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La Terrazza
Category: Restaurants Italian Italian [Edit]
1088 Cambie StVancouver, BC V6B 6J5
Neighbourhoods: Downtown, Yaletown
(604) 899-4449
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Romantic, Upscale
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
29 reviews for La Terrazza
Review Highlights
"...dessert i went with the cheesecaked baked in phyllo pastry."
(in 4 reviews)
"Also, the wine list is hands down the most impressive I've..."
(in 7 reviews)
"Duck confit, mushroom risotto and sable fish received rave..."
(in 3 reviews)
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29 reviews in English
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Review from Odette C.
Vancouver, BC
2/6/2012 1 Check-in Here
4th Dine Out Vancouver 2012 Restaurant.
$38 per person
Not my 1st time @ La Terrazza. As always impeccable service + excellent food. Price wise it's a bit out of my budget. Good for special occasion.
Dad started with the prawn cake..soooo good. I had a small bite and the sweetness of the prawn, how do they bring this out so well?
I started with the Strozzapreti alla Bolognese. Wonderful, pasta done al dente, sauce is velvety meaty goodness. A dish to savour. Simple and wonderful, comforting to my soul.
Dad had the striploin for main. Nice meat texture, good sauce
I had the rack of lamb (Add $15) Wonderful, pure melt in your mouth lamb. Chef must have marinated the meat prior to cooking cause there is no way regular lamb taste so good. Good portion. I am glad I up-graded to the rack of lamb. Though the sauce was suppose to have mint but I can't taste any I can't complain otherwise.
Dessert
We both had the cheesecake with the phyllo pastry. Delicious.
Only complaint. Why do they have to be cheap with the bread basket? We had 5 thin slices of small baugette to share between the 2 of us. There is a re-fill fee of $$$ which I don't quite understand.
They have complementary Valet parking for dinner guests which is a plus for Yaletown. -
Review from Evilyn T.
1/26/2012 1 Check-in Here
I made a reservation for Dine-Out Vancouver (and it was also the BF's birthday) for an early dinner, (I was going to make a resevration at Il Giardino, but they weren't taking reservations for Dine-Out Vancouver, only for their regular customers, which kind of defeats the purpose of even being a part of Dine-Out Vancouver, since the point is to try out new restaurants and sample a little bit of everything. Seems kinda snotty and stuck up to me... aaaaaaanyways....
La Terrazza called to confirm my reservation two days before our dinner which was lovely, so I didn't have to wonder if they got my Open Table request. When we walked in, all I could think about was how lovely I thought the decor was. The waiting room area had a bar and some small tables with fancy leather chairs, and I could imagine Don Draper sipping his scotch in there while waiting for his table to be ready. In the dining area, I felt like I was in a castle, the brick walls, huge double doors and dim lighting made for a very romantic setting. I let the BF know that since it was his birthday he could order anything he wanted, but he decided to stick to the Dine-Out menu since it listed all the veggie stuff he wanted anyways.
It started with a buffalo mozzarela dish, that was kind of like a boconcinni salad but without the balsamic, we did have to pay an extra fee for this in the Dine-Out menu, which was kinda balls since there were no other veggie options listed, so it was an extra $10 ($5 each). I have to admit it's pretty hard to dine restaurants who have a veggie option for Dine-Out Vancouver, so we don't get to go to very many places. They brought us out a bread basket with some oil infused with salt and garlic which was nice, and we ordered a half litre of the house red wine. I was amused to hear an orchestra's version of the Pixies "Where is my Mind?" playing as well as an unplugged version of Coldplay's "Yellow", but being the music nerd that I am I am always curious to hear what is being played in fancy restaurants.
For the main course we had the shell pasta baked with mushroom, ricotta cheese and truffle oil and it smelled delicious! It was a perfect blend of flavours, the mushrooms did not overpower everything and the cheese was not too strong either. Although the dish looked small, it was very filling, and even though I ordered another bread basket, cuz you need some bread to soak up all the cheese sauce on your plate, I couldn't even finish the bread, so the BF had to eat my share.
Dessert was a creme brulee for me, and a cheesecake pastry for the BF. I loved the cheesecake dessert, it was warm and soft and unlike any cheesecake I had eaten before. It had some fruity drizzle and stuff on it to make it a bit sweeter without being so rich that you could only eat one bite. Uh-mazing! The creme brule was pretty standard, but after trying the other dessert I couldn't really even compare the two because the first one was sooooooo good. In any case, I loved my visit to La Terrazza, and I would love to go back on a special occassion with the BF. Total bill with tax (tip not included) $130.50 and totally worth it.Listed in: Fancy Schmancy
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Review from Billy C.
