Dean C.
Yelp
7/2/17
Ultra touristy restaurant in a ultra touristy little village. Ain't nothing wrong with that. It's kind of nice actually. I mean, we did pass up the restaurant down the street with goats on the roof... that would have been even cooler. But this one boasted a huge patio where you eat, all pretty with lush greenery and blooms. Just looked like it would hit the spot.
And well, no shocker here--the emphasis clearly was not on the food which was all good looks and no soul. Not a foodie destination. Not for the sophisticated eater. And definitely not a place to bring your extended Italian family to show how Canadians do old-world food. But... it is a good place to eat with your 5 year old, sharing the same food for once... cause well, it's kiddie food...
Did I mention this place is huge? And super popular. So we were seated and I kid you not, we waited at least 20min in our seats to get anyone's attention. TWENTY MINUTES and not a single server said hi. That's something right?
And like I said, kiddie food...
1. Spiked Herbed Italian Lemonade CA$5.00 "your choice of Bicardi Rum, Smirnoff Vodka or Tanqueray Gin": Alright alright... this wasn't kiddie drink ha ha... couldn't remember much about it though.
2. Litre Carafe of Sangria CA$19.99 "red wine & citrus": Same, don't remember much.
3. Spinach Salad Platter CA$16.99 "with goat cheese, grape tomatoes, sundried cranberries, toasted honey pecans & balsamic reduction": Typical hip salad I would say. Nothing remarkable tasting good or bad. 5/10
4. Spicy Prawns CA$14.99 "black tiger prawns sauteed with fresh chili, garlic butter, white wine and pomodoro sauce": It's shrimp in marinara sauce basically. Or at least that's how it looked and tasted. Shrimp were unremarkable. 5/10
5. Linguine Creamy Pesto Platter CA$29.99 "home made linguine tossed with cream, fresh basil & pine nut pesto sauce topped with grilled chicken breast and Parmesan cheese": Menu boasts "always fresh and flavourful, never 'al dente.'" Well though their motto would normally put me off cause it shows a misunderstanding of pasta basics, I am happy to say the pasta was cooked alright. Texture was fine, though not perfect. And as you would expect, the chicken was overcooked and dry. 5/10
6. Linguine Pescatora Platter CA$35.99 "a simple 'fisherman's style' dish of fresh clams, mussels, shrimp, prawns & scallops tossed with garlic, extra virgin olive oil & fresh tomatoes": Again, pasta was fine, but in this case the sauce was very thin and plain. The seafood was unremarkable. 5/10
7. Vescuvio Pizza CA$16.50 "this is a spicy one... pepperoni, hot Italian sausage, spicy salame, hot capicollo, chili garlic Inferno sauce & mozzarella cheese": Crust was okay--more rustic than a thin crust from your delivery-pizza parlor, but lacking real Italian expertise. Otherwise unremarkable. 5/10
8. Capricciosa Pizza CA$16.50 "this 'capricious' pizza is an all time favourite, topped with crushed tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, prosciutto cotto (Italian Ham), artichoke hearts, black olives & field mushrooms": Funny they call this their "all time favorite" as I actually wrote in my notes that the sauce is very amateur. Pretty weak. 4/10
So, as you can see, mostly 5 points out of 10 for most dishes. Pretty dead average food-wise. Service sucked hell. The place really was beautiful though. So I guess it all evens out...
3/5
#nanaimo #coombs #canada #italian