John C.
Yelp
I went back to Osteria Elio Volpe, but this time for dinner. I was already really impressed with my last brunch visit, and even with high expectations, my dinner visit was just as good.
The space is just as lively and buzzy at night. Great vibe.
We went with the Alla Famiglia for $89 per person. We told our server what dietary restrictions we had, and what items from the menu we wanted to try, and they took it from there. We ended up trying the following:
- Yellowtail crudo - Beautifully prepared, deliciously simple.
- Baccala 'mantecato', ling cod, potato chips - Very good. Great snacker. I wanted more.
- Aurora gold apples, winter chicories, celery, radish, asiago vecchio,
walnuts, lemon dressing - Good. Food at it's simplest.
- Spaghetti, heirloom tomato ragù, basil, pecorino romano - Very good. Simple but so good.
- Rigatoni cacio e pepe,10 year aged cheddar, roasted jalapeño, scallion - Also very good.
- Grilled broccolini, garlic, anchovy, calabrian chili - Very good. One of the best broccolini dishes I've ever had.
Pan roasted thumbelina carrots - Good. They were undercooked, so hard to bite and cut, but tasted great.
- Whole grilled branzino - Very good. This was really surprising to me. We didn't ask for this, as it's normally a Market Price item so I didn't think it would be added. I normally don't like grilled fish as it tends to be dried out, but I was completely wrong on this one. Still really moist, and tapenade is one of the best I've ever had.
- Grilled lamb chops - Excellent. I'm not a fan of lamb normally, but these were incredible.
- Braised beef cheeks - Excellent. Exactly how I imagine, incredibly tender beef cheeks.
- Tiramisu cheesecake - Very good. I find restaurants normally drop off at dessert but this place continued to deliver. Strong quality dessert that matches up with the rest of the meal.
Service was excellent that night. Attentive, helpful and never too intrusive.
Overall, another great meal for what I thought was an incredibly reasonable price. Maybe one of my new favourite restaurants in Vancouver!