1/12/2012
Traveling to Vancouver:
We came here for a very special New Years celebration. Very over priced for what you get for food and service. I could open up a soup kitchen that serves the same level of food and charge a quarter of the price. The items they served weren't unique or creative. We went on new years and the server looked dirty and was wearing a wrinkled shirt that was half tucked in. He didn't give us much attention. You don't spend 120.00 a person in total (drinks, food, tip) and expect that. Being a world traveler, I have had amazing meal experiences a half the cost.
We ended up leaving half way through the meal and paid for our drinks. -
Review from Anna L.
Richmond, BC
1/28/2012 1 Check-in Here
A few friends and I came here for Dine-Out Vancouver and it was really good. My first experience with the waiter was... less than stellar, which is why it lost a star. I ordered the pasta starter, the steak entree and the creme brulee dessert.
The starter kind of tasted like an upscale beefaroni. It was delicious, as is beefaroni, but not very special.
The steak was good but either the knives were very dull or the meat wasn't the best quality (or I'm losing arm strength as we speak) but it felt like I had to saw through every bite, even though it was supposed to be medium rare. The potatoes included were delicious.
The dessert was good, creamy, delicious creme brulee.
My friend's boyfriend was VERY impressed with their wine list. We're all tempted to try the $6,000 bottle but until we're made of money, it'll just stay on the wish list. -
Review from Nj L.
Renfrew-Collingwood, Vancouver, BC
1/5/2012
I was excited to visit this restaurant on new years eve for their special 4 course dinner menu. When I arrived the restaurant was about 3/4 full with no line up. My friends and I were seated right a way, but the wait to be served water took half an hour. After ordering the food took half an hour to 45 mins each course.
The first course I ordered beef carpaccio, and it wax made quite flavorful; I would suggest a tab more Parmesan, other than that it was good.
Second course was a duck confit goat cheese salad, that too was good. With duck I usually like honeyed pears as side to bring out a fresh citrus flavor to the item, but two slices of orange suffice that night.
The evening started out flavorably well and the anticipation of my entree, made my stomach growl. Entree I chose was their sable fish with side lemon vinaigrette, on top of a fried risotto cake. In my mind I was expecting the sable fish with the vinaigrette as sauce, but was mistaken when I saw the moist less dish. The fish was also pan fried to a golden crips; thus the texture contrast with the risotto cake was a nightmare. The fish was cooked perfectly, but seasoning was lacking, leaving the a fishiness after taste to each bite. During my entree, I was thinking of Denny's. That should say as much about the half eaten plate of food.
I have been to La Terrazza before and loved their white chocolate cheesecake in pastry. But that night, even the dessert failed miserably with a soggy outer layer pastry wrap.
To add insult to the evening, they were handing out expired coupons, announcing their new available high tea lunch. That is the worst business tactic to introduce a new product. A word before handing the bill or printing out some new coupons would have been less rude.
In conclusion, I will not be visiting La Terrazza again. -
Review from F M.
London, ON
2/4/2012
Great food! My family and I went here for Dine out 2012 and it was amazing. We had their appetizer pasta and prawn cakes, lamb, fish, and striploin. Their desserts (creme brulee and white choc cheesecake phyllo) were scrumptious. Love their details. Know that, though, they have free valet parking. We only found that out at the end of the meal (after we paid meter) - though you probably should tip the valet driver.
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Review from Herman E.
11/20/2011
3.5 stars.
The reason being was not because of bad food or service, but the pasta that I had, I can do at home. It tasted nearly identical.
The establisment has a very nice atmosphere and is very cozy for a special occassion with your SO. The food here is not quite as polished as Cioppinos, but still quite good. -
Review from Mike S.
Vancouver, BC
12/15/2011
Wow! I've walked by this place often and the other week my friend suggested we try it and I'm glad she did. Solid 4, approaching a 5. Every dish we had was on the mark including the initial bread and oil that came out with the drinks...
Great. -
Review from Tori K.
Vancouver, BC
1/1/2012 1 Check-in Here
We ate here to celebrate our first anniversary on New Year's Eve. The food was delicious, the service was very good, the price was exorbitant. Just as expected.
