Visited as a party of six (three couples). We had a reservation and it was honoured promptly and without incident. The table was of an appropriate size for the group, the table setting was handsome and the seating was comfortable.

The waiter was reasonably attentive with drink orders but it did take a little while to get our food order in.

Aaand the food. Stunningly horrible, we couldn't actually believe how bad it was. Only one person of the six enjoyed their entree - the lasagna. All 5 other diners in the party had terrible dishes.

I ordered some sort of spinach fettucini type pasta darkened with... something like squid ink, to make it very dark green (looked kind of ominous but I did sign up for it, so no foul there). It had perhaps trace elements, a few spare molecules maybe, of crab (or whatever seafood was paired with it) but nothing larger than 2 mm x 5mm shred of meat. As if that wasn't bad enough, someone decided to squeeze 18 lemons worth of sour disgustingness onto it. It was basically inedible.

My partner and a few others ordered various other pasta pairings with seafood. None had anything other than token shreds of what may have been seafood, and most had other wildly inappropriate flavour pairings that served to ruin the dish.

All in all, great initial service, okay-to-good-ish continuing service, but the absolute worst food I had in 2011. I'm not kidding. This is the WORST food I had all year. And for the privilege, it's also quite expensive, so there's that. Please save yourself the trouble and skip the Poor Italian.

This evening our manager took us for an 'appreciation dinner' to show her appreciation of our work over the past year. She asked for suggestions and I mentioned Poor Italian, as I know she's a fan of Italian cuisine as is another of my coworkers and it's not too far from our workplace. I had been to this restaurant on two prior occasions. The first time, a few years ago, it was a group dinner and I had ordered a seafood linguine, which wasn't seasoned at all (though the linguine were cooked properly) and had little flavor. The only thing I really enjoyed was the warm bread which was really tasty, with plenty of olive oil in the focaccia. I thought this was maybe an off night for the chef and that he just forgot to season my dish. It can happen. The others in my group seemed satisfied with their fare. Service was OK.

I tried this place again when I took my father out for dinner, last year, as he likes Italian too. My dad had a pretty average looking carbonara (not really a rocket science dish which is easy to prepare) and I ordered a salad for myself which was quite mediocre. Service not so stellar and rather inattentive (ie we were left sitting there with dirty plates)

This evening was my third visit, as my manager and coworkers were game to try this restaurant. We had reservations for 5 pm. Given that it was a Tuesday night, I was surprised at the bad table we were given. It was right at one of the entrance points to the service area (kitchen) so I spent the entire time with a view of the kitchen. It was also chilly and drafty. Not sure why they stuck our small group of 5 there when there were other places to put us and the place did not fill up by the time we left at 7:30.

This is not a good place to dine for someone who has dietary restrictions ie if you do not eat meat, seafood and dairy, there is very little to choose from. Even a dish that could be prepared without meat ingredients such as the daily soup special of asparagus broccoli soup, was made with chicken stock and cream. I cautiously settled on gnocchi in a tomato sauce, as my only alternative choice, mushroom risotto, was made with (yep, you guessed it) meat based stock. I say cautiously because gnocchi are a tricky dish to make. I know good gnocchi .

I was served an enormous plate resembling a flying saucer, which had a hollow filled with a rather small mound of gnocchi (having skipped lunch, in prep for our dinner, I was disappointed at the small portion). Presentation was nonexistent - it was your basic piled up gnocchi with smears of tomato sauce; if it was supposed to have something green as a contrasting garnish (ie parsley or basil), I didn't see any sign of it.

Another of our party also opted for the gnocchi. I tried my first one and found it undercooked. The first few millimeters were cooked and the interior was like raw mushy gnocchi dough. I thought, hmm, maybe it's just one that didn't quite cook long enough. So I tried 4 more, all had the same nasty raw doughy texture. The sauce was very bland, underseasoned and nothing to rave about. Bland was the overall impression, other than the unpleasant texture of the undercooked gnocchi. The other diner who had ordered them found them to be the same, mushy. Neither of us was thrilled with our choice and gave up eating it. When the staff was alerted, a rather menacing large man came over - I don't know who he was, he didn't identify himself to me so not sure if he was the general manager. He loomed over me and attempted to lecture me on what gnocchi are supposed to be like.

Maybe he gets away with this attempt to intimidate and 'persuade' diners who are not happy with their gnocchi when the diners are not very familiar with this particular pasta type. I happen to have eaten heavenly gnocchi at home all my life. I wouldn't expect restaurant gnocchi to match up to my mamma's (exept perhaps in a truly top restaurant with a stellar chef) but I would expect them to be cooked, at the very least. These were not and a few minutes went by while the large man tried to persuade me these gummy, raw disasters were supposed to be that way. At length, seeing we were not willing to choke down the raw gnocchi, they were taken away and we were asked whether we wanted more gnocchi (a tactless suggestion). My friend opted for the lasagna and I asked whether they could make me spaghetti aglio olio. I figured they couldn't mess that up as it's one of the simplest of pasta dishes.

