Had dinner here for the first time on Saturday night. Our friend from out of town was visiting and we booked a table for four. My husband and I arrived a few minutes early. The place was full but the staff was accommodating and quickly got us set up at the bar while we waited. Soon after, we were seated at a cozy table for four. When plans changed last minute and one more diner was added to our group we were moved to a bigger table with literally no wait and no questions asked. The food was excellent, if a bit pricey. My husband and I both had the buffalo mozzarella salad to start. It was fabulous and a decent sized portion. Three out of five of us ordered the squash agnolotti for the main. It was delicious with a hint of garlic, lots of mushrooms and a drizzle of truffle oil. My husband had the steak, which he said was excellent and it also looked to be a good size. Our other friend enjoyed a plate of the spaghetti bolognese. The menu is huge and can be a bit overwhelming if you're feeling indecisive. They have many pasta dishes to choose from but there are also quite literally pages of meat, game, chicken, and fish dishes. Dessert selection was pretty extensive and varied. We chose the chocolate ganache cake to share and were glad we did because the slice they brought us was enormous. Our friends shared the tiramisu and said it was great. Service was very attentive all throughout the evening. Bread baskets were replenished without our having to ask, and wine and water glasses were continuously topped up. Because the restaurant was full with a lot of Christmas parties on the lower level especially the atmosphere was quite lively and loud. All in all, it was a fabulous meal. We would definitely go back but probably for a special occasion since the prices are a little on the steep side.

Went here for lunch with a friend, it's a beautiful restaurant.
Appetizer I had was - BEEF CARPACCIO A LA ROMAGNOLA CON ARUGULA E PINOLI $16.95
Was good but different then the usual carpaccio I would eat. It had mustard and capers on it. It was tasty but I prefer it without the extras added.
My pasta was - RIGATONI A LA BOLOGNESE $19.95
Once again, good pasta.. nothing special that I would tell all my friends about or anything but I had a good meal.
Overall the place is very nice, the staff were nice and the food was good. I'd give the food a 3.5 out of 5.

Would I return.. well I don't think I would recommend this place, it's good but not "awesome" to me.. I would return here if someone else wanted me to come along with them though.

Went for dinner for the first time and will definitely go back. We started with calarmari and it was delicious. Wanted to try the authentic pasta dishes so we ordered the meatballs and a lasagne - both were outstanding and the portion size was just right. Had to try the tiramasu and my husband order the lemon desert and they were delicious. Overall experience was very good and would definitely be back. Not sure I could manage three courses again though as they were all wonderful but with the size of them probably should have sacrificed the desert or appetizer as was pretty full at the end of it. Love the decor and layout of the place and would be a great restaurant for special occasions as has that more formal atmosphere to it.

My husband was on their website and he said that he liked the menu and wanted to try it out. They do not show prices on their menu on line.

We thought it would be a fine dining experience but we were seated and finished in an hour and 20 minutes.

Service was very good but that is the only positive that I can say about the evening.

Wines are outrageously marked up.

For dinner we shared a penne arrabiata. It was nicely seasoned but it was chewey (not al dente). For the main courses I had the sea bass (33.00) and my husband had the tuscan chicken (29.95). The sea bass was nice and moist but completely lacking in flavour or seasoning. It was supposed to have tomato, onion and garlic sauce. The was a tiny tomato on the plate but no sauce on the fish. Vegetables consisted of bitter bak choi, tough green bean, hard potato and broccoli that had seen better days.

The desserts were all $10.95, even the ice cream. I can't believe the audacity of charging $10.95 for ice cream. We went out for ice cream instead.

Ambiance is okay but for the prices they charge it should be more than a bistro type atmosphere and we should not be seated so close to the other tables that we can hear their conversation and see exactly what they're having for dinner.

With a bottle of wine, a dish of pasta, two entrees and coffee the bill was $138.00 with taxes and before tip.

For the price there are far better restaurants to spend your money. We would not return.

Tonight a group of friends and I went to Francesco for DineOut. Not really knowing what to expect, I left the restaurant feeling full and quite satisfied.

I'll start off with service. Waitstaff are polite and courteous, but not too friendly. Not once did our server(s) to attempt to make any small talk with us, but they were efficient in their job otherwise. Water glasses always filled, additional rounds of drinks offered in a timely fashion, bread basket refilled w/o having to ask. Some confusion as to who our server actually was because different ppl took our drink and dinner orders.

