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Trattoria Italian Kitchen offers casual Italian dining and a focus on sharing. The menu steps up traditional trattoria style cuisine and features hand stretched pizzas, savoury bruschetta, delectable antipasto, pasta and meat platters, fresh fish and familiar Italian staple items like Veal Piccata and Tiramisu with an aim to keep most of our menu items at $15 or less.
My wife and I were walking by around lunch time and looked at the menu outside, when we saw they had a mozzarella bar we went in.. nice place. The mozza bar wasn't on the lunch menu but we wanted to try it so they let us order it, we had the Mozzarella Tasting: burrata, bufala & fior di latte - $16.95. It was awesome. She ordered the Caprese - vine ripened tomatoes, basil, olive oil, sea salt $12.95 with a choice of burrata, bufala or fior di latte and 2 meat balls and a sausage. She loved the salad and the meatballs reminded her of family cooking growing up. I ordered the Spaghetti & Kobe Meatballs spicy tomato basil sauce, herbed ricotta - $16.95. It was good but I would order another dish next time. Dessert, she had the Panna Cotta - $7.95 and thought it was great. I had the trio di sorbetti - $6.95 and it was supposed to be 3 flavours (raspberry, blackberry, lemon) but instead they gave me 3 scoops of 1 lemon and 2 raspberry.
A glass of wine and a mojito and we are looking at a $100 lunch.
Overall this is a nice restaurant with friendly staff. The mozzarella bar is great, the spaghetti is ok, I would return if I was walking down west 4th Ave and was hungry but that's about it. My wife would return to try the diner menu if she was in the area she said so maybe I will be back..
My wife and here for dinner, it was one of the few times we went out without our 2 year old son, so going out on a romantic dinner is done with a certain degree of appreciation. Trattoria is one of those places you hear about, and think I have to try, and so we did.
We sat outside because it was full (despite the Vancouver Canucks game), the service overall was good and prompt. I had the carbonnara and my wife had the spaghetti and meatballs, both were good, solid dishes.
And that was that - i guess when you go to a well known place like Trattoria you expect more, especially with higher than average prices, but what you get is decent food, good service and a larger bill than usual. Nothing really stood out for me.
Went on a weekend and by 7pm, only seats available were outside. Not bad as it was heated. Tried the calamari which was very good as well as the brusheta. Ordered the chicken and it was quite large, 1/2 chicken for a reasonable price. A 1/2 order of pasta as well which was very good. Service was great. Value was good but the mains came a la carte. Overall would return, good atmosphere.
Was looking forward to delicious pasta but was disappointed. The two pasta dishes we ordered tasted bland and was not flavorful. Do the cooks even taste it before serving it? I notice serving portions were not consistent. My dish of spaghetti and Kobe meatballs was 30% less than the dish at the next table (WTH?). Bruschetta sampler was good but might as well ordered a pizza. Service was acceptable as the place was busy due to a pasta special night. The restaurant seemed cramped, dark and very loud. Dont expect a quiet, romantic dinner at this place.
A group of friends and i have eaten at Trattoria a couple of times. Each time though, i am always suprised at the expense of the bill versus the food and service.
We ordered the pasta share plates, salad and dessert - came to average $50 per person, excluding wine.
There is variety on the share plates, and the pasta is cooked well, tastes good but the portions are small. To finish off our meal, we ordered the chocolate fritters. They were a disappointment, they were not fritters at all but heavy doughnut golf ball sized ŵith a bit of dark chocolate.
On each occasion, the staff have never failed to suprise me with their attitude. There is no harm in smiling, being friendly or in fact, just doing your job.
The restaurant is well laid out, open plan kitchen, very dark and the music is so loud you have to practically shout to talk.
Is the food good - yes. Top ten italian in Vancouver - no. Value for money - no Service - big miss
Went here for my wife's birthday (she wanted Italian, it was close). The one thing I will say for them is that they were able to seat us quickly, but only because they had a big table free for about 90 minutes (there were tons of people waiting in pairs or fours).
Our server was borderline hostile. I did not get the attitude as we were friendly, ordered drinks and appetizers right away, and didn't ask for any explanations or substitutions. Just your garden variety guests, but he was terse at best and cold, offering no hello, no rundown of the specials. Never said "pardon me" when he couldn't hear us over the extremely obnoxiously loud music, just a "WHAT?" until he got the gist. Get over yourself, you're a waiter.
The drinks were overpriced but the limoncello pitcher dealie was good. Food was OK. I hate a la carte, since the entree costs the same with or without it no matter where you go, but it's never that much better. So I ordered the veal and the potatoes on the side, and the potatoes were lukewarm and undercooked, while my veal had this nasty vinegary sauce all over it and some of those "field greens" that look like weeds on the side.
