Deliziosa Ristorante Vancouveriano

The Italian Kitchen
Italian Cuisine
1037 Alberni St.
Vancouver, BC
V6E 1A1 Canada
ph: (604) 687-2858

In spite of the air of pretentiousness in the Glowbal Group restaurants, I must admit that I appreciate this company for revolutionizing the Vancouver dining scene. They have been utterly creative in coming up with new restaurant ideas which leaves Vancouverites salivating for more. When the Glowbal Group decided to give the usual Italian ristorante a touch of Vancouver, the Italian Kitchen was born. This brand new restaurant joining the Glowbal Group family immediately created a buzz amongst food lovers, the in-the-know crowd and the like. Situated in the more business-y area of downtown Vancouver, this ristorante is not hard to miss. Having to pass by this sleek modern kitchen almost everyday and seeing it bustling as it was bursting with Italian aroma, it's almost stupid for me not to walk in through that door.

Coming in, the restaurant seemed busy and we had to wait at the front with a couple more people to let our presence known to the host/server so that she could take us to a table. We were seated near the bar and our very accommodating server immediately gave us our menus and offered us some water. The space was no different from the outside. It had simple but stylish decor giving the restaurant a casual feel to it. We went through the menu and we decided that the anti-pasto misto platter was the best way to go so that we could have a taste of almost everything this restaurant had to offer. We also ordered a glass of limoncello with prosecco and vanilla infused syrup called limonata and I was beyond delighted to find out that they have pitchers of their own concoctions on their menu. Offering pitchers of alcohol is a surefire way to lure a younger crowd who are out looking for a good dinner and a nice buzz.

Our limonata came in no time and as I took a sip, the syrup's sweetness immediately gave me a sugar shock. I usually gulp my cocktail but this drink should be sipped and slowly savoured. Our server also gave us a small plate of foccacia with balsamic and olive oil dip and as soon as my fingers touched the cold bread, I was turned off but when the bread touched my mouth and the flavours made me say "Mmmmm", I knew that I shouldn't have passed judgement until I've tried it. Our anti-pasto came as we were finishing up the bread and when we looked at the spread in front of us: zucchini blossoms stuffed with burrata cheese, eggplant parmesan, asparagus wrapped with proscuitto, forno baked clams, caprese salad, ahi tuna, spicy kobe meatballs and jumbo prawns -- I had a notion that we will leave with full bellies.

We started with the 1.) ahi tuna which was fresh and flavourful, you can never go wrong with ahi tuna regardless of where you go. 2.) The kobe meatball was just to die for, the spicy tomato sauce definitely gave a nice kick to it. 3.) The forno baked clams was a step behind the meatball for being the most unforgettable dish. It had a distinct Italian flavour very well suited with the clams. 4.) The jumbo prawns were lacking a bit of flavour but it was a nice break from the other dishes which already made a huge impression on our tastebuds. 5.) The zucchini blossoms were interesting, maybe I was expecting a jalapeño-cream cheese flavour but this deep fried croquette was definitely something different. 6.) The caprese salad was good but not out of the ordinary but it was definitely nice to have the fresh tomatoes and bonconccini cheese included on the platter. 7.) The asparagus and proscuitto had a very small serving, it was good but having just one made us hope to get a little more that what we had on our plate. We saved the 8.) eggplant parmesan for last but as we took a bite, we hoped that we should have saved the meatball instead. The eggplant was so-so, nothing spectacular but all-in-all, the whole platter is definitely a must-try.

After our server cleared our table of our empty dishes, he came back almost immediately and seemed enthusiastic about showing us their long list of desserts and recommended the Italian style doughnuts. My friend and I gushed about the good selection and we're already discussing if we should get the white chocolate pannacota or the chocolate parfait when all of a sudden, I had this flash of glutton guilt and declined to try what seemed to be an amazing dessert menu. My friend tried to subtly persuade me by asking me if I was sure and saying that it's not a dinner without the dessert. I looked down at my expanding belly which haven't had a break for awhile and said no. When we told our server that we'll be good and skip dessert, his face fell ever so slightly and left to get us our bill.

After the very satisfying Italian Kitchen dinner, my friend and I went to the movies when my sweet tooth craving attacked me and after the nice walk to the theatres, I am sure that I have room for dessert. I immediately regretted passing on the dessert at the restaurant although the TCBY frozen yogurt totally killed my craving. Maybe the frozen yogurt is more waistline friendly but I have to say that my friend was right, I actually already know it but the whole dinner experience is never complete without the dessert and so I made a mental note to go back to The Italian Kitchen, gorge on their desserts and maybe put a smile on our server's face.

* picture stolen from blog.jan-chan.com