Cafe Jordano

This week I tried a locally famous restaurant, Cafe Jordano, with a friend of mine (11068 W Jewell Ave, Lakewood, 80232 - (303) 988-6863 - NO RESERVATIONS). Cafe Jordano is famous in the Lakewood, CO, area for home-style Italian food.

True to its reputation, when we arrived on a Thursday at 7:30 PM, every seat was filled and there was a modest wait of about 20 minutes. When we were seated, we had no problem selecting the mussels appetizer, the chicken parm, and Mark's Special, a butterfly pasta with mushrooms. I had a house Chianti and E had a couple of Coronas.

The mussels came first, accompanied by some crostini-style toast. The mussels and the garlic broth they were in were excellent... but the toast needed some work. If it weren't for the copious amount of broth with the mussels, the toast may have gone uneaten.

Mark's Special looked good and has been ordered many times before by my friend. I don't do 'shrooms so I didn't try it. The chicken parm was good, but not necessarily great. I'd say the marinara sauce could be a bit spicier and the chicken a bit less dry. Both plates were accompanied by small bowls of spaghetti which were unremarkable.

The ambiance of the place is decent... sconces and uplighting on the walls, pizza-place style tables and booths. Perhaps one of the best things about Cafe Jordano is the energy of the people who visit it. Families, couples... it seemed like a popular first- and even blind-date location.

I'd say if you happen to be in the Lakewood area, check it out. Nothing about the experience was bad. However, as one CitySearch reviewer said, if you live in Lakewood and think that Cafe Jordano's is fantastic because other Italian restaurants are too far away: "Drive, people, drive!"