Acquolina Trattoria & Pizzeria

Terribly disappointing, the gratuity was added to the bill without the waiter informing me of such, I felt the waiter was over reaching.
The food was just ok, the fruit &
crème dessert was much too sweet, we could not eat it, we were not offered an alternative dessert and it was not removed from the bill. The chocolate mousse appeared looking similar to 2 scoops of ice cream and had a granular texture, not mousse.
If you are looking for a good dining experience in Aspen, (there are many) don’t go to Acquolina!

Best Italian food I’ve tested !
Great thin crust oven pizza!
Awesome seafood spicy linguine
Definitely authentic and service excellent
Will come again !

The food at Acquolina is consistently excellent. That said, Acquolina, you ought to be ashamed — we were asked THREE times by different servers to have our plates taken, and I clearly asked each and every one of them to wait until our entire party had finished with their food. When did etiquette get kicked out the door?
We have always loved the food but this past experience was totally ridiculous — that, and the fact that the starter (burrata and prosciutto) was $ 48 (and the waiter left that out when stating the specials — when has a appetizer cost twice as much as an entrée?).
New ownership has put off many a local.

This place is simply perfect. the owners and staff are so welcoming, and the food is as good as it gets … it’s real Italian and the quality is perfect. I like so many dishes, but some of my favorites are the Vongole (linquini and clams), bolenese pasta, the squid ink pasta … the desserts, the salads, the pizza, the lamb … this place is the best. It gets a crowd, so make a reservation, or go sit at the bar and be entertained by their fun and knowledgeable bartenders … great food, perfect service, you will love it … and it’s obvious it’s a go to place for locals and tourists and repeat guests … thanks, 5 star, I’d give you more if I could!

While the food may be good, the overall experience was so unwelcoming. As you walk in you are immediately accosted by the coat check attendant who recites a bunch of house rules. Then as we were being seated the host asked if we «understand» the coat check rules. We felt so unwelcome that we got up and left. We went to our favorite place — Meat and Cheese where we were welcomed and treated like valued customers. So glad we left! So many great places to go in Aspen. Cross this one off the list.

Great place great staff perfect atmosphere delicious food. Genuine Italian pizza (try capriciosa) great pasta. Will comeback in a heartbeat

I have to say that this place has some great Italian food. The staff is super friendly and when trying to get a reservation which can be difficult in aspen, they really worked to get us in.
The wine list is extensive with way too many at the super high price range, but we were still able to find a great wine at a reasonable price. They offer great help in
Navigating the list.
The salads and appetizers are tasty and fresh from the salads to the hot antipasto dishes .
Pastas are super and the pizza really tasty as well.
For desserts the usual Italian fare but all were really great!

One of the best Italian restaurants in Aspen by some margin. Great food and great wine selection in this place. The liquor selection and the cocktails were quite good as well. The pizza is just great and it’s the best I’ve had in the valley. The girlfriend had gnocchi and those were excellent as well.
The place has a nice updated décor and the place feels cozy even at the bar and the high tables. The staff has always been nice and knowledgeable about the menu or to make a wine recommendation.
Would recommend and would come back.

Somewhere along the traverse from Italy to Aspen the owners of this fine Italian restaurant lost their culture. While the food was very reminiscent of trips I’ve had to Italy, the overall dining experience was a loss. It seemed all that mattered to the entire team was how fast they can turn the table! We were pressured no less than 6 times during the first 10 minutes to place our entire order while we were catching up and having cocktails. Entrees were served while we were finishing appetizers. Additionally, tables were really close and uncomfortable; although I did enjoy hearing some of the conversation at the next table. I may invite the Fire Marshall their for lunch to get his opinion?
Perhaps the management team should be more blunt and just put timers on every table and charge when the time expires — like a pool parlor but for food. BURP — I have indigestion.
The management team may want to consider rediscovering fine dining in Italy where pace is not most important.