Almost everybody else ordered the Kobe meatballs. They tasted OK but my goodness the portions are small. I know Italian people - small portions are not in the vocabulary. Anyway, we hightailed it out of there, but only after waiting ten odd minutes for the bill after our plates were cleared. What does it take to get your bill, or at least to get offered your bill in a timely manner? When plates are cleared the server should be right there asking for dessert orders, if none, then offer the bill.
I didn't tip the guy. I don't tip jerks. And I'll never be back.
Again, I say again: the chain restaurants (earls, Moxies, Cactus Club) do a far, far better job of treating you like you're a customer, for a lower price and better quality food (including pastas) served hot and fast. Why do I keep throwing away my money on these snobby Kitsilano wannabe nouveau-riche dives?
I have thought about writing this for a while, but wasn't entirely sure if it was a big enough deal to blog about. Perhaps the restaurant will see this and take it into consideration.
I had taken my girlfriend to Trattoria Italian Kitchen on a night out before a movie. We were seated promptly even though they didn't take reservations on this night and the place was pretty full. Our server was friendly enough and the food was quite good, especially for the value. Many places do not offer this much quality for the price, especially in Kitsilano. We only had one real problem. The server had knocked over my glass of wine, breaking the glass and spilling most of the wine on me. It was white wine and did not stain, but I did get more that just a bit wet as the wine splashed on my pants and shirt. I did not get upset, as accidents happen and I am simpathetic to this. I believe its best to be gracious when no harm was meant. Another glass was brought to me, and I ordered another one after it. We had appetizers, and main courses. The waitress and staff were effusive in their apology of the spilled wine. I suppose they are not obligated to do this, but I would have found it significantly more classy if they had compt me at least one glass of wine to show their sincerety. Nothing was taken off my bill. I didn't ask them to play my cleaning bill or even so much as furrow my brow. I guess what I am saying is that they are sending the wrong message in this instance. I didn't avoid geting mad because I thought it would get me a comp. Still, part of me feels that had I made a stink about it, more than just my drink would have been free. I dine out regularly and these touches can make a difference about where I will go. If they had compt something it would go a long way in my decision to return when I have a hundred good choices in this town.
I may be spelling 'compt' wrong, but there you have it.
We visited this restaurant for the first time for Sunday "brunch". We made reservations earlier that morning but upon arriving it was clear the person taking our reservation hasn't entered it into their system. Luckily, there were tables available as we arrived early into the "brunch" period. There were lots of staff on hand and our server was very friendly and apologetic for the missing reservation.
We ordered the pasta sampler ($16.50 each). I felt the profit margin was sort of high on this dish. While we did leave full, there really wasn't much on the platter other than some lukewarm penne, some spaghetti doused with the same red sauce as the penne and a slice of lasagne. These three pastas all tasted pretty much the same. There was also some gnocci which was tasty. Two meatballs also adorned the dish but if you were sharing with a hungry man, I think he would have left unsatisfied.
I liked the fact you could see into the open concept kitchen. This is where I could clearly see my pasta had been pre-cooked (al dente) and then was re-heated in there somewhat generic red sauce. The whole meal could have stood a little more time in the pan. Most of the meal was far from piping hot. A nice piece of Italian bread might have gone nice with the meal. You could use it to soak up the sauce. Then again, the meal was so full of carbs the bread might have been too much.
Another member of my party ordered a pancetta pizza. This was $14.00 and was a single serving. It looked terrific but was quite pricey for what you get. It was more of a snack than a meal.
This restaurant is big on style and small on substance. This is not a place where I'd take a starving crowd.
For a restaurant that tries to keep dishes affordable this place does an ok job.
Lets get real: you can make a lot of profit off of mediocre pizza and pasta. Flour is cheap.
They treat the place as though it is fancier than it is which is possibly part of why it is so popular. Thats not a bad thing. They have a dress code.
Got the chickpea "bruscetta" and it was pretty crappy. Definitely.
Also got a cheese pizza that was pretty sloppy and tasted like I coulda made it at home. I much prefer the pizza at rocky mountain or Nat's etc.
My friend got the kobe lasagna which looked good and she said she liked it.
All in all its not a bad place to go have some drinks and some cheap(ish) ok food. I wasn't expecting much from a dressed up chain restaurant and so wasn't terribly disappointed- though I think the pizza could have been a lot better.
It's popularity is owed to its ambiance and affordability, not to its outstanding food quality.
