Frank Bonanno opens Rōmyō, Denver's itameshi diner
The Bonanno Concepts chef turns a year of pop-up dinners into a permanent restaurant on Larimer Square, where ramen shares the menu with wagyu katsu.
Rōmyō, chef Frank Bonanno's itameshi restaurant, has opened on Denver's Larimer Square, pairing Japanese broths with Italian technique under one roof.
The 120-seat restaurant occupies 1401 Larimer Street, the former home of Ted's Montana Grill, a space Bonanno Concepts had wanted for roughly 15 years. It sits on the same block as two other Bonanno restaurants, Osteria Marco and Vesper Lounge, alongside Richard Sandoval's Tamayo and Jen Jasinski's Rioja.
Itameshi, the pairing of Italian cooking with Japanese ingredients and plating, has run through Tokyo kitchens since the 1980s. Bonanno tested the idea first at Dumplin', a 22-seat pop-up that replaced his sandwich shop Salt & Grinder in the Highland neighbourhood. "Almost everything that was on the Dumplin' menu is on this menu," he said.
Fusion earns its place when every borrowed technique still tastes necessary.
Rōmyō pairs porchetta ramen with wagyu katsu
The opening menu runs to porchetta ramen with grilled broccoli rabe, a poached egg and pork brodo; Australian wagyu beef katsu finished with tonkatsu sauce and a poached egg; and Hawaiian tuna crudo dressed with barrel-aged soy sauce, orange and Calabrian chile oil. Menu sections carry Japanese, Italian and English headers, though dish names stay in English.
The room spans roughly 4,000 square feet. Booths are built to resemble train cars, and video screens stand in for windows, alternating views of Japan and Italy. A six-foot model giraffe holds a chandelier over the host stand, a detail co-owner Jacqueline Bonanno, who also serves as creative director, built into the design.
Bonanno's tenth restaurant on home turf
Rōmyō is Bonanno Concepts' latest addition in a city the group has worked since 2000, when Frank Bonanno opened Mizuna a few blocks away. "We love Larimer Square, and we love Denver," Jacqueline Bonanno said of the decision to stay on the block rather than expand elsewhere. Frank Bonanno pointed to the neighbours as part of the draw: "I'm lucky to be sitting next to Tamayo, which is Richard Sandoval's, and Jen Jasinski's Rioja."
The opening lands as Denver's dining scene draws scrutiny on other fronts too, including a labor complaint at Casa Bonita. Whether itameshi holds a permanent audience beyond its first season is the test Bonanno now faces on a block that has already watched two decades of his restaurants open and close.
