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Q4 Ristorante is another outpost of the Quattro family of restaurants. This Kitsilano location serves up contemporary Northern Italian cuisine with a special focus on service and their extensive Spectator recognzed wine list.
We ended up for brunch at Q4 Ristorante last weekend and I was quite surprised at how good it was. I'd never eaten at Q4 before and I went in with no expectations. The place was empty which for a Sunday, was a bit surprising.
Upon first look at the menu, I was shocked at how reasonably priced the brunch items were. $12 for a traditional eggs benedict was definitely lower than I was expecting. I went with that and it was one of the best eggs benedicts I've had. It came with some scalloped potatoes that had been dropped in the deep fryer that were very tasty.
Overall, one of the best brunches I've ever had for $12. I also had a glass of beer which to my surprise was $9. And no, it wasn't a pint, it was a glass. If it weren't for that, I would be giving the value a higher rating.
The price of beer aside, overall this was a very enjoyable lunch and I will return.
I was walking by on a sunny day and decided to sit on the patio and have lunch. I had one $7 Moretti Beer and one $26 Caribben Lobster & Spring Pea Risotto. Bill came to $37 taxes in. Everything was great, food, service, ambiance.. and I would definitely return.
We went to this restaurant to celebrat my birthday and my best friend's birthday. It was indicated that it was our birthday but nothing was ever mentioned about it.
We didn't realized that Sunday night, it was $10 pasta night. No signs to indicate it. Nothing in the menu to mention it, just noticed that it was busy for a Sunday night. There was five of us, and we shared a Ceasar salad and a pizza for appetizer. Both were very, very tasty. Just enough. Bread and olive oil/Balsamic Vinegar was also brought. Enough oil and vinegar for maybe four slices of bread. I asked for more oil and vinegar and the bus boy brought another plate out and plopped ontop of the one that was already on the table!! I found that so strange. Took a long time for them to clear the table of our appetizer dishes too.
I had the Fettucine ai Funghi, my husband had Fusilli Salicce, my friend and daughter had the Lingune Frutti di Mare (which happened to be Black Cod that night), and my friend's husband had Spaghetti Bolognese. All the pasta's were delicious and we got alot for $10!!!
We asked for more bread when our dinner arrived, and he only gave us bread with no oil and vinegar. We asked for water, the bus boy filled only my glass and half of another glass and left the others empty. Thinking he was coming back, he didn't. Obviously he ran out of water in the pitcher and went to get more, but he filled the other end of the restaurant and never came back to our table. The waiter finally filled the glasses five minutes later.
The ambiance of the restaurant was fantastic. It was cozy and beautiful. The service really sucked. Our waiter made us feel unwelcomed. The bus boy was useless. And when we finally got out bill to pay, it took another 15 minutes before anyone showed up to take our payment. Thank goodness we didn't have to pay full price for our food. When we got up to leave, no one said thank you for coming or anything. Will I go back? Probably not. Will I suggest this restaurant?? NO!!! Too many good Italian restaurants in Vancouver to go back there.
Dined at the new Q4 location this past weekend.. given I loved the old location was not sure I’d like their new space but I LOVED it. Gorgeous restaurant. Great bar area. Terrific patio. Attentive, knowledgeable staff. Most importantly amazing food. An absolute must have is the Radicchio Bocconcini.. it comes on its own or as part of the antipasto platter. GO. You’ll love it.
Based on 1) the good reviews here 2) the fact that it is in our neighborhood, 3) the new 3-course $25 menu and 4) Dine out for Life which was March 24, we were very eager to try Q4 for the first time. I had the 3-course $25 menu, DH ordered off the regular menu. We were looking forward to the "authentic italian" pastas (described on dinehere) and "the best ceasar salad in the city" (as advertised by our waiter). I have never been to Italy, but neither of us were big fans of our pasta, I had the beef one and DH had a vegetarian one, they were both slathered in an insipid tomato sauce that drowned out most other flavors. The ceasar salad was good, but not great, and certainly not the best in the city, with slightly wilted lettuce and an overly-anchovy dressing. The "house dessert" was crunchy but not in a good way. I definitely would not recommend this place based on full menu prices, but during the dinner I kept wondering if the $25 3-course menu was worth it. I debated on this quite a bit but ended up deciding that it wasn't. Even for that price point (about $30 a dinner) there are so many better places to eat in this city. We are sorry it didn't work out with this place. We wanted it to be good so bad we will probably try it again sometime to make sure we just didn't come on an off night or what.
