TRATTORIA BURNABY

One of the three Trattoria restaurants under the Glowbal Restaurant Group is located in Burnaby on Kingsway street in the same building with Element Vancouver and GoodLife Fitness, across from Crystal Mall. Trattoria Burnaby is know for their in house pasta, pizza, and a more casual family friendly atmosphere compared to sister restaurant Italian Kitchen.

Walking in, you cannot miss the circular bar at the center of the restaurant. There are both tables and booth seats surrounding the bar, patio tables outside, and more seating arrangements on the second floor. Pro Tip: $13 Tuesday pastas and happy hour runs from 2:00pm to 5:00pm and 9:00pm to closing every day, including weekends! Happy hour menu consists of $5 feature drinks, antipasto for $9.95 and pizza at $12.95.

ORTO ARTISAN PASTA

Orto Artisan Pasta is a cute little Italian restaurant in North Vancouver offering pasta made from scratch. The restaurant is on the smaller side and reservations are only accepted for parties greater than six. However the parking lot is transformed into a patio for outdoor seating and you can sit in the garden. The garden where vegetables are grown for their kitchen!

Before arriving on a Sunday evening, I was advised through the phone that there will be no wait as long as we sit at the patio. Guaranteed. We ended up waiting 30 minutes though and it was disappointing to see that the same table which was available when we first arrived at the restaurant was the same table we were seated at. I get hangry way too easily...

The Old Spaghetti Factory : New Westminster

SPAGHETTI FACTORY + SOURDOUGH BREAD pretty much sums up what the Old Spaghetti Factory is all about.

I cannot think of many above average restaurants in New Westminster off the top of my head and when trying to find a restaurant for dinner that is neither a pub or chain establishment around 8:00p.m., it is a pretty tough choice. So after circling around the city we decided to try the Old Spaghetti Factory on pure nostalgia. 

Provence Marinaside

Restaurants with a view are not my first choice of establishments to visit anymore when it comes to dining out because I am biased and believe the food may not be great, such as the Boathouse chain, Top of Vancouver, Fraiche, Seasons in the Park, Sandbar and Horizons. So when my friend wanted to try Provence Marinaside located in Yaletown and with a view of False Creek, my initial reaction was meh... Well, it was more like could we try Bella Gelateria next door instead? Okay fine, it was more like a beg instead of a suggestion!

Trying to be selfless however, Provence Marinaside was fine and we came here for lunch. When we entered the restaurant, we were a bit put off because the hostess kept her back facing towards us and seemed very indifferent. No worries though since all the servers we encountered including the manager was very personable and friendly. Given the option of patio or indoor, we chose the latter since it was chilly out. The atmosphere at Provence Marinaside is casual, laid back and inviting. 

BiBo Pizzeria : Richmond Location

BiBo Pizzeria is an Italian restaurant specializing in Neapolitan style pizza and focuses on using fresh and natural ingredients along with straight from Italy products. The first BiBo restaurant to open is on West 4th in Kitsilano and their second location is at McArthur Glen in Richmond, where Sherman and I were invited to visit along with Nick and Joyce. There are not many restaurants at McArthur Glen too, only BiBo and Neptune Noodle Restaurant. In addition, there are not many Italian restaurants in Richmond!

Walking in, the interior is bright, spacious and the high ceiling helps with the ventilation. There are a couple of long communal tables, a large bar, tables on the other side of the restaurant and of course a wood burning oven.

Nicli Antica Pizzeria

A friend from Toronto was visiting and she loves Neapolitan pizza, LOVES. Her favourite Neapolitan pizzeria in Toronto is Pizzeria Libretto. So when she asked me to take her somewhere good, Nicli Antica is the first place that came to my mind. The reason is because Nicli is the first pizzeria in Vancouver to be certified by the Verace Pizza Napolenta. Although to be honest I was skeptical about taking her here because when I skimmed through some photos online, surprisingly a lot of their pizza lacked that nice charred leoparding! Moreover, even some photos on their official Instagram account lacked that beautiful blistering!

Nicli is located on East Cardova in Gastown, next to sibling restaurant Nicli's Next Door. The layout of the restaurant is long, but neither narrow nor cramped. The seating arrangements are fairly comfortable and the restaurant has a nice atmosphere. There is a spacious bar, a high ceiling, and a clean modern look. We arrived right at opening (11:30am) and the staff were friendly and welcoming. The restaurant filled up fairly quick too.