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Review from Annie W.
9/23/2011
I really like La Terrazza because I'm guaranteed a delicious meal, with excellent service, regardless if I'm there for a nice occasion dressed in my best, or if I'm tucked away in one of the comfy leather chairs at the front bar in my lululemons and a hoodie. Have been coming here for years now, and it's thankfully never changed.
Everything is good on the menu, I really can not recall a single bad meal here. They are really great about accommodating dietary restrictions as well - I've gone with friends who don't eat pork, are allergic to shellfish, or are vegetarians...and none of them were ever disappointed in their meal.
It's also one of my favorite places to take visiting friends for a late night glass of wine & dessert. The cosy front bar room is a great place to have a long conversation, annnnddd they make one of the best Molten Lava Cakes (served with vanilla bean ice cream) that I've ever eaten. It's ridiculously good!!! Keep in mind that this is coming from a girl that doesn't even LIKE chocolate - I know it's blasphemy - so it's gotta be pretty amazing for me to want to eat it ALL the time.Listed in: Nom Nom Treasures!
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Review from Stephen Y.
Richmond, BC
Updated - 5/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
It was our 3rd wedding anniversary last night and we decided to come back to the place where our magical day occurred. Entered the still warm and stylish dining room. Ordered a bottle of red and listened to Simone, our ever attentive server, list off the day's specials. I decided to have the lobster bisque with crab cake to start and stuff my face with the AAA ribeye steak, with brie-topped potatoes and asparagus. My wife had the seafood linguini.
Wow! This bisque was rich! Combined with the crab cake served on the side, it was a perfect way to warm myself up after walking in the rain. The crab cake was nicely crisp and crunchy on the outside, but the inside was full of melted crab meat....can still taste it!
My rib-eye was done medium rare; quite tender and well-flavoured, quite the slab of meat. A fork-full of brie covered potatoes, along side a bite of the steak, every mouthful was awesome!
Wife's linguini was equally impressive. Handmade pasta will lots of mussels, clams and succulent prawns.Wish I could've eaten more.
Ended the night with a cup of coffee and the white chocolate cheesecake, wrapped in baked phyllo. Rich and soft, this was a fantastic way to end the evening. They even gave us a couple of glasses of dessert wine, courtesy of the house, for our special night.
Love this place.Listed in: Noodles Pour Toi.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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12/1/2010
I love this place. Is it the best Italian food I ever had? No, but it's pretty damn good and the… Read more »
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Review from Dan J.
Vancouver, BC
12/2/2010 1 Check-in Here
Really liked this place.
Ordered the duck confit salad. Duck is difficult to cook but this was moist and tender and complimented the greens perfectly. Best of all the salad was dressed not drowned.
Had the Fettucine con Polo. Why is chicken always dry when served with pasta? Apparently it doesn't have to be if the chef knows what he's doing. Not positive but the pasta tasted handmade to me. The chicken was light, moist and beautifully seasoned. Very flavourful but not overpowering.
Chocolate cake with Vanilla Bean gelato for dessert. Rich, not too sweet. Ordered coffee with the dessert and I was transported back to Italy. Just like in European cafes it came with a sweet morsel on the side.
I want to give this place 5 stars and the food definitely deserves it. The service was exceptional and the decor was classic, warm and welcoming. I got the impression that they are trying to bring a truly authentic Italian experience to Vancouver.
Trouble is -in Italy this meal wouldn't cost nearly as much. I'm not sure the prices were totally in line with the overall experience. For the price there are better restaurants in Vancouver. So they deserve five stars, but only if someone else is paying. -
Review from Roger B.
Richmond, BC
11/4/2010
The best Italian place in BC! Real Italian dishes in a great room with a great feel to the place!
You know it's not going to be cheap when you drive up and four or five super cars are lined up front.
It is well worth the money spent and has a wine list that will help you spend more than a months take home pay with just a couple bottles.
I'll be back soon! -
Review from Salim H.
6/25/2011
Great place to celebrate a big occasion, but wow $200 bucks between 3 people. So yes its pricey, but it is also quite fancy. Many pieces of cutlery on the table, makes you remember the line from titanic, which cutlery to use. The staff is very friendly, I would highly suggest this place to impress your date, or if you feel like spending money and being pampered.
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Review from Steve L.