Food: You haven't had authentic Italian pasta until you've eaten here. The pasta was exceptional. Absolutely wonderful. My only complaint would be the bread that was served prior to our appetizers. For a restaurant of this calibre, I was expecting them to make their bread. It wasn't fancy bread either, just normal cheap bread. Kind of disappointed. However, it's the authentic Italian dishes that really draws people in, not the bread, right? Oh, and the beef carpaccio appetizer was wonderful.
Service: I wasn't a big fan of the service. The waiters were a bit pretentious.
Value: $10 pasta specials? That's pretty difficult to beat!
Ambiance: Your typical fine dining layout.
I will definitely come back on one of their pasta special evenings!
Dined at Q4 on New Years Eve... first time we had ever been... and glad we did... we wanted a low key dinner on New Years, as we're not clubbers and thought this would be great.. they had a set menu and we gave it a shot.
Okay, so I actually thought it would be a bit more hopping for NYE but, it was okay... more of a place I would go on a date night.. but here's the review:
Food - really good! The dishes were delish....everything we had tasted really good!Can't remember all the dishes, but insalata (with tomatoes and mozzerrela), Spagetti Quttro (very good/garlicky), ravioli (with mushrooms), also had dessert (sorry can't remember what we had) but great!
Service - was friendly and good .... wasn't sure what to expect after reading the reviews, but all the servers were friendly, and I think the chief? came out and wished us a happy new year!
I would definatly come back again, perhapes on the pasta night? or if my date's paying :-)
We were here for dinner last week. It's probably a bad time of year and going for dinner on a Saturday night just makes it worst.
Service was okay. The waiter didn't seem to be very enthusiastic. We split the Spaghetti Quattro for an appetizer and unlike most restaurants where they will split it in the kitchen and give you two plates here our server just bought one large plate and two small plates. We had to ask for cheese. The spaghetti was nice and spicey.
For main courses my husband had the Cornish Game Hen which was very good. I had the veal which I found to be a bit on the dry side. For the prices that they charge it should be better.
The restaurant was very noisey and It was too crowded with less than 18" between our table and the tables all around us.
It is unlikely that we would return as there is better value to be had elsewhere.
I have been here a few times for different occasions and with out fail these guys always impress. The food is some of the best Italian I’ve ever had here or in Italy and also including my wife’s and (gasp!) my mommas!! The Service is more like family than hired help and their wine list is truly expressive and well thought out. The ambiance is pure new Italian with some great N.American chic thrown in (like the mosaic painted floors that they have to redo every year or so at great time and expense). This is the type of detail they show to everything they do.
If you're really hungry and curious try the 'Buffata" a set menu that will leave you amazed at the variety and unbuttoning your belt at the end!
I don't give many really good reviews, but this is a restaurant that really deserves one. The BEST Italian food I've had since I lived in Italy, bar none, in any city, including San Francisco. It's expensive, but the service was beyond exemplary and the food, well I've already said it. Save up and go.
If you will just be ordering pasta, then don’t go here on a Monday or Tuesday night when they have their $10 pasta promotion (which we didn’t even know about) because the waiter will make you feel cheap for ordering it. I don’t drink on weekdays so I ordered a coke with my dinner (as opposed to wine) at which point the waiter completely changed. Charge normal prices or don’t treat people bad for ordering the specials. You would think a restaurant that has been shot up would try to keep all the customers they could. Honestly the pasta is good but not worth the way they will make you feel if you just want a quick dinner and you don’t feel like drinking, having appetizers and dessert.
It was our first time visiting Q4 this evening and despite the excellent value offered by their Tuesday night pasta special, we likely will not be returning due to the very rude service we received from our waiter. Tall, dark-haired, largeish fellow; perhaps you've been served by him there? Adjectives that come to mind include pompous, sarcastic, condescending. His manner changed appreciably when we said we would not be having wine with our meal. While I understand that a restaurant relies on extras to generate revenue when such a great deal is offered, perhaps the service might consider reasons why a table might forego alcohol and not become visibly offended when it is declined. Pronounced eye-rolling and a smarmy okayyy when we moved one chair to the side of the table so we might more easily converse amoung our party. And so on, generally making our party feel unaccountably judged by this waiter.
Unfortunate really, as the food was largely very good, particularly the ceasar dressing which had a great bite. Lovely interior, great atmosphere, regrettably marred by rude service.
