Italian in Vancouver

[Mooshmouse]

I had to edit this because I just took a closer look at the wine list and actually spit water on my desk  Good for a laugh but definitely not prices, although it is a pretty pricey list, but those are stocking numbers (I hope

Fingers faster than brain. It happens more often than I'd care to admit.

Stock numbers notwithstanding, I have to say that there are some pretty damn expensive bottles on the wine list. Mr. Mouse and I were speechless at the dollar figures, to say the least. A '95 Chateau Petrus won't be available at bargain basement prices.

We now return you to regularly scheduled posts by smart people.

[Foodie in Vancouver]

I am very sorry to hear that the wine list is so expensive at La Terraza. It is hard to imagine having an Italian meal without benefit of wine. I hope there is something we can afford.

One of our favorite Italian restaurants in New York, Becco, has a wonderful wine list of very affordable wines. The last time we were there they had something like 25 wines all priced at $25. It also makes selecting a wine quite easy. The food is not necessarily the best-ever Italian, but it was the combination of good value in wine as well as the food that makes it one of those places you always go back to.

Thinking of our Becco experiences puts me in the mind to find something similar here in Vancouver. I will definitely re-read this thread and once DOV is over (and both my wallet and waistline have recovered) I am going to do me some research.

[winegeek]

In a few cases, I wish they were wine prices. $8 for a 2000 Conumdrum, $5 for '96 E&E Black Pepper Shiraz, $40 for a '96 lynch-Bages, $55 for a Clos de la Maréchale, Faiveley, 1995. I am SO there

[shelora]

A friend needs a quiet-ish, casual Italian restaurant - in Vancouver, real soon. Over the dinner hour, preferably with cozy booths, good food and a good selection of small plates and wine list, nothing too noisy. Where oh where can you be?

She is a restaurateur, solid knowledge of food and wine - especially Italian and Spanish - visiting from the U.S.

Thought I would check in with headquarters and ask. Would it be Cafe Il Nido over Cipriano's?

[DarkDante]

A friend needs a quiet-ish, casual Italian restaurant - in Vancouver, real soon. Over the dinner hour, preferably with cozy booths, good food and a good selection of small plates and wine list, nothing too noisy. Where oh where can you be?

She is a restaurateur, solid knowledge of food and wine - especially Italian and Spanish -  visiting from the U.S.

Thought I would check in with headquarters and ask. Would it be Cafe Il Nido over Cipriano's?

←

For really casual Italian, try Nick's Spaghetti House

http://www.nicksspaghettihouse.com/

Or for something more upscale, you have to try Adesso Bistro

http://www.adessobistro.com/

Edited June 7, 2005 by DarkDante (log)

[*Deborah*]

Is Circolo still all hustle-bustle? I know they have booths...booths are kind of hard to find anymore!

[Mooshmouse]

Yes to Il Nido. Yes to Adesso.

[canucklehead]

Stay away from Cipriano's (on Main) - terrible service, non-descript food, and a room that looks like it has not been cleaned in years.

Darke Dante's suggestion on Addesso is a really good one.

Here are a couple of other suggestions off the top of my head:

Cafe de Medici

Arriva (whoever did the photography for their website should be shot).

[nwyles]

Amarcord in Yaletown. Very nice and reasonable.

[janevm]

Al Porto in Gastown (and probably the only decent restaurant in that area) but I don't think they have any booths.

[sashavan]

I second Amarcord. Very nice and very comfortable.

[jcsaucey]

I too have been trying to find a great little Italian joint in Van as good as Zambri's in Victoria. Adesso is pretty good. Two meals there were very tasty, and the service was outstanding.

[Ducky]

Adesso yes. Amacord yes.

Nick's is really quite bad in every respect except perhaps the nostalgia factor.

Then there's the place in the Italian Culturtal Center if you want more of a retro mom and pop Italian experience.

[Daddy-A]

Nick's is really quite bad in every respect except perhaps the nostalgia factor.

Thanks for that Ducky ... I was going to say the same thing about Nick's, but I didn't want a repeat of last time [CLICK]. The whole sorted incident resulted from a satisfyingly cheesy experience at Osteria Napoli Ristorante on Renfrew @ 1st.

Good luck!

A.

[DarkDante]

Then there's the place in the Italian Culturtal Center if you want more of a retro mom and pop Italian experience.