Francesco's Ristorante Italia

A friend from Seattle was spending a week in Vancouver for his birthday and since he was staying at the Sutton Place, it made sense to have lunch at Francesco's Ristorante Italia. Francesco's is one of Vancouver's oldest restaurants, focusing on Sicilian cuisine with West Coast influences. The restaurant is located on Burrard Street and their patio is always full during the summer.

The atmosphere is bright and inviting with plenty of natural lighting, but the restaurant is dim and romantic during dinner services. The restaurant is a fairly good size too and there are plenty of tables which are nicely spaced out and not cramped one bit. Moreover, there are a couple of dining areas that can accommodate larger groups and special celebrations.

Since we arrived for lunch, the service is pretty casual. None of the staff ask how the food is, we arrange the dishes on the table ourselves and wave down a server to remove a finished plate, when the restaurant had less than three tables… For those who are regulars however, are welcomed like royalty and provided with impeccable service. Did I care? Na, it was not my birthday LOL and we were here for lunch instead of dinner. Plus, it saves me gratuities since we left only a 15% tip.

La Terrazza

La Terrazza is one of the true "fine dining" experiences I have had in Vancouver. From the atmosphere to the service, I truly believed I was dining at a fine dining establishment. The Italian restaurant is located in Yaletown and is known for their very extensive wine menu, which is thicker than a magazine! BF has been here a few times before, but never with me. Honest to truth, I always thought the restaurant was similar to the Glowbal Group restaurants; a "fine dining" restaurant with a loud atmosphere, but boy was I wrong.

La Terrazza has such a romantic atmosphere and is definitely one restaurant where I would want to dress up for and take photos. When we walked, the friendly bartender/host led us to our table which happened to be right in front of a cozy fireplace. We also had a whole view of the restaurant and I like that the interior is different than many restaurants in Vancouver.

BF thought it was suspicious that I suggested to go to La Terrazza because he has been asking to take me for years, and the reason I chose the restaurant is because there was a Travelzoo voucher! The voucher costed $79.00 for one appetizer, two entrees and a dessert.

Carmelo's

Having already celebrated my birthday over the weekend, I did not want to go out for dinner on the actual date because it landed on a weeknight. Another reason is because I have learned my lesson to only dine out at certain non-Asian restaurants on the weekends, when the head chefs are there! At the last minute however, I was really craving for The Keg. The birthday gods were clearly not on my side though because The Keg in North Vancouver has been closed for a while and we did not want to travel far, so decided on Carmelo's.

Carmelo's is located in West Vancouver, offering classic and traditional Italian cuisine along with a mix of West Coast. The restaurant has been on my wish list for a few months now and way before Amici, but we chose to visit the latter first because I knew that restaurant would be good (and it is!). Since Carmelo's is fairly small, reservations are recommended regardless of the day of week. We happened to visit on a Monday and discovered the restaurant offers a $10.00 promotion on certain pastas, so this was definitely a bonus for us.

Carmelo's is a casual white tablecloth restaurant with dim lighting and there is a candle on certain tables. There are two sides of seating arrangements in the restaurant and a few window seats for those who like to people watch. When we walked in, I was surprised to see an actual "reserved sign" on a window seat table only to discover it was not ours lol!

Amici

A new neighbourhood and more restaurants to try based on convenience equals one happy lady. Asides from being a selective diner, I like everything to be perfect most of the time. I am well organized, have the creepiest best time management skills right down to the second and am freakishly detail oriented (except when it comes to writing…). Having said that, I needed my first meal as a new resident in the neighbourhood to be perfect... PERFECT.

Sounds hard? Like a whole day of researching restaurants to try? Nope. I stumbled upon Amici, checked some comments on Urbanspoon as well as Yelp and even went to their website. There are a couple of comments that majority of the clientele are in their 70s and to me that is a good sign because some seniors know good food! Then I decided to check their website and found, "you've just stepped back in time, to an era when the world moved more slowly, family was the focus and every meal was a time to celebrate" and knew this would be THE restaurant where I would love everything.

"Every meal was a time to celebrate" just shouts out good food to me! I mean, there are times when I have felt like "hmm the photos look good so perhaps the restaurant is not bad", but never like "this restaurant WILL be good". There are not even many photos of the food online and it was like I had a sixth sense thing regarding the restaurant. When we walked in, the owner welcomed us and mentioned to take a seat in the corner. I took that literally because there was a corner and the only table for two. However, he mentioned we could seat at a four person table because it would be more comfortable (plus, we do need the table space considering the amount of food we order too).