My friend's lasagna was to her satisfaction but from the moment I saw the plate of spaghetti, I knew by their appearance that I wasn't going to be able to eat my second choice of entree either. One of my group had ordered a seafood linguine and I could see it was made from fresh linguine. She was satisfied with her food. My spaghetti was obviously made from dry pasta, which was fine with me, but it wasn't fine with me that it was barely cooked. I was reminded of a Saturday Night Live sketch with Father Guido Sarducci cooking spaghetti for his dog. He took a strand of spaghetti out of the pot to ask the dog to test it to see whether it "was-a ready" and the thing had barely bent slightly from its immersion in the boiling water. My spaghetti was not 'a-ready' either. I could tell (and so could the person seated next to me) from its appearance that it was barely cooked, it still had the translucency of dry pasta. On an 'al dente' scale of 1 - 10, with say 4 being a normal al dente state, these were about an 8 or 9. They were getting stuck between my teeth like supersized hard dental floss.

Besides the undercooked state of the spaghetti, whichever of the chefs prepared this disaster didn't put a whole lot into this dish, which, when prepared properly, doesn't sit atop a pool of oil and is garnished with fresh parsley. Just as I know good gnocchi, I know good spaghetti aglio olio. This was not the good kind. I gave up eating it and was managing to at least have some good laughs with my pals over my non-dining experience. The only thing I filled up on somewhat was a couple of small olives, put out on the table along with the bread. Here again, disappointment...I had looked forward to the bread, remembering my first visit and how we had all loved the warm focaccia and lovely variety of breads served while we waited for our food. This time the breads were cold, the focaccia crumbly and the baguette-like bread was hard and chewy. This was basically what I got to eat at Poor Italian so maybe it is well named after all, as I had a real poor man's meal tonight! Bread dunked in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Of the other entrees ordered by my group, the seafood linguine, the lasagna and seafood risotto passed muster with them. My friend who opted for a ravioli dish reported that parts of the ravioli were undercooked. There seems to be a theme developing here...undercooked (maybe the chef on the pasta station needs some remedial classes). He didn't sound too over the moon about his entree and I think he enjoyed his bruschetta appetizer more than the main. Three of my party tried desserts and the double espresso creme brule was deemed delicious as was the Millefoglie. The presentation of the desert plates made up for the lack of presentation on the entrees.

Service was attentive and the waitress told me 'we will pay for the spaghetti', so presumably they did a post-mortem in the kitchen after the busboy asked me whether I wanted the uneaten (and inedible) spaghetti wrapped up and I told him no, it was undercooked and inedible. I was glad as my boss was picking up the tab and would have felt bad if she paid for that inedible mess.

This place could be good if only it were consistent and the kitchen not staffed with hit & miss chefs. I won't be returning here or recommending this place to anyone. After this third strike, they're out.

Driving by, the restaurant name was quite catchy so I stopped in with my father to have lunch one day. My impressions of the place.. NIce looking inside & out, polite & professional staff. Menu is a little pricy but that's ok if the food matches the price. We split an appy, the calamari.. was ok. I ordered the risotto al barolo & the waiter suggested that I don't get that & that I should try the risotto ai funghi (mushroom risotto) instead. He said the one I ordered wasn't that good.. Why is it on the menu then?? So I tried a plate of both risotto's, half & half. He was right, the mushroom version was much better. My father ordered a simple italian dish, spaghetti with meat balls. He said he could have made it the same at home & he's no chef.. So after a $50 lunch for 2 I wasn't impressed with the food. It was ok but I've had much better for less price. When returning home I checked out the restaurant's website, nice site! Looked over their menu & noticed they had a bigger dinner menu to choose from so decided to give it one more try.

Round 2: I took the wife for dinner on a saturday night. Our server was very friendly, professional & knowledgeable. We shared a half litre of pinot grigio & she had the prosciutto wrapped chicken breast for $26. I had the Ossobuco with butternut squash risotto for $35. My dish once again was just ok, nothing special or memorable. In the end I decided that I will not return to this restaurant. The price is high but the food is average. I gave the food a 3 out of 5 but if there was an option for a 2.5 rating that is what it would have received.

I booked our meal a day in advance and then checked the website for the exact address for the cab. After I read the reviews I was a wee bit scared. I really don't understand the negative reviews. Our waiter, Joe, was very friendly and knowledgeable. The food came at proper times and we were allowed to enjoy it without being rushed. There was a lot of help if we needed it. It was our 29th anniversary and they made it very special. We will be coming back because we want to try more items on the menu. Thanks for making a special day more special.

