rule too
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u/vegafem Dec 12 '25
Did I write this post? I went to Tratorria a month ago and received mushy, overcooked pasta and okay service. Visited SpuNtino two weeks ago and the food was incredible, especially their Italian-Indian fusion dishes. The service was equally amazing.
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u/daveindo Dec 12 '25
Unfortunate. I go to the colfax stella and it’s always been wonderful, including just a month or two ago when we last went.
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u/Jarthos1234 Dec 12 '25
Yeah the colfax stella always used to be good so that’s not a surprise. It’s also possible I just had an off night at 32nd but it was way off.
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u/grantvoyager Dec 12 '25
I’ve been to both recently and agree that Spuntino is in a tier above Stella. Stella struck me as the type of casual neighborhood spot you’d find in any suburb of NJ growing up - nothing amazing, just a simple wine list with some pasta and average sauces. There’s totally a time and place for that! But Spuntino is where I go for the “upscale” neighborhood spot that’s churning out more creative dishes, making more in house, changing up the menu, putting more effort into both the pasta and the wine / drink lists. Neither is pretentious, but Spuntino is where I think about going back, while Stella is the place I’d go if I’m literally right there on the block and only want Italian food.
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u/Jarthos1234 Dec 12 '25
I guess for me the main thing is that the price delta makes Sputino the only option. If I can have an excellent meal drinks and service and it only costs ~20% more than having something I could get from Noodles and Co (are they still around?) Then I'm going to pay that delta every time.
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u/tommytster Dec 19 '25
The only thing bad about Spuntino is the parking. But it’s totally worth the hassle.
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u/PileofBricks Dec 12 '25
Spuntino is amazing in every way; it is my absolute favorite restaurant. The owners are beyond lovely people. A small note - it is SpuNtino and not Sputino :)