I took photos of the interior as we were leaving which explains the empty looking restaurant. The interior looks like a rustic Italian dining room and the restaurant is dimly lit but not too dark. Every table has a white linen tablecloth, a candle as well as gray cloth napkins, and the chairs are very fairly comfortable. The restaurant does not look as "yellow" as the photos too.

Tre Galli Gelato Caffe

Tre Galli Gelato Caffe is located at the River Market in New Westminster Quay, and after an unpleasant meal at Re-Up, we headed across to the shop. I believe this is the only gelato shop in New West too. The prices include tax and are $3.50/child, $4.10/single, $5.15/double and $6.50/triple. Furthermore, there are take home containers available as well. Some of the flavours include amaretto, passion fruit, chocolate chip mint, blood orange, stracciatella, lemon, french vanilla, pear, kiwi lime, greek yogurt, blueberry, banana chocolate chip, pineapple, black sesame, panna cotta and tiramisu.

Before grabbing some gelato, we came here for a frappe while having a meal at Re-Up. Surprisingly, despite sitting right in front of the caffe with no line up (at the moment), the male cashier dropped our drink to the other side (presumably where the drink pick up area is) without mentioning it to us. Comparing the customer service to Re-Up, it was pretty… not welcoming or friendly. 

Paradiso Gelato Bistro

Ending my food date with C'est la vie a Maggi, we headed to Paradiso Gelato Bistro which is a place I have wanted to try for a while. At least for a couple of weeks! The gelato shop is located right across from Kitsilano beach and I cannot believe that I have never been here! As for the interior, seating is limited which is likely not an issue since most will walk out with gelato rather than staying. In addition, asides from gelato, the Vietnamese owned shop offers banh mi! If we did not have froyo earlier, we would have probably tried one.

As we were checking out the flavours, one of the kind owners offered us a sample of choice. Furthermore, the sample was a generous size and more than enough for the both of us to have a taste.

Q4 Ristorante by Quattro

RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED

Four days of consistent bad luck: Day Three.

Every time I am in Kitsilano, I always stress about where to eat. I mean, whether it be called cheap or greedy, I just do not want to set myself up for a good meal and receive everything but. Odd? Yes, I know. That is why most of the time I play it safe and head to a mediocre restaurant which makes my day when the food is better than expected! Of course, unless there is already a restaurant I have in mind. So, scooping out a few places on Urbanspoon, Q4 seemed like an okay Italian restaurant.

Walking up to the front door, I loved it. Mirrored doors? LOVE. I wanted to take a selfie but chose to do so after dinner, which unfortunately did not work out since the doors were left open. Plus, I did not want to get any awkward stares. As for the interior, the seating area is very open and I personally like it. Although on a full house, the restaurant may get loud. The interior looks simple as well as clean and has wooden floors as well as chairs, and tables with white tablecloths. As for the seating arrangements, it is not cramped and outdoor seating is available.

After walking in, our server led us to our requested window seat which was not overlooked on OpenTable (Black + Blue...). Our server was friendly, had a positive vibe and left us to browse the menus. As she later creeped back to see if we were ready to order, she overheard us talking amongst each other that none of the appetizers caught our attention. Fortunately, she came to the rescue and mentioned some daily specials, which we were interested in.

Via Tevere Pizzeria Napoletana

All our pizzas are hand stretched and baked for approximately 90 seconds in our 900 degree wood-fired oven creating a pizza that has a light and fluffy crust with a crispy edge and charred spots. True to the Neapolitan way, our pizzas arrive at the table uncut to preserve the soft thin centre and toppings. Neapolitan pizza is traditionally enjoyed either with a fork and knife or ripped and folded and eat by hand.

That awkward late lunch or early dinner when you have not ate anything all day. Yup, happened to me and it was 5:00pm. Although fortunately being in the area and that Vie Tevere opens at 5:00pm, it actually worked out! Vie Tevere is known for their neapolitan pizzas (although I was told otherwise on Instagram) and apparently the restaurant gets busy, as in there are always long line ups! Luckily arriving right at opening, there was no line up. The neapolitan pizza joint has a relaxing atmosphere and is not that big, with less than thirty seats.

