Dinner at the Church

Last night we had dinner at the church with Janet and Bob, to help celebrate Janet’s birthday. No. It’s Not what you think either. 🙂

We went to a restaurant called Scileppi’s in Castle Rock, about an hour south of us. Scileppi’s is a restaurant that was once a former church. It was very cool. They kept as much of the original church as they could to give the restaurant a lot of character and personality.

The original church was constructed in 1888, as the St. Francis of Asissi Church, and was the first church in Castle Rock. It was still operating as a church until it was decommissioned in 1966, when a new church was built across town. The church was bought by the Scileppi brothers and they converted it into a restaurant. The Scileppi family was originally from Sicily, Italy, then moved to New York, and from there the brothers Scileppi moved westward to Colorado.

The stained glass windows still adorn the walls, as do parts of the original bricks. The whole concept is very innovative and creative. I just loved it, and the food was terrific too.

You could dine in the main part of the church, and some of the seats look like they were the original pews. I think our seats were from the pews. Behind this bar (there is another bar around the corner, as well as a little outside patio) you could dine on a circular table that resembles the church altar.

You could dine up in the choir loft.

Or for a special occasion, you could dine in the Confessional. This one requires reservations in advance, and it only seats two people.

We started off with a fantastic, smooth Amerone, that our waiter Leo skillfully opened and poured.

The next course was the bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, followed quickly after with soups and salad. We all shared a tomato basil soup, a tortellini soup with spinach and an arugula and mozzarella salad. Everything was excellent.

Next came the entrees, and we all enjoyed something different. The birthday girl started out with a Linguini Carbonara.

Bob decided up Veal Marsala.

Larry opted for the Pasta di Fruita del Mare or seafood pasta.

And I chose the chicken verde.

We all thoroughly enjoyed our dinner selections, and we all made sure to save room for some shared desserts as well. We came home doggie boxes because we all knew dessert was on its way.

For dessert we chose a creme brulee and a flourless chocolate cake with a smear of raspberry sauce.

The meal and our whole dining experience was phenomenal. It was so unique and original. It was a very fun night indeed. To make our experience even better, Janet and Bob’s daughter Jeanette surprised Janet with a very generous gift certificate to the restaurant as well. Thank you Janet and Bob for inviting us to share and celebrate with you and thank you Jeanette as well. Happy, Happy Birthday Janet, with many more to come.

Scileppi’s at The Old Stone Church is located at 210 Third Street, Castle Rock, Colorado. You can call ahead for reservations, which I recommend, especially for the Confessional, or you can contact Scileppi’s online at http://www.scileppis.com. This is a dining experience like none other. I can honestly say i have never had such an exquisite dinner at church before. 🙂

I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures. My camera died and I am currently looking into an upgraded version. At the moment, all I have is my cell phone, and I hate the quality of pictures from my cell phone. But soon, I will have a new and improved “camera friend”.