Came here with hubby and brother-in-law for dinner.
Brother-in-law bought the wine and we bought dinner. We got the better end of the deal. Wine mark ups are very high.
This is a very noisy restaurant. You have to shout at your table companions in order to communicate. Not a pleasant way to spend time with friends and family if you want to visit.
The food was decent. Meat and fish dishes do not come with vegetables or pasta so you have to pay extra if you want vegetables or pasta. The prices are quite reasonable for the entrees though so this is really not a big issue. The food was very tasty and reasonable portion sizes.
I agree with the comment about the fritters. They are very small and I think tim bits are better tasting.
Dinner was $89.00 for 3 before tip.
I would return if I didn't want to talk to my table companions. Otherwise I prefer a more subdued atmosphere.
My girlfriend and I checked out this place two months back with another couple. I'm a little mixed on my experience here. First off, the place was packed on a Friday night and it took about 1.5hrs for us to get a table.
Food - The food was pretty good. Prices were fairly cheap, but then again, the portions were small as well. I ordered their house special pasta, which was excellent, but it was a small portion so it left me still a bit hungry after my meal.
Service - Our server was very friendly, but the place was very busy so the service was lacking. Food wait was lengthy, and drink service was slow.
Ambiance - Best part of the experience. Great patio and ideal location in Kits. I had a great time, but I think it was due to the people I was with, and not the food or this particular restaurant.
Went here with a girlfriend for lunch. We weren't greeted by anyone so we asked the bartender if we could sit on the patio, after seating ourselves;which was fine we were given menus by our server. Everything looked pretty tasty so I decided to get the appy trio and my friend ordered the soup, potatoes and a salad.
My trio was okay, the bread was overly toasted which made it super crunchy; it tasted fine but I didn't finish it. Pretty bland overall, the bread needed a bit of salt and the mushrooms needed more basil. Before ordering I asked a few questions regarding the menu; ie italian dishes that I wasn't sure what they were- our server didn't know the answers to my question so he went and asked the kitchen- twice. After we finshed we asked for the bill and I gave him my credit card; he had some friends on the other side of the patio and I guess forgot that we had my credit card to swipe; I couldnt be bothered to wait so I walked up to him and his group of friends and asked him if he can quit talking and give me my card. He was obviously annoyed/embarrased but I clearly didn't care. In any event; the whole thing didn't bother me, he was obviosly a 'new' server; most places go through a few rounds of staff until they find their permanent people.
I found that the ambiance was great, the food good value -$15 for light lunch and a glass of wine - service crap but the guy was crap- I'll go back for dinner one of these days if I remember.
Checked out their Dine out preview. Very disappointed. Food mediocre at best. Large servings but when the taste/flavour isn't there, why bother? We came early but ambience was painfully loud, service was non-existant, and had to remind servers rushing past that we were ready for next course. And by the way, why did my soup look different from my neighbour's? Were there ingredients missing? Mine tasted like pan drippings and not soup! But maybe it was suppose to.
The restaurant is great but the tables are too tight together and I can't hear my friend talking next to me. So we just eat and quickly left. The shared platter of pasta is a great deal and delicious but the meat platter is pretty ok, maybe because it is bit over-cooked and not warm enough.
I like their idea of sharing, the amazing pasta selection and the price! Just be careful because the cocktail here has really small portion.
I will definitely come here again for the pasta and maybe some other dishes and wine, but definitely not the expensive cocktails.
Ps: the Italian manager is very charming and nice! Service was amazing even though we waited 20min for a table (after making a reservation)
It's almost impossible to get a table here on a weekend night - even by 7pm there's usually an hour wait. After a few attempts we finally got a table one Friday night. We ordered the pasta sampler for two and it was the most delicious pasta I've had in a long time. It comes on a long rectangular plate to share and there were four different kinds of pasta - gnocchi, spagetti, lasagne and chicken penne. Every single one was amazing - the only mediocre one was the lasagna - and maybe this didn't taste good because we ate it last! The gnocchi was so good - tasted like each one was individually grilled and seasoned. The spagetti was amazing! Had a great experience and it really satisfied my pasta craving. I've tried to get a table there two additional times on a Friday night but the wait is still always an hour long - a shame they don't take reservations!
Gave Trattoria Kitchen another try the other night and I must say this time they get a thumbs up. My dining partners and I decided to go for the pasta.
We began our meals with a very delicious beef carpaccio, incredible. Very flavorful. After the carpaccio we were treated to three big kobe meatballs on the house. A very nice touch.