A review worth reading.
Acquolina is a relatively new Italian Restaurant in Aspen, it’s been around approximately 4 years; it is located on Main Street in Aspen. The restaurant has changed names and owners a few times in the past three — four years and has gone through growing pains with several remodels. The original owners hailed from Campo (a well known and popular Italian restaurant in town, one of our favourites for pasta).
The previous owners were both great people, friendly and warm. We always looked forward to seeing them every year.
Last year (Christmas 2014), Acquolina was a great restaurant; good food, friendly and warm management and staff and an overall nice atmosphere.
As a result, my husband and I did not hesitate to book three dinners at Acquolina for our annual Christmas ski holiday (where we have been coming [between the two of us] for 25 years) so we made advanced dinner reservations (30 days in advance) of our arrival.
This year (December 2015) Acquolina has a new owner, who we encountered on our third day in town when, after a fast and hard (but fun) day of skiing we headed over to Acquolina for dinner. We were in a great mood and were looking forward all day to sharing an expensive bottle of wine with a hot bowl of pasta.
However, much to our surprise, when we arrived, we were greeted by a hostile strident female hostess (the «new owner»); who promptly informed us (in a miserable & provocative manner) that because we were «late» (8 minutes late that is) we had to order immediately and leave quickly. It’s worth noting that we were actually only 4 minutes late since we spent 4 minutes at the coat check. We were stunned at how cold and off putting the new owner was; and she of course let us know quickly that she was «THE owner».
Since we were hungry and tired we decided to ignore this unpleasant woman and proceed with dinner despite our desire to walk out; however, the new owner then escorted us to the BAR where she expected us to eat dinner (after skiing all day) seated on high bar stools and high bar tables.
When we informed the new owner that we were not interested in sitting in the bar, she refused to seat us at a regular table (as opposed to bar stools and high tops) because «only a party of four can sit at a table» in the dining room.
Again, it’s worth noting that it was 5:38 PM and the restaurant had one table filled and was otherwise empty.
In any event, it didn’t matter to her that we had been dining at Acquolina since it opened, that we always sat at a «table» «for two» in the restaurant (not bar); that the restaurant was empty at 5:34 PM when we arrived; or that we had three more dinners booked at the restaurant. In fact, she never changed her hostile and miserable attitude.
So, as any self respecting reasonable person would do, we left as quickly as we arrived. We did this, despite being tired and hungry and knowing that we might not be able to find another restaurant in town that night during high season without a reservation (hence the need to reserve dinner reservations in Aspen 30 days in advance) but we decided we would rather not eat then be treated so badly by a restaurant.
I will add that we ended up drinking Margaritas and eating delicious Mexican food at Su Casa where the front guys (Dustin and John) are always ready to greet guests in a warm and friendly manner.
Su Casa, is a hip, popular and fun Mexican restaurant in Aspen with a great ambiance and atmosphere that has a modern upscale feeling to it as a result of the use of their bright colours and cool interior design. It has an instantly warm and satisfying feel when you walk in the doors. It is located on a lower level down a set of stairs off of Hyman Avenue in the Center of town. So the evening ended well!
We have no intention of returning to Acquolina until they change the management or ownership. The food is just not that good to treat guests like that.
Since that incident, we have heard all over town that the new owner (this same miserable woman) appears to treat everyone the same way. So, we highly suggest you forgo eating at Acquolina and instead (if you are looking for Italian food) try Campo (who always have delicious pasta and they have front man Dave who is great) or the new restaurant in town, Nello. Nello’s New York restaurant is excellent; a bit too expensive but the food is delicious. We are headed to Nello this week to see how the food is. Good luck and Merry Christmas.

Soooo many vegetarian options! I really just have to put that out there. I was glad to find a place where my vegetarian parents weren’t relegated to eating the 2 options on the menu. Also, the portions are ridiculously large. I ate what I could of my mushroom risotto and easily have 2 lunches. Between the four of us, we ordered 1 appetizer, 2 salads, and 4 entrees — you wouldn’t think that would be too much food but it really was. We did the svogliature to start — really just a bunch of fried stuff. Can’t go wrong. Then the mista and spinaci salads — our spinach salad came with a mushroom port reduction which was truly fabulous. They were really large portions and they did not skimp on the fixings. So many candied nuts and apples and cheese. Then we did the penne with eggplant, the bosco risotto, capellini with garlic sauce and cherry tomatoes, and mushroom linguine. All of them were really really good. I think the mushroom linguine was slightly underseasoned but overall, still yummy.
The liquor list is comprehensive. Soooooo many spirits. The cocktails are all $ 16+ so definitely pricey but they don’t skimp on the alcohol so you may only need one. They also have a decently sized by-​the-​glass wine list ranging from $ 10−20ish. Overall, if I’m ever in Aspen again, I’m sure I’ll come back here.

