It’s not always that a neighborhood as fussy as Capitol Hill welcomes a new restaurant with the kind of enthusiasm Lala’s Wine Bar + Pizzeria has enjoyed during its few months in operation.
Almost since opening night, the place has been busy. The team works hard to create a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere, and Lala’s has garnered its share of regulars.
It’s not difficult to see why. The place is in a great location (East Seventh Avenue and Logan Street), occupies a beautiful room and has a smart concept: pizza and wine.
Sounds like a winner, and in many ways, Lala’s is. They’ve locked up the local late-night wine crowd (which is prodigious), filling tables until midnight nearly every night. They’ve scored a dedicated lunch clientele. They move plenty of brunch pizzas on weekends.
There is no doubt that Lala’s is a smart, successful operation.
Unfortunately, perhaps because of its popularity, the food at Lala’s is less than perfect. While the room is run with energy and pluck, the kitchen struggles with quality control.
Chief among the kitchen’s woes is Lala’s primary draw: pizza.
I’ve had a half-dozen pizzas at Lala’s over the past four months, and of those only one was well-cooked, with a sturdy crust capable of supporting its toppings.
The rest of the pizzas I’ve been served here, to a one, have been deflatingly soggy. Droopy. Wet.
It’s not that the toppings weren’t well considered; they were. The mushrooms on the funghi pizza were earthy and robust. The red sauce on the margherita just tart and sweet enough. The cured chorizo on the pizza diavolo meaty and piquant, but balanced — not so spicy as to compromise a glass of Erath Pinot Noir from Oregon’s Dundee Hills.
And the combination of marinated artichokes, asiago cheese and prosciutto on the alachofa pizza was smooth, savory, sublime.
If only the sodden crust it sat on didn’t need wringing out.
The most important component of any pizza isn’t what’s on it, it’s the crust itself. Whether Neapolitan or Brooklyn or Chicago-style (or any other style, for that matter), the crust, however thick, should be sturdy, cooked through, never soggy. There’s no reason the cooks at Lala’s shouldn’t nail the crust every time — but they don’t.
In a pizza market as competitive as Denver’s, this is a dangerous error.
Happily, you can make a meal for yourself at Lala’s while avoiding pizzas altogether. The salumi and cheese roster, which changes frequently, is well-rounded and thoughtful. And the Caesar and bistecca salads are filling, well-assembled and, unlike most salads in the area (ahem), dressed lightly, not drowned.
Of course, there is also wine, of which Lala’s has a wide, if not astonishingly creative, selection. About 50 pours by the glass and half-glass means you can sample juices you’re unsure of and take notes for purchase or repeat visits. (And here’s a great feature: For $12, you can “book your own flight” of three half-glasses.)
One thing I’d love to see on the list: more sparklers. Lambrusco, perhaps.
Excellently, Lala’s serves Peroni Italian beer on draft. It may be heresy to say so in this local microbrew world we live in, but sometimes it’s great to have a refreshing old-world lager, and good old Peroni is one of the most refreshing of all.
The folks behind Lala’s clearly know how to run a restaurant. They’ve also been running Govnr’s Park, beautifully, for years.
But until Lala’s get its pizza under control and starts putting forth a consistent crust, I’m sticking to cured meats, salads and booze.
Tucker Shaw: dining@denverpost.com
Lala’s Wine Bar + Pizzeria
Wine, pizza and antipasti. 410 E. Seventh Ave., 303-861-9463, lalaswinebar .com
* 1/2 RATING | (Good/Very Good)
Atmosphere: Busy wine counter and restaurant, open kitchen, large dining area, busily staffed, pleasantly noisy
Service: Hospitable and accomodating, but the drinks take a long time
Wine: Well-written list of 100- plus wine bar standards; a few bargains
Prices: Pizzas around $10, salads and sandwiches the same
Hours: 11 a.m.-midnight seven days
Details: Street parking. Wheelchair accessible. Two happy hours a day
Five visits
Our star system:
****: Exceptional.
***: Great.
**: Very Good.
*: Good.
