You can pretty much throw a rock anywhere in this city and it will land within a few feet of a place that serves brunch. This may rub some readers the wrong way, but brunch tends to be a two-hour long affair of uninspired eggs, syrupy messes dusted with powdered sugar and cheap champagne watered down with bad orange juice. While it certainly isn’t my favorite meal of the week, I give credit where credit is due when I find a great brunch spot.
Bar Dough has been the talk of the town since it opened late last year. When I got word the lauded Italian spot was rolling out brunch service, it piqued my interest. Would it be a better take on the midday meal or was it simply coming out of necessity for bottomless mimosas and Benedicts in the area? The brunch menu proved to be a savory and thoughtful iteration of what often falls short for many restaurants.
Though brunch isn’t a “thing” in Italy, the team at Bar Dough took brunch favorites and inspired them with Italian influence. Salads, sandwiches and pasta make appearances on the menu, some topped with a fried egg and others standing solid on their own. The summer garden salad is a medley of veggies from Warren Tech Farms mingling with tender roasted chicken and a rose and pollen vinaigrette. A more savory dish I’d welcome at breakfast, lunch or dinner is the sausage and egg casserole with a yellow-eyed bean ribollita of crushed tomatoes and potatoes.
For those with a sweet tooth, you can satisfy it with The Dutch—a wood oven-baked pancake with seasonal fruit compote and whipped mascarpone, or the Overnight French Toast topped with whipped Nutella, crushed hazelnut and a drizzle of aged maple syrup.
Brunch at Bar Dough far exceeds what you might expect from brunch. House-made Bloody Marys and bottomless mimosas or Aperol spritzes are there for you to wash down the dishes that inspire your palate with subtle tastes of Italy. Brunch starts this Sunday at 10 a.m., so drop in for the first serving and see why Bar Dough remains one of the hottest restaurants in Denver.
All photography by Justin De La Rosa
