Among all the flashy restaurants , one in Stapleton could have flown under your radar. Della Radice, a European-style bar and restaurant with a specialty foods shop, starts serving small plates and old world wines on Friday at 2955 Ulster St.
Located a stone’s throw from buzzy dinner spots Annette, Cattivella and Concourse, Della Radice will offer something slightly different for the neighborhood: specifically, a place to have a light dinner, start the night snacking or end it with a cocktail or glass of wine.
Della Radice is located in the spot previously occupied by the Bistro at Stapleton, which closed in 2017. Chef and owner Cristino Griego — who had helped open the Bistro five years ago — envisioned a community gathering place for the new business. “I just want to bring it back to life,” he said.
New life for the 40-seat Della Radice (translation: “of the root” in Italian) means a few things to its chef. First is the food, which will include around five dishes each mostly from Europe, starting in France, Spain and Italy, where Griego’s father’s family is from and where he has lived and worked.
Things like patatas bravas and brie en croute make appearances now, but future recipes could come from Northern Africa or even Mexico, where Griego’s mother’s side is from. “Everybody has their small plates,” he said.
The bar will be pouring cocktails such as the Serendipiti (Calvados, apple, Champagne and mint) and Agua de Valencia (gin, vodka, Cava and orange juice), as well as half or full glasses and, for the most part, affordable ($25-$35) bottles of wine.
A “bodega-style” shop will sell charcuterie made in-house, plus imported pastas and sauces, mousses and spreads, olives and tinned fish. From behind the counter, Griego also plans to host cooking and wine classes each week. He previously taught at Denver’s downtown culinary arts school Cook Street.
While the dining room here feels far removed from Denver’s bigger budget debuts, around the restaurant and all over the menu are little personal touches.
Presiding over the space is a framed poster of Dario Cecchini, the butcher of Panzano, which reminds Griego of his time cooking in Chianti. A Tuscan ribollita made with leftover bread, cannellini beans and kale was his son’s favorite dish while they lived overseas. It’s on the menu here.
In Della Radice’s kitchen, the chefs are some of Griego’s former Cook Street students. The difference now, coming back to Stapleton to resurrect the former bistro, he said, is mostly “knowing that itap mine.”
“Everything in here we’ve done with our own hands.”
Della Radice opens at 3 p.m. Friday, March 15. Find menus and more information online, .