Denver’s Larimer Square has seen an exodus of restaurants over the years. The Market left in 2020, then Troy Guard’s flagship TAG followed suit in 2021, as did Bistro Vendôme in 2022 and Ted’s Montana Grill in 2023.
Some of those spaces have since filled — the Market is now a vintage store, and TAG is now an NADC Burger chain location — while others, like the former Bistro Vendôme space, remain empty.
This week brought a refresh to one of the street’s most visible vacancies with the arrival of Bonanno Concepts’ Romyo in the former Ted’s Montana Grill at the corner of Larimer and 14th. And after a first visit, the restaurant is already showing the potential to become a new and sorely needed anchor for the once-mighty square.
The newly opened Romyo is bringing some much-needed energy to Denver’s Larimer Square.
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What is Romyo?
Frank Bonanno and his wife, Jacqueline, are among a handful of Denver restaurateurs with the track record needed to take on a space like this one. For them, it’s familiar ground. Osteria Marco has been a mainstay of the street since 2007, and they’ve lived through such past closures as Russell’s Smokehouse and the adjoining Russell’s Speakeasy.
They could have simply imported one of their previous concepts such as the recently closed Dumplin’, or Bones, which shuttered in 2019. Instead, they brought something new. More accurately, Romyo plays out like an evolution.
Romyo is an Italian-Japanese fusion restaurant in the style of “itameshi” — Japan’s take on Italian cuisine — with components for every dish swapped out with ingredients from either country. The arugula salad has the expected mozzarella dressed with a miso-based vinaigrette. The classic Japanese chawanmushi is layered with a Parmesan cheese mousse. The cacio e pepe adds a miso dashi to the pecorino romano. The pork saltimbocca with provolone finds balance in a plum sage sauce.
Romyo’s whipped tofu, aka “I can’t believe it’s not hummus.”
In his 25-plus years in Denver, Bonanno has dabbled promiscuously across cuisines: French at Mizuna, Italian at Luca and Osteria Marco, Asian at Bones and, to a degree, Dumplin’. He has also hosted itameshi dinners at Luca. Combining those influences, techniques, and inspiration seems inevitable for the prolific chef. Johnnie Rodriguez, the executive chef at Romyo, held the same title at Bones and at Dumplin’ (and his father, Jose, makes the restaurant’s dumplings and pastas from scratch). The old neon “Dumplin’” sign now hangs over the bar.
In short it’s not surprising to find a number of dishes from former restaurants on the Romyo menu. The whipped tofu and burrata and kale dumpling hail from Dumplin’. There’s also a wagyu French dip from the former French 75 — only here it features a milk bread baguette with Japanese Kewpie mayo, and the dipping jus is spiked with a healthy glug of soy sauce.
Detractors may dismiss Romyo as a derivative of Bonanno’s past restaurants. But Romyo is far from Dumplin’/Bones 2.0. If anything, the restaurant arrives as a natural culmination of his projects to date.
Pro-tip: eat the Wagyu dumplings in one bite to avoid squirting juice all over the table.
What we ate at Romyo
The expansive Romyo menu is broken into sections named for their Italian and Japanese counterparts. The antipasti/zensai course includes the aforementioned whipped tofu ($12), along with a gnocco fritto made using dumpling dough (rather than the traditional fine “00” Italian flour) and dusted with a Japanese seven-spice seasoning called togarashi. Texturally, it offers a hummus mouthfeel that masks its identity as tofu. A hint of spice and a layering of pickled peperoncini round it out into a lovely starter.
We skipped the spedini/kushiyaki skewer course (though the chicken thighs ($18) looked tempting) and moved into the fritto/ageru course for a bowl of crispy brussels sprouts ($15). You have had crispy brussels sprouts at other restaurants, probably overcooked beyond recognition and layered with a sweet or salty sauce. Not at Romyo. These are baked crisp to caramelized perfection, retain all their sprouty flavor, and arrive laced with a balanced mix of sudachi juice and Pecorino Romano. Hard not to eat the whole bowl.
These aren’t your typical, overcooked Brussels sprouts.
While the menu has a long list of sushi rolls and crudo/sashimi, we had to opt for the dumplings, specifically the Wagyu black truffle ($18) laced with Italian cheese. It’s served very hot. Steady yourself and eat it in one bite. The juiciness inside is not unlike a soup dumpling and can easily squirt liquid all over the table (or yourself) if bitten cautiously in half.
Then it was on to the pastas. There are nine to choose from, every one of which screamed for attention. We opted for the arugula tagliatelle ($24) which featured an uni butter sauce and shaved black truffles. Wow. When we first tried this dish during a test dinner weeks ago, it needed work on balance and seasoning. The kitchen team clearly worked out the kinks. The dish now leans the briny, umami uni flavor of the sea urchin against the heap of shaved black truffles, which bring a crucial earthiness to the dish.
The pastas at Romyo are many and varied, but still pay homage to the classics, like this buckwheat mafaldine with Wagyu bolognese.
While the buckwheat flour mafaldine ($38) with Wagyu bolognese looks like a nod to the Japanese soba noodle, buckwheat pasta is actually also quite common in Italy. Perfectly al dente, the ruffled edges of the long, thick pasta capture the sauce, and in a portion that doesn’t overwhelm the meal.
To finish, miso grilled Chilean sea bass ($49) was a popular choice for most of the diners that night based on the dishes coming out of the kitchen. We opted for the roasted Hokkaido scallops ($39) cooked scampi style in a fusion (of course) mix of garlic and ginger aglio e olio. Scallops are a delicate ingredient, easy to mishandle. Romyo’s cooks passed that test.
Arugula tagliatelle in an uni butter and a LOT of shaved black truffles at Romyo
The vibe at Romyo
Designing a space to convey both Italian and Japanese aesthetics is a challenge. Romyo meets it by essentially doing neither. Instead, the space places diners in a sort of travel limbo between the two countries, as if you were taking a train from one to the other. (Yes, you can’t actually take a train between Japan and Italy, but just roll with it).
The booths that line the walls resemble train cars, complete with a video screen “window” streaming moving landscape views — one for the Japanese countryside, another for small towns in Italy. The “terminal bar” recalls a bars from an old-school train stations, where diners can also sit and watch the open kitchen at work.
Each booth at Romyo is designed like a train car, window “view” included.
But to call Romyo a train-themed restaurant would be unfair. It’s more of an inspiration than an overt motif in a room with many subtle blends of Italian and Japanese sensibilities. The bar tile, for instance, is a porcelain made by ceramicists in Italy in partnership with a Japanese ceramic factory in Osaka.
Overall the space is fun, buzzy, relaxed. And it brings a welcome level of excitement to Larimer Square. Combined with a menu that boasts an innovative combination of flavors and ingredients — with far too many intriguing items to sample in one sitting — it all begs a return visit, and perhaps another. That is exactly the kind of restaurant that Denver, and Larimer Square particularly, needs more of.
Romyo is located at 1401 Larimer St. and is open from 3 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 3 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit romyodenver.com.
