If the Colorado Rockies are playing and you don’t want to watch the game, don’t come to Ernie’s Pizza Bar in north Denver because all the televisions will be tuned to the game and the volume will be on high. Sitting inside, you won’t be able to hear your tablemates.
But if this bothers you, bad on you. You’re in a pizza bar during baseball season. Did you really come for intimate conversation?
Yes, the game will be on at Ernie’s, and the crowded bar will be rapt, cheering on Ubaldo & Co. against the opponent of the day. And once your table’s been served a pitcher of beer, you will join in.
But do not mistake busy, loud Ernie’s Bar & Pizza for one of those glitzy, ridiculous sports bars full of baseball-capped post-adolescents doing chest bumps at the bar between shots of Tuaca. Ernie’s, while full of vigor and action and pep, is indeed a refined operation, considered and well-managed and self-assured. It is a pizza bar for grown-ups.
If the service doesn’t tell you this (it should — although it is very informal, it is polite and efficient), your food will. Sure, the menu says things like “pizza” and “chicken wings,” but these are just words. Ernie’s elevates these basics with excellent ingredients and careful, expert preparation — but without the self-important smugness that so many area pizzerias wallow in these days. Ernie’s doesn’t trumpet its exacting selection of ingredients or its uncommonly good kitchen craftsmanship — it just owns them.
This is what I love most about Ernie’s pizzas: They do not chase the ubiquitous trend of small, fussy, neo-country-urban pizzas that so enrapt the glut of “pizza e vino” bars that Denver currently supports. Ernie’s are classic American East coast pizzas, big, round, thin-crust pies best washed down with beer, not gewürztraminer, amply blanketed with meats and cheese and sauce. Yes, you can get prosciutto if you like, or you can have rock shrimp or gorgonzola or white sauce for that matter, but the atmosphere at Ernie’s prompts the order of old-school toppings. Pepperoni. Sausage. Mushrooms. Mozzarella.
The difference, at Ernie’s, is that while the pizzas look like the pizzas of your youth, they’re made with particularly beautiful ingredients. Mozzarella made in the kitchen. Sausage from Denver’s Polidori Meats. Fresh vegetables.
(Of special note: Fritto misto, the too-often over-gussied bar snack of lightly breaded and fried vegetables — Ernie’s shareable platter was simple, hot, crunchy-soft and flavorful.)
Sean Kelly, whose prowess at the stove is well-known in Denver, is the culinary mastermind behind this incarnation of Ernie’s (the original Ernie’s opened here in 1943; until late last year the building housed 3 Sons restaurant which has since decamped for Arvada), and he understands the community-building strength of people-focused restauranting as well as anyone in our city. His team is also behind the successful Lohi Steakbar on Tejon Street, another operation that’s become a popular touchpoint for its neighborhood.
If there are drawbacks to Ernie’s, they are these: Occasionally the service, as casual as it is, can lapse — it may take a while to get your bill when you’re done with the meal. And while the room is a charming amalgam of mid-to-late-century Denver design (big bar, community table, sprawling patio, Skee-Ball and pool in the corner), some of the tables and banquettes aren’t as comfortable as they could be. And there is, of course, the sound level (you’ve been warned).
Ernie’s is affordable. On a recent visit, a table of four was amply served — two appetizers, one large pizza, two pitchers of beer — for about $65, including tip. That’s less than 20 bucks a head, a remarkable price these days, and it invites a return visit. A party of two would be happy with a salad, shared calzone, and a couple of beers; you can expect to pay a little over $30.
A note on the beer: There are over 30 on draft, plus many in bottles, and there’s always a special or two to be had. Ask.
Ernie’s Bar & Pizza is just the pizza bar for people like me, people who enjoy and appreciate a lively atmopshere, but for whom the night is over when the second pitcher is empty. It is a pizza bar for grown-up people who know from, and care about, getting well-made made food and high-quality brews, for a reasonable price.
What do you think of Ernie’s Bar & Pizza? Hit denverpost.com/restaurants and share.
Ernie’s Bar & Pizza
2915 W. 44th Ave., 303-955-5580; erniesdenver.com
Rating: ***
Atmosphere: Busy, airy, sometimes noisy bar, easygoing and welcoming. Big patio, long community table.
Service: Informal and polite, usually efficient.
Prices:Large pizzas, $17 and up, calzones $10-12, wings, $8.
Wine: Beer! Over 30 on tap.
Hours: Monday-Thursday 3:30-11 p.m.; Friday-Saturday 3:30-11:30 p.m.; Sunday 3:30-10 p.m.
Details: Parking lot. Takeout available. Crowded at peak hours. Pleasant patio. Good for large parties. Great for kids.
Three visits
Our star system:
****: Exceptional
***: Great
**: Very Good
*: Good