The food actually surprised me, in a good way. When reading the menu, nothing jumped out at me as a "must-have." But almost everything that our group tried was well-received.
Appies: rigatoni, tortellini (big portion!) and fish soup were all delicious.
Entrees: Beef filet vol-au-vent was made well, only slight disappointment was that the pastry got soggy quite quickly. Chicken/Quail pairing was very tasty--quail meat was so tender and flavourful! The only entree that was mediocre was the baked Crab seafood dish.
Dessert: Tried all 3 on the menu. All were yummy but the tiramisu and limoncello parfait were fabulous. Portions could have been a bit bigger, but they still were a great ending to an excellent meal.

I gave this place a rating of "outstanding" for value, but keep in mind that this was for DineOut. The food seems quite pricey, though, if ordering from the regular menu.

The restaurant itself was lovely. Spacious and nicely-lit with candles at each table, while Italian music played softly in the background. Not too loud or quiet, so seems to be good for small groups or a romantic date.

I will return when my wallet can take the hit.

4 to dine out. For starters, the pasta dishes were the best I've ever tasted. The pasta were all perfectly cooked, the sauces and seasoning authentic and absolutely delicious. The restaurant then threw in a free salad which had really good balsamic vineger. The main dishes, however, weren't to my liking. The veal and fillet of sole both had some kind of sticky sauce on them neither of which were particularly appealing. The chicken was fairly good if only they would remove the thigh bone. For desserts, the tiramisu and orange were both good. The pear tart unfortunately had a thick glaze that was too sweet. Highly recommend their coffees. Service was good but intruding at times.

This restaurant was the first of my two Dine Out Vancouver reservations for this year. I'd always wanted to try this place and since I liked the Dine Out menu, I decided that it's time.

We were seated as soon as we arrived at the restaurant and took a look at the wine menu. It was very extensive. There was a good selection of Italian wines as well as a few from other countries. We selected a BC merlot. Most of the wines were somewhat pricier, but I guess that is to be expected at a higher end restaurant. For appetizer, I had the ravioli, which was of a perfect size and the flavours were very good. I had the steak and crab cake for my main dish which was served with potatoes and vegetables. I liked how it was served with a piece of crab on top. The steak was of a good size and tasted good, but was slightly overdone. The best part of the main was the crab cake. It was very flavourful, but also very rich and filling. Finally, for dessert, I had the tiramisu. It was excellent. My boyfriend ordered the semi-freddo which was good as well. I preferred my dessert but that was just personal preference.

The service was solid throughout the night. Our wine was always topped up and our water refilled. Our server was always very courteous and when it came time to paying the bill, he made sure to explain the Dine Out Vancouver Visa contest for us.

The restaurant is very nice. It's not overly large or small, but there are large windows which make it feel more spacious. It feels comfortable inside. It's on the pricey side, but I would return for a special occasion.

I went during the Dine out event. It was a bit of a disappointment. The head waiter keeps rushing us to order, then goes off and chats with another table. When asked for suggestions, he basically said everything was good. Great help. He did suggest the pasta for appetizer which turned out good. For entree, I had the veal which was a bit dry in parts. All 3 desserts were good, but service got worse. I asked for Earl Grey tea and he forgot about it. So 10 minutes later we asked to cancel it, but he said it's "ready." So he quickly made it and served it to us (Service station was directly beside us, we can see him making it). Then it turns out he gave us the wrong tea. When I asked him about it, he took some empty bags of the right one and lied about it. Suffice to say, I will not be going back to this place.

I know a lot of people enjoyed the meal and service. Truth is, there are better ones out there. With four years of massive dine out experience (average 5 $35~$38 restaurants with three selections and I order all three), I am able and qualified to tell you that. I know I’m not expert and everyone has own taste, but it isn’t so hard to differentiate a good service and bad service. Today I dine there and what I got is attitude instead of welcome smile. I don’t feel myself as a customer, but a beggar who receive everything under their mercy. I saw Francesco walking in and out to help customers but the server I got is just full of himself. The food is just OK. The wine should be above average but my mood is totally destroyed by the poor service.

Good review is always nice and easy to write, but bad ones are really the one you should rely on. I know there are always bad apple in any single restaurant, but this, is just surprisingly BAD!!! Maybe the location is too good that they don’t need to work on quality and service to impress customer.

One of the nicest restaurants in Downtown to entertain people for Business. The food and service is consistently good here. No short skirts or cleavage show here. Damn old school fine dining. The chef is very accomodative on your requests be it salad or pasta or your game. Its a bit on the expensive side for average folks but you know Vancouver is expensive. I do love their variety on the menu and they are all so good and a descent wine selection too.