ABOUT US
Spuntino was opened in early 2011 as a daytime cafe and gelato shop. At a time when the business was already taking steps towards becoming the quirky, chef-driven space that it is now, the then-owners took a chance on a young married couple and hired them to help run their restaurant. Chef Cindhura Reddy and GM Elliot Strathmann made the leap of faith to bet on their passions and on their wonderful tight-knit staff and bought Spuntino in the fall of 2014. These following years, the restaurant has slowly and steadily built a dedicated following of loyal diners and has gained increasing local and national recognition for its unique marriage of reverence for tradition and passion-driven innovation. Drawing from age-old scratch-minded Italian tradition and their own heritage and travels, Spuntino is and has long been a candid expression of the people behind it.
Accolades
Spuntino has been recognized and written about by numerous publications and journals over the years, including making many Westword Best Of lists including “Best Italian” “Best Restaurant on 32nd Ave” and “Best Wine List”, was included on 5280 Magazine’s 25 Top Restaurants list in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023 and was awarded 3 1/2 out of 4 stars by the Denver Post in the summer of 2019 — the best rating given in years. In the spring of 2020 both Chef Cindhura Reddy and Chef di Cuisine Austin Nickel were nominated as semi-finalists for James Beard Foundation awards and in March, 2021 Spuntino was one of 10 national restaurants honored with the chance for cooking for the James Beard Foundation’s ‘Taste America’ event. In March of 2022, Spuntino was nominated as a semi-finalist for the Foundation’s national award for Outstanding Hospitality and in 2023, Chef Reddy was again a semi-finalist for the Best Chef award in the Mountains region. Spuntino has been named to Wine Enthusiast’s 50 Best Restaurants in both 2021 & 2022.
COVID-19 Response
During the mandatory dine-in shut down, as Spuntino pivoted to focus exclusively on take out dining and neighborhood delivery, we committed ourselves completely to running a safe, healthy, and forward looking business with the utmost care for our staff and our diners. We maintained our entire full-time staff (no lay-offs whatsoever) with no cuts to our full health benefits program, with expanded sick pay, and flexible reduced schedules while protecting their income. We have followed and continue to follow every proactive step in cleanliness and sanitation and are fully committed to ensuring the full safety of our staff and our guests. After a year of exclusively offering sit down dining in our All’Aperto outdoor dining space, we reopened our indoor dining room only after our staff was fully vaccinated and have continued to commit ourselves completely to the health and well being of our staff and our wonderful community.
Cooking for First-Responders
In April, 2020, Spuntino started a program to cook and deliver meals to employees of health care providers who are working in all capacities to deal with the COVID-19 crisis locally. We have dropped off hundreds of fresh, full meals cooked exclusively by Chef Cindhura Reddy to nurses, PAs, doctors, and support staff working in all capacities to take care of our community.
Charitable Giving
Spuntino has long incorporated giving back to our immediate and greater community as an essential part of its business. We see our incredible fortune in being able to do what we love and share it with an amazing staff and our supportive diners as an opportunity to do something more than be a restaurant. Some of the wonderful organizations that we have had the pleasure of supporting include Shadhika, Food for Thought, The Heart and Hand Center, The Food Bank of the Rockies, The Transgender Center of the Rockies, World Central Kitchen, and Sophie’s Neighborhood. If you are involved with an organization and would like to discuss any sort of partnership or support, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at spuntino@spuntinodenver.com.