Jimoco Cafe & Pasta

Jimoco Cafe & Pasta, a most talked about restaurant from a friend of mine. He claims that the restaurant serves tasty pasta, is a must visit and the price is a steal! So meh, why not? I did not have any other restaurants in mind anyways. Plus, I expected the restaurant to be a bit slower on a raining evening since occasionally there is a long wait. Walking in, there was a pleasant aroma of pasta sauce which is a good sign for me. The restaurant has less than six booth seats and a few tables for four which can be arranged to accommodate larger parties.

AAA SIRLOIN STEAK WITH HERB BUTTER AND  TOMATO SAUCE FUSILLI WITH HAM, MUSHROOM AND GREEN PEA, AAA BEEF TENDERLOIN IN ONION CREAM SAUCE AND CREAM SAUCE FUSILLI, BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP, GARLIC TOASTS AND SEAFOOD STEW IN SPICY TOMATO SAUCE.

Anton's Pasta Bar

My first Anton's experience! Anton's is known for having long line ups as well as decently priced large portions of pasta. On a weeknight, my friend and I met up hoping there would be no line up and fortunately, there was none. The restaurant has a casual relaxing atmosphere and a few tables of two, many for four and quite a few for six or more.

GAMBERI (PRAWNS) IN A WHITE WINE GARLIC BUTTER SAUCE, COZZE (MUSSELS) IN A TANGY TOMATO SAUCE, COMPLIMENTARY PORTUGUESE ROLLS AND SAPUTO WHIPPED BUTTER, LINGUINE FRUTTI DI MARE, MIXED SEAFOOD AND MUSHROOMS IN A CREAM SAUCE, FRUSILLI DI MARE BIANCO, MIXED SEAFOOD WITH FRESH TOMATO IN A WHITE WINE SAUCE, AND COMPLIMENTARY CANDY.

Amato Gelato Cafe

I guess a gelato trip is somewhat on the way to Burnaby from Vancouver :). I have been here a few times and it is always "meh" to me. The flavours that are always pretty much a fail is the mango and green tea, but I thought hey, it has been a couple of years since I last tried them, so they probably have improved. Fine, I actually did not want to try the mango and green tea but I felt pressured to.. I will explain why later.

The shop is quite dead for a Sunday with five employees. From a business view, I would think to ask if any of the employees would like to leave since it is slow. This is only an hour ago around 4:30pm? In the beginning everyone was grouped together and talking, but it is nice when they see customers waiting for them, they start to spread out.

Cup: Single $3.75, Double $6.50

Cone: Single $4.50, Double $7.25

Dipped cone: Single $5.50, Double $8.00

Apparently you cannot take photos as one of the employees mentioned and when I stopped, another one felt the need to tell me again. Telling me once is enough, especially when there is no one even here, it is very quiet and I am pretty sure everyone heard when the first girl already told me.

In their defence, I did take quite a lot of photos (almost every flavour). However, in my defence, I wanted to look through old photos to see if I really have tried every flavour. And from a business view, I understand why people do not prefer photos being taken in case they look bad or something that is there, should not be there. Usually when any food shop prohibits photos, it is because there has accidentally been a mistake regarding the food which was captured on camera. And to be honest, I doubt the manager even worked today and if I asked straight up if I could take photos before I started, they would have let me. It is the fact that I did not ask. End of vent.

PISTACHIO, MANGO AND GREEN TEA.

Portion control issues? The pistachio is the smallest scoop of gelato I have ever had here. Anyways, the pistachio tastes like salted pistachio (but is not too salty) and my friend thinks it is overly sweet like syrup. I do not think it is that sweet, but it does taste legit like actual salted pistachios. The mango is very subtle, tastes more like a peach if anything and is not very good. As for the green tea, the taste is barely there and there was a few ice chunks as well. In addition, the gelato here is a bit too creamy for me as in too heavy, I like my gelato to be creamy but a nice light creamy. Other than the creaminess, there is a lack of flavour. I prefer La Casa Gelato more plus their friendly staff (not because of todays photo incident). 

Yeah I did not even want the mango or green tea because it is never good, but obviously I feel like shit when more than one person feels the need to tell me to stop taking photos when I already stopped, so I chose something fast, took photos of what we got and left. I also got stared down when putting the prices on my phone, what is wrong with this place?

Note: Why no napkins? Usually most places offer or just give them to you with your order.

Food: 2/5

Service: 1/5