Our main courses arrived in good time. I had the lasagna, a huge portion and very tasty although it would of been nicer had it been warmer. My dining partners enjoyed their spaghetti with kobe meatballs and hand rolled gnocchi in a basil pesto pecorino sauce. Both really enjoyed their respective dishes.
It was a Friday night around 6:30pm so it was busy. We waited in the little waiting area for about 40 minutes enjoying a glass of wine. For me that is a reasonable wait on a busy night for a popular dining spot. A woman waiting next to us for a table for two was quite put off with the wait time and expressed this to the staff, she had been waiting for about twenty minutes. If you must absolutely eat in record time I suggest you should really opt for a stop by a McDonalds drive through. Be reasonable.
Had we stuck with just our meals and not ordered the two bottles of wine with dinner our wallets would of come out in good shape.
Wow, what a mark up on vino. Example, a bottle Evolution #9 from Portland, Oregon is $80.00 at Trattoria Kitchen. It is $25.00 at the liquor store. That is a ridiculous mark up to me but that is where all restaurants really make their money.
Overall I was quite happy with this second visit. Our server was pleasant and prompt. Now looking forward to visit number three.
Its too bad I did not read the reviews first.
A friend said the food was good but the place was a bit noisy.
In fact it was realy noisy, not a good place to go for a nice dinner and conservation, and the tables are too close together. The man next table nearly took out the candle on our table as he was trying to get off the bench seat.
The room is similar to the Alberni location, very bar like and open.
We won't be back, too noisy for our taste. The food was good and service was excellent but the environment was not right.
Went here sat night for my friend's birthday and had an excellent time!
Our servers (there were two) were tons of fun: great sense of humour, attentive, prompt, responsive, made excellent recommendations. No complaints there at all. My friend's drink was made with the wrong water--no problem, they took it right back and exchanged her vodka soda for the (ordered) vodka tonic. No arguments, no problem.
Food was delicious!! Those Kobe beef meatballs are divine. Appy platter was a great way to start the meal--we ordered a platter for two and shared it between 5 for pickings with cocktails. Italian-style tapas: perfection.
After falling in love with those meatballs, most of had the spaghetti and meatballs topped with ricotta cheese. Mmm. I had the lamb shank cooked in barollo with a side of arugula and peccorino cheese, which was divine. The food was very fresh and very tasty. Not authentically Italian, but nowhere do they make such a claim.
I found the food to be well-priced: most entrees are about $16 including side-order, which isn't bad for Kits. Portions were generous. Cocktails were around $6-8, so not bad. The wines were obscene: $70 for a bottle that costs $25 from the winery is too much of an upcharge.
The restaurant has learned from the unfortunate purse-grabbing incident described below: one of the staff came around and told us about what happened and graciously recommended moving our bags off the backs of our chairs, which was very much appreciated.
Ambiance is busy! I like the decor and the seating, round tables, and dark colours. The metallic red wall at the back reminds me of the Studio 54 disco era. I found it distracting but most people thought it was cool. If I was looking for a romantic meal, I'd insist on sitting at the front of the restaurant rather than the back.
Highly recommended.
This restaurant is located at the old Chianti restaurant. FYI, they have plenty of rooftop parking available.
The interior is nicely designed, great balance between intimacy and liveliness. The place is doing very good business, we went on a Monday night and the place was packed.
Service was good as waiter was attentive and patient. However, food is not consistent. The pizza was very nice, the crust is perfect, but would have wanted to have more cheese on it. The pasta dish I had was excellent, all ingredients seemed very fresh. However, I was let down by their tiramisu, very runny and lacked any liquer flavour nor mascaporne taste. A lot of places make better tiramisu than here.
Overall, a great addition to the 4th avenue eateries, just don't order tiramisu.
Went for lunch with my friend a couple of weeks ago. She knows the owners and has been many times and asked if it was o.k. if she ordered for me? No problem! Restaurant was nice, I liked the open kitchen feel though I was facing the wrong way this visit!
When we arrived, the owner was kiss, kiss, hug, hug with her, parked her car and in we went. The owner dropped us a kobe meatball to start. Very good! My friend ordered bruschetta, & a platter (that she made up herself) of 2 types of pasta, veal piccata & roasted chicken.
Veal was great! Roasted chicken, was...well..., roasted chicken, however the skin was nice & crispy so gets bonus marks. The pastas were forgettable in my opinion. I think she ordered the penne & the carbonara. I know I was really unimpressed with both...a little too "al dente" maybe...not sure, too bland? Can't put my finger on it...but to even remember, I had to go to the website to see what pastas they had!
I would go again when in the neighbourhood, but it didn't knock me out to go out of my way to re-visit.
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