Lord knows good ol East Van has been in dire need of a good Italian resteraunt for years. Seems strange that, though the area is still home to thousands of folks of Italian heritage, its tough to find decent Italian food here. The Poor Italian might remedy this situation. But my single dining experience there left me feeling much lighter in the wallet but not overly impressed with any facet of the evening. The prices are definitely West Side and the portions a little skimpy. My Linguine Vangole was tasty but skimpy for $17. My friends prawn and scallop dish was a decent size but was closer to $30, if I recall correctly.The shellfish was cooked simply and perfectly. Our shared caesar salad was too small however tasty. The room is a little cramped affecting the ambience. However, they've done a good job with what they have to work with. It wasnt long ago that the space was occupied by a shabby breakfast joint. Dinner for two with a half litre of house red swill came to $100, tip incl. Not crazy... but if I'm dropping that kind of cash I want exemplary food, service and ambience. We got satisfactory and I'm not rushing back, Tony

After reading all the hate for the Poor Italian I have avoided trying this restaurant despite a recommendation from a friend. For a number of reasons, I ended up there last evening and was generally pleased. Before dispensing my review, I must say, so many of the posts for this restaurant are exactly why I have not re-entered the business. Yes, everyone who pays is entitled to their opinion. However, some opinions just make me shake my head, especially when I have a look at the poster’s other reviews.

Without further adieu, my experience at the Poor Italian was good and quite obviously in contrast to many of the other reviewers. The ambiance was nice and the service attentive. For a starter I had the calamari with capers. This was the low point of my meal. The broth was far too salty and this made the dish quite harsh. Next I had the rigatoni with sausage and caramelized eggplant. It was excellent, with the eggplant being the star of the meal. In fact, I would love to have a big dish of rigatoni with just the eggplant. Fantastic! Next, I had one of the dinner specials, sockeye salmon involtini wrapped around a diver scallop in a light cream sauce. The salmon was cooked as I like it, still translucent in the middle. It showed a deft touch and was very good.

The bottom line is that the Poor Italian could be better, but overall my experience was good and I will return.

I was extremely disturbed with the service here, after making reservations we had to wait 10 minutes for our table when there were clearly 3 open tables available. After we sat down, no one ever came to give us water or bread, after about 15 minutes I was kinda furious already. For the kind of ambiance and price they are charging I would expect more service and experienced servers! First of all what server??! We had no server, some guy behind the bar came to take our order, and when they were setting down our utensils they were reaching over us and not sure where to put things playing back and fourth..back and fourth...For start, the steamed mussels had really little flavor, and you don't get the good quality ones, they are small! The Caesar salad I ordered was the most dry and bland Caesar salad I have ever had, there were barely any croutons and dressing, luckily I was really hungry so I finished it. The dishes were all placed in front of the wrong people, if they knew what they were doing it would of been all good! Entrees finally arrived, the Veal Chop was meaty but dry, there were barely any sauce to eat with, the portion was decent but it wasn't satisfying. The pasta was okay, the sauce was creamy but the clams were TINY! LOL I can't believe no one ever came to ask how our food was, not to mention fill our water. Unbelievable! I've had way better Italian at many different places, what a disappointment, poor italian...poor service = bad dinner!

We heard about this place from a friend who has a keen appreciation for taste and value. His recommendations are always taken seriously and this one certainly lived up to expectations.

We had the soup (a chilled watercress), which was fabulous. I had the salad, which was fresh and delicious and used seasonal ingredients (mushrooms in particular) and my wife had the calamari. It was the best calamari she has ever had and she has had it all over the world! It was fresh and perfectly cooked (NOT rubbery or fishy tasting and not disguised under breading...straight up and perfect). We had the Berkshire pork chop and the clam linquine...both well presented and, more importantly delicious! For dessert, I had the chocolate souffle. I was warned that it would take a few minutes to make...which it did (but not unreasonable) and it was....outstanding. Simply outstanding.

I have read some other reviews here and I wonder if I was eating at the same place as those reviewers? The service was very good, the prices were reasonalbe (although not an inexpensive meal) and the overall experience was...."very very satisfying". We thoroughly enjoyed every dish and we would go back to this restaurant in a heartbeat...and we will!

I dined at the Poor Italian Restaurant last night and immediately felt comfortable and at home in this classey atomosphere. The staff as very attentive and we able to offer something not on the menu. It was delicious and were served without feeling we had to wait. The menu offered the perfect variety and was very affordable.
We will be back!

My first visit was back in February while the original chef was still in the picture. It was fantastic and we were looking forward to bringing the whole family in the next few months. Just before our second visit, I went online to look at the menu again and realized that some items had changed and prices had increased... hmmm. I checked here for some recent reviews and like Adam, was almost scared off but the family had already made reservations so we went ahead with our plans.

Starters were crab bisque, pan-seared calamari, and antipasto platters. Although our platters were given to the wrong table and we had to wait for ours to be remade, it was worth the wait! Main courses were Mushroom Risotto, Seafood Risotto, Gnocchi Pomadoro, Salmon with Scallops (daily special), and mom, who eats like a bird, scarfed down an entire plate of Veal Limone! The entire family is Italian, except for myself, and we all enjoyed every single morsel of our dinners! One guest commented that the gnocchi was better than his mother's. This almost created a riot!

I'm glad we didn't let other reviews scare us off. Try it for yourselves.