←

That's Dario's (http://www.lapiazzadario.bc.ca/). I completely forgot about that place. Really good italian food and wine list.

[Vancouver Lee]

Then there's the place in the Italian Culturtal Center if you want more of a retro mom and pop Italian experience.

←

That's Dario's (http://www.lapiazzadario.bc.ca/). I completely forgot about that place. Really good italian food and wine list.

←

I was thinking of Dario's, too, but it's not very casual. I think Shelora was looking for "cozy booths" and small plates, IIRC.

[Ducky]

Nick's is really quite bad in every respect except perhaps the nostalgia factor.

Thanks for that Ducky ... I was going to say the same thing about Nick's, but I didn't want a repeat of last time [CLICK]. The whole sorted incident resulted from a satisfyingly cheesy experience at Osteria Napoli Ristorante on Renfrew @ 1st.

Good luck!

A.

←

I used to eat at Nick's 30 years or so ago and it was already bad then. I was dragged there twice this past year by well meaning friends who claimed Nick's was authentic, and a complete nostalgia trip and had to be given another chance yada yada yada...

Now in the intervening years I have had the good fortune to live in Italy for a spell and I can tell you that there is nothing at Nick's that could be described as even remotely authentically Italian.

It begins with the ambiance of plywood and pressboard walls and low stucco ceilings illuminated by dingy yellow wrought iron and plexiglass lamps apparently intended to add a Venetian flair, and the paint-by-number Tuscan landscapes in elaborate gold frames.

Of course the utter tackiness of the decor could be high-camp if intended ironically - but neither the surly staff nor the truckers, Hells Angels enforcers, and longshoreman that make up the clientele suggested to us that there was any irony at play here. Nor was any other humour in evidence - apart from the scatalogical variety richly represented on the restroom walls.

On some thread somewhere on this forum eGulleteers, after much introspection, concluded that the best simple definition of good cuisine was "fresh ingredients lovingly and expertly prepared". What I was served - and saw served - at Nicks fails to qualify on each and every element of this definition. This place is firmly on my avoid at all costs list.

But if you enjoy eating seriously overcooked pasta with sauces that taste principally of flour and metal in seriously dingy and tacky surroundings - well Nick's is a real find.

Now if I don't post for the next few weeks - I trust you'll do the decent thing and have someone dredge the harbour at the foot of Commercial.

[jamiemaw]

To Adesso I would add Quattro on Fourth, Cioppino's Enoteca, and Villa del Lupo, which, while not casual, is remarkably good value.

[canucklehead]

Now if I don't post for the next few weeks - I trust you'll do the decent thing and have someone dredge the harbour at the foot of Commercial.

←

You may not end up in the harbour... what will really get me suspicous if there is a notable improvement in their meat sauce.

[Vancouver Lee]

Now if I don't post for the next few weeks - I trust you'll do the decent thing and have someone dredge the harbour at the foot of Commercial.

←

You may not end up in the harbour... what will really get me suspicous if there is a notable improvement in their meat sauce.

←

roflmao!

[annanstee]

I second the Enoteca and Adesso!

[FannyBay]

Amacord in Yaletown is very nice, excellent Gnocci. Nice family owned, don't think there are booths though.

One rung up from there, Quattro on 4th is very nice. Lovely room, no booths but cozy corner tables.

And one futher rung up, La Terrazza. Yaletown again. Beautiful room. Great food. Nice corner round tables. No booths again. Easy parking though!

Nick's on Commercial Drive - Disgusting!

Cippriani's on Main Street - Incredibly disgusting!

Enoteca at Cioppini's in Yaletown - Incredibly expensive!

Zambri's in Victoria - Nothing like it here, it's fabulous!

Fanny Bay

[snacky_cat]

I will annotate Fanny Bay's recommendation of Quattro on 4th with the statement that they have the single most entertaining ladies' room anywhere in this city.

[FannyBay]

Gosh, all the times I have eaten there it seems I have never had to use the ladies (I clearly wasn't drinking enough!) I will have to remember to not go before I leave home next time so I can check it out!

[jamiemaw]

Enoteca at Cioppini's in Yaletown - Incredibly expensive!

Fanny Bay

←

Order the rotisserie chicken with pommes puree and beautifully turned vegetables at Enoteca. It's only $25 and a terrific dish.