What an absolutely wonderful lunch experience we had at Acquolina. We already know that we want to go back before our travels back home. We started off with the most delicious butternut squash soup, which was perfectly warm, tasty, and richly creamy without the cream. For the entrée’s, I split the mushroom risotto with truffle oil plate but swapped the rice for pasta and the pear pizza. Both items were exquisite in flavors. I was able to try the fettuccine with salmon and that was probably my favorite of everything. The homemade pasta can be tasted a mile away and that’s something I appreciate very, very much. Lastly, the tiramisu might be the best I’ve ever tasted. It was amazing.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the 23 year old Pappy whiskey that we all tasted. Acquolina is one of the immensely few places that even carries it at all. It is an extremely rare whiskey priced at $ 95 per shot. Although I’m no whiskey enthusiast, I had to try it. The word on the street is that there’s better whiskey out there but I can’t back that up.
Overall, run, run, run, to Acquolina!

Had a pretty good meal here.
— calamari was very good. Not too greasy
— had some pasta and Italian sausage app. Was very good
— pizza was light. Very good
— chicken Caesar was average

I don’t leave many reviews, but I am happy to review Aqualina and give it a solid 4 stars. We came for an early dinner, my daughter (4 yo) had the pizza and it was fantastic, to quote her the cheese was «yummy’ ;). My wife had the spaghetti carbonara and it was GREAT. Now what you are waiting for… My lasagna… I am a lasagna afficianado… If I owned a restaurant I’d have at least 18 dif’t kinds of lasagna on the menu… Acqualina’s was possibly THE BEST lasagna I’ve ever had… Definitely recommend this place, but it’s apparently tough to get a rez, especially in season.

Their service was a little lacking, but their pizza and appetizers were delicious. I would definitely go back for the food.

Really tasty food! Great portions and nice atmosphere. Its extremely busy so try to make a reservation. The only thing is i personally like quieter restaurants, and it was quite noisy with music and conversation, but that’s just a preference.
Im vegan and the cappelini was really delicious! Light but filling.
Highly recommend.

I enjoyed my dinner here. Went with a large group and the only problem was the too-​small table… we ordered too much! The buffalo mozzarella/​prosciutto appetizer is excellent. I found the burratta not as good as I’ve had it at other places. My group loved the cheese/​pesto pizza. I loved my bucatini with spicy sauce. My friend’s truffle/​marscapone pasta was delicious. The risotto was popula at my table as well. They will do half orders of the pastas so you can hate yourself less after you fill up on starters. The wine list is probably too long but our server recommended us a great bottle.

I’ll say this once because I mean it. This is definitely one of the best menus, kitchens & dining rooms in Aspen CO.
In a town with a lot of overrated places that charge exorbitant prices this is a place you’ll get more than you expect and even a Big Bang for your buck.
The service is excellent.
Kid friendly.

Extensive menu, food is alright… Overpriced, cashing in on Aspen hype. Nothing personal but experience didn’t wow me to go back.

As a former restaurateur… I know that when the owner of the restaurant is expediting dishes en route to the dining room throughout our dining experience, he’s got his eye on the prize and genuine pride in the food… and that this place is going to be awesome!
Casual, yummy food with classic yet simple preparation in Aspen! They focus on the quality of the ingredients, which is exactly how I cook! Great ingredients — great meals! Why over-​complicate things?
With over 92 items on the menu… there is something for everyone. There are salads, pizza, pasta, sides, mains… everything from seared lamb to sauteed peas or brussel sprouts to burrata.
We ordered the Arugula salad… arugula, grilled artichoke, grana padano… so few simple ingredients, and with delightful effects! The simple olive oil tossed with my stemmed arugula was exactly what I wanted after my trail run. [BONUS POINTS for removing the stems from the arugula! How many places do not do this!!] We also had a tri colore «Colorata» salad with arugula, radicchio, Belgium endive, shaved grana & balsamic… it was perfect.
I chose to have a small plate as my main: «Bacio» is thinly sliced and grilled Colorado lamb, with shaved pecorino & white truffle oil. It was heaven and prepared rare per my request with just the right amount of sear. Heavenly. It was a good size for a small plate.
My companion chose the lasagna. The bechamel was not too cloying or heavy… just right for the terrific pasta but the only suggestion he had was that the beef & veal ragu + mushrooms were out of proportion to the dish (not enough of them).
There are fabulous salumeria (jamon, prosciutto) on display in the restaurant, along with gorgeous glass vessels of fruit (guava, pears, lychee) soaking in vodka to complement the very comprehensive bar. It was just fun to look around at the buzz and atmosphere.
The only downside… there are Grissini bread sticks at the table… but I’ll admit that even my size 0 appetite yearned for warm bread instead… but they do offer focaccia as an appetizer for $ 7.
Overall, I thought it was a terrific value for the quality of the food. I’ll be back for sure!