I'm a big fan of traditional italian food rather than modern italian. I found Q4 to be traditional and an overall great dining experience. My partner and I came on a Tuesday evening, the restaurant was surprisingly busy for a tuesday night which is always a good sign. My glass of organic malbec red wine was delicious to start. Our bread came a little late but when it did come it was delicious! We started with the arugula salad to share which was a delight. We then shared two entres, the margherita pizza and the linguine with prawns in a light tomato sauce. The food was absolutely amazing, not one complaint. The pasta was cooked to perfection and the flavours felt like I was back in Italy. The pizza was very authentic, thin and droopy. Our waitress had a few large tables so service was a little slow on our end but her kind and personable attitude made up for it. Manager thanked us on our way out for dining with them, always a nice touch. Really enjoyed the food and evening and will return again!
After hearing about positive recommendations and reading positive reviews, my boyfriend and I decided to try Q4 on a pasta night (Mon/Tues pasta are $10 only). I was ready to order fettuccine tartufate which was listed under their $10 special. However when we got there, I was told that it was "a way to make the website look nice" and the dish was actually regular price - $26 and the server also mentioned "$10 doesn't even cover the cost". I was disappointed but I ordered something else with mushrooms and rosa sauce and my bf ordered spaghetti quattro by the server's recommendation. I must say I really liked my pasta, even more with this price. The pasta was cooked to el dente, and the sauce was more on the dry side (the way I like it) so that all of it blends with the pasta, instead of being too creamy. His spaghetti quattro was really flavourful, but it was a bit too spicy for me. It had SO MUCH garlic, like the reviews said and I guess that's why the description of the pasta was "for Italians only". The portion was generous but we finished both plates, and a dessert! We ordered the brownie because from some foodie's review I imagined that it would be out of this world. But when we tasted it, I felt that it was overhyped. The brownie was thin, and the ice cream wasn't very special, but I liked the caramelized crust though. For sure it didn't worth the $8.5 and it still can't beat the chocolate cake at Mosaic, my absolute favourite. The ambiance was quite nice, and outdoors seem even nicer on a warm day with all the vines creating this privacy. However we sat inside and tables were quite close to each other so the noise level was rather high. The service was better than most restaurants I have been to, although we did have to wait a bit before ordering and getting the bill, but they had extra servers to fill the water for us and the server was quite friendly. Overall I am really pleased with this experience and I will be back, but only on a pasta night and maybe order other dessert if it comes with a special price.
I agree with the other reviewers who commented this place is cramped and crowded..
the food was pretty good and I also enjoyed their desserts. Service was okay.. I had to wait for my waiter sometimes which was kind of annoying. It would've been much better if the ambiance was quieter and more intimate like other restaurants around the same price range
We arrived at 5:30 on a Monday, and the place was quiet, great for romantic small talk. I would not be surprised if it got a little louder once larger parties arrive though.
Monday/Tuesday pasta night makes for great value at this restaurant. The portions may look small at first (because of the large serving plates), but it's actually quite filling. The pricier black cod was also very well done: delicate texture and well-seasoned without overwhelming the taste of the fish. Don't forget to see what desserts they have! We tried the baked phyllo pastry with marscapone and sour cherries, and it was outstanding.
We decided to try this joint for there Pasta Special... Thought they were trying to show off excellent service and good food. Without both your just an average restaurant and there are too many of those in Vancouver.
You automatically add 18% tip onto the bill for gratuity for larges groups, but this should not preclude good service.
I cannot remember the last time I have been treated so rudely by waiters that should be trying to establish repeat business!
Incredible food! The casear salad, mussels, and the scallop/bacon appies are fabulous. The ribeye was incredible - the flavour, cut of meat were the best I have ever had. The speciality dessert was excellent as well. This place has become my new favourite restaurant... I'll be here for my next birthday for sure. I'm going to try the pasta next time...
Nice, intimate and tasteful room...
We went here with friends at in late December and we all enjoyed our meals very much. The decor could perhaps use a bit of an update, but it's not terrible. Excellent selections on the dinner menu and wine list. Good service too - we appreciated the waiter's opinions and suggestions. We look forward to going back again.
I've been to the Quattro in Whistler many years. We visited the Vancouver location this weekend and it was equally good. Consistency is good when it's the same company. I'm not usually a dessert lover, but I fought my wife for the last bite this time.
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