Sunday, January 21, 2024

Walter's303 Pizzeria & Publik House ~ Colorado chain : Colorado Springs


Latest visit: Jan 2024 (Flying Horse)

First visit: Jul 2018 (Flying Horse)

Locations: 3 in Denver + this one in Colorado Springs

New year, time to get back to Walter's303! On this visit, we had a 16 inch pizza, one half Italian meatball (what they call an "artisan" topping) and one half Polidori sausage. Came out perfect this time. Great sauce, crust, and ingredients. We took 40% home for leftovers. Beer list still not exemplary as it once was, but better than last update. We had one each, plus split another for "dessert". Service was fun on this visit. It appears Walter's303 is still doing a land office business in an otherwise difficult environment for restaurants. We'll probably stop by a couple of more times during the year. We expect to have an update entry in 2025 if all goes according to plan.

---3/18/23 update

OK, back at home and it's time for Mrs. RJG and I to pick back up where we left off. Which was Parry's, so why not go to our favorite craft pizza place? On this visit we ordered essentially the same thing we did at Parry's: Italian sausage for everything with half jalapeno and red onion. The Italian sausage is locally made by Polidori. How did we fare this visit? Hmm, I think Parry's is starting to make inroads. The crust wasn't quite as crispy, and there wasn't enough sauce (they fell prey to this most common mistake). Mrs. RJG had a bit of a frown going. And I felt like their beer tap list is getting a bit too mainstream. I found one I hadn't tried, but it would be nice if they get back to the really obscure ones like they did pre-pandemic. So maybe not the best update, but I'm still very fond of Walter's303. Be curious where Mrs. RJG will be the next time I suggest it.

As of this writing, Walter's303 has 4 locations, the other three in the Denver area (hence 303). 

---original 10/15/22 review

I thought for sure I'd written about Walter's303 prior (stylized as such without a space), but I guess not! If Quijotes is our favorite RJG place since moving back to Colorado Springs, then Walter's303 is a close second. They are the best in town at what I call Craft Pizza Taverns. Their pizza is awesome, just slightly crispy, with the right amount of sauce (did you hear that? That message goes to all the other pizza makers), excellent flavored crust, and good cheese and toppings. And they're serious about their beer selection. No boring primary set list with 2 rotating beers, which are the same 2 you get everywhere else. Nope - I've had beers at Walter's303 I've never seen anywhere else - or again. It's a small place, but I like the atmosphere. When alone, I'm comfortable sitting at the bar. Mrs. RJG and I usually go on a Saturday or Sunday for lunch, and it's not too crowded at that time. We've been here with the Tampa Pound and wife when they used to live nearby, as well as our neighbors across the street (who recently moved to ABQ). The first week of lockdowns, I grabbed a pizza to-go from here - the only time I've done that at Walter's303 (still very good). We didn't go back until a year later, as we pretty much stopped going out altogether.

I'm way late in reporting about Walter's303 - but definitely head over if you get a chance. For my NE Tarrant readers, you may recall us raving about Taverna Rossa in Southlake. Walter's303 is very similar - better pizza but a few less taps. And it's much smaller in scale. 

7/1/18; 3/21/20; 9/25/21; 10/15/22 (new entry); 3/18/23; 1/21/24

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