The Garlic Knot is pizza restaurant that is local to Colorado and Florida. The Fort Collins restaurant is located in Scotch Pines Village off of South Lemay Avenue and Drake Road near Sprouts.

Inside the restaurant, it was dim, with soft lighting throughout the restaurant. This was compounded by the fact that the ceiling, booths, tables and wood paneling that went partially up the wall were all black and the walls were painted dark colors.

The interior was open but wasn’t huge or empty feeling. There were a few pieces of art themed around New York on the walls, and upbeat jazz played in the background.

I was informed that they didn’t serve tables until dinner and that meals before then had to be ordered at the counter like a fast food chain, which I thought was strange. However, the food was still brought to my table by a waitress, but that might have been because the restaurant was relatively slow at that time.

I ordered Garlic Knots with melted mozzarella, the Penne Blanco pasta, the Madison Square pizza and the Cinno-Knots.

The Garlic Knots arrived fairly quickly after I placed my order. When it arrived, I could smell the rich garlic and the marinara. It was not quite hot, but still warm. There was lots of thick and tasty cheese melted over the knots. The knots were buttery and had a slight garlic flavor, but the bread was more on the chewy side. The marinara was thick, sweet, and wasn’t acidic, which was nice. There were some mild spices in it that gave it a nice flavor.

The entrees came shortly after the appetizer. The Penne Blanco came piping hot. It was very cheesy and creamy yet remained a light dish. The noodles were cooked well, so they were soft but not mushy. The most prominent flavor was ricotta cheese, but it wasn’t over-powering, and it was backed up by the cheese flavors. It was a tasteful and light dish, but it would be improved with chicken in it, which can be added for an additional price.

The Madison Square was a very hearty pizza with lots of flavors. It came with pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, green pepper, red onion and extra cheese. The pepperoni and sausage gave the pizza a bit of a spicy flavor. The veggies added some crunch and lots of different flavors to the pizza. The sauce was similar to the marinara that came with the knots, which was tasty. The crust was crispy at the edges yet soft and solid in the middle. It was a very tasty and a very hearty pizza. I would recommend it if you are really hungry, but not if you are looking for something light.

For dessert, I got the Cinno-Knots. I could smell the cinnamon when they arrived. However, the actual cinnamon flavor was there but wasn’t very strong. The outside of the knots were crunchy, but the inside was pretty chewy. The knots came with a cup of icing on the side. The icing was nice, being smooth and thick rather than syrupy. The icing was also sweet, but it wasn’t too much. The Cinno-Knots could have used some more cinnamon and would have been better if the dough was fluffier.

Overall, the pizza and pasta were delicious, but the Cinno-Knots were mediocre. The food is on the pricier side. It’s difficult to judge the service, especially since there wasn’t really any. The interior is dark, but still a little interesting and had good music.

Scorecard:
Food: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: 2.5 stars

Total Score:  3.18 stars

The clean-cut, covert culinary critic and Collegian writer Capelli D’angelo can be reached at blogs@collegian.com or on Twitter at @Capelli_Dangelo. Leave a comment!!

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