A pair of local restaurateurs have brought their love of northern Italian wine, fine dining and steakhouse expertise to Niwot with Fortezza Ristorante, aiming to fill a gap in the area’s dining options.
Located in the former Farow restaurant space at Niwot Road and North 79th Street, Fortezza draws inspiration from the culinary experiences founders Adam and Natalie Moore shared in Northern Italy, as well as Adam’s high-end steakhouse background. Adam Moore describes their connection to the region as an “infatuation.” He has visited Northern Italy almost a dozen times, several visits coming while working as general manager at Denver’s Barolo Grill.
“It has just such a charm to it. It really was just a beautiful area with phenomenal food,” he said.
This isn’t stereotypical Italian American fare of red-sauce pasta, fried cutlets and heavy Parmesan.
“The beauty of northern Italian cuisine is that it’s hyperfocused on local, super high-end quality ingredients, done very well, done very artistically,” he said. “It’s really not about quantity. It’s about quality and doing it right.”
Adam and Natalie Moore, owners of Fortezza Ristorante in Niwot. Courtesy of Fortezza
Among the standout ingredients on the menu are 18-month-aged prosciutto di Parma, 12-year balsamic vinegar and DOP-certified Parmigiano Reggiano.
He recalled visiting producers in Italy whose processes were painstaking and steeped in tradition — from bbarreezes drifting through prosciutto-aging rooms to cows’ diets that shape the flavor of Parmigiano Reggiano.
“It’s just absolutely elegant. Crazy pieces of culinary love,” Moore said.
Northern Italian cuisine also reflects influences from French, German and Eastern European traditions. Pasta is still on the menu, but it’s house-made and ingredient-centered. For example, San Marzano tomatoes may be used in peak season, but at other times chefs rely on brodo or wine-based preparations.
Moore has brought hamachi crudo, inspired by Tuscany’s coastal dishes, to Niwot. While the sea isn’t two hours away, seafood importers deliver next-day catches to ensure freshness.
He also wanted to add a premium steakhouse experience, launching Fortezza with a couple of American Wagyu options.
Both Adam and Natalie grew up in Longmont and met while bartending during college. They later worked across Denver’s fine-dining scene, where they met future Fortezza chefs Egan Ma and Dylan Rigolini.
When Farow closed earlier this year, Moore contacted his realtor, looped in Ma and Rigolini, and secured the space in June. Two months later, Fortezza opened with a curated seasonal menu and an extensive wine list.
Northern Italian dishes at Fortezza Ristorante in Niwot. Courtesy of Fortezza Ristorante
Moore is just as passionate about wine as he is about food. He cites Brunello di Montalcino as a favorite.
“You have to age it for three years in oak, then another year in bottle before release,” he said. “They don’t make a dime until half a decade after harvest. The care and thought that goes into it — you see it in their faces.”
Fortezza takes the same approach with its menu: shorter, seasonal and tightly focused. Dishes rotate frequently depending on what’s fresh. Roasted Palisade peaches paired with porchetta and nasturtiums from EsoTerra Farms have already appeared. Other items came off the menu within weeks because ingredients weren’t at their peak.
Wines featured on the list at Fortezza Ristorante in Niwot. Courtesy of Fortezza Ristorante
Fall will bring beets, Brussels sprouts and other cool-weather crops. Moore is eager to use the property’s grower boxes for herbs and greens, inspired by restaurants in Barbaresco.
“We were just having a spritz on the patio overlooking Mont Blanc, and it was gorgeous,” he said. “The chefs were collecting herbs from their garden between cigarette breaks.”
Moore estimated dishes will stay on the menu for about six weeks, giving regulars time to try most items before new ones appear.
“It’ll have the illusion of a bigger menu but just gradually changing with the seasons,” he said.
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