Victoria, BC
8/4/2010 1 Check-in Here
We came here the other night for a friend's "surprise" engagement party. Our large group of 20+ people, was seated in one of their private dining rooms in the back of the restaurant.
As we were such a large party we dined from a three-course fixed menu. All three parts of the meal were unbelievably good starting with one of the best Caesar salads I've ever had, followed by a perfectly cooked 8oz steak, and finished up with a phyllo wrapped baked cheesecake for dessert.
The servers did a great job keeping track of everybody's meal and drink orders, but were a little slow when it came to processing the bill. I can't blame them too much for that though, you can only go so fast when 20 people give you their credit cards all at the same time.
My only criticism was the price, La Terrazza is on the steeper side of things. $11 for a glass of their house wine seemed a bit much, and at the end of the night I wound up spending over $100 just for my meal, and a couple glasses of wine, plus the automatic gratuity of course. As this was a special moment for one of my closest friends I had no problem spending the money, but unless some rich uncle dies and leaves me a very large inheritance, I doubt I will be heading back anytime soon. -
Review from Kristina C.
Vancouver, BC
1/31/2011
If I could, I would give 3.5 stars.
There's nothing BAD about this restaurant, I just feel like for these prices, the food should be extraordinary. Sadly, it wasn't.
I came here for Dine Out Vancouver, and ordered the rigatoni, steak, and cheesecake. The first two dishes were good but not amazing. My friend and I both thought the steak knives were more like oversized butter knives as it took a lot of energy to saw through the thick steaks. And since the steaks were so thick, they were more rare than medium rare as the server had said they were.
After two so-so courses, the meal ended off on a high note with the dessert. Mascarpone cheese wrapped in phyllo and baked, served warm. So delicious!
The ambiance is very romantic, soft lighting, jazzy music. The service was pretty good as well. Our water glasses were kept topped up throughout the night and the servers were all friendly.
A good experience to try at least once, but the prices will probably keep me from returning. -
Review from Vanessa J.
5/4/2010
Starting with the oysters here may have been overkill. Granted, the silver dollar sized, fresh from the sea, taste like the essence of life Kumomoto Oysters were perfection personified, it added just that dash of romance to a restaurant that was so wondrously romantic already that it almost made the evening sparkle.
Terazza was better than I could have imagined, and I have a very active imagination. The food was exquisite. Starting with the oysters, moving to Ossobuco, wrapping up with the decadent chocolate of the Torta D'Amore, which was evenly spaced with sips of the most beguiling Barolo I have ever tasted in my life, everything was Italian food nonpareil.
Go here, but go with someone you like. Chances are that by the end of the night you will be in love.Listed in: Vancouver BC
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Review from Megan S.
1/26/2009
Very Very nice place.
They advertise themselves as fine Italian with local ingredients. The wine list is ridiculously long- in a good way- but I am too ignorant of fine wines, to fully appreciate this.
The lobster bisque is a must have.
The penne l'arrabata (not sure about how to spell that)- was a wonderful pasta dish with a spicy flavor.
Pharaoh's Delight- mound of chocolate with banana custard. Sure to make your date swoon.
All around a wonderful place. Save it for special occasions. -
Review from Katie F.
Updated - 1/16/2010
I was a bit too excited about the complimentary valet on my first review so I'm dropping this to a 4*.
I've come back a couple more times since my initial review, both for private dinners and just regular restaurant dining. Service generally smooth and no parking issues here (although the poor valet got pulled over by the police last time I was here for pulling a U-turn!)
I've had a chance to try out more items on the menu now and it's more of a 4 star. The appys are good - the duck confit salad was a new dish for me and tasty and flavorful, but the regular goat cheese salad was pretty dull. Had the bolognese pasta again which is good. I've continued to be happy with the mains - sablefish was the seared style and was buttery smooth! Had the duck breast with a blueberry sauce... mmmm.
Their signature phyllo cheesecake with sour cherries is great, but mixed on others... on one of my trips, the server highly recommended the molten cake. Yikes! It reminded me of the ones I had at Chili's! They left it in the ramekin still, making the cake WAY too hot and it's a bit unpleasant with the ice cream served right on top, rather than on the side :( On the other hand, the chocolate terrine with the caramel sauce was delicious!
Now that I've been here more often, 4 stars is a fairer assessment. This is a pricier resto with appys and primis at $15ish and secondis at $30-$40ish. It holds its own as one of the better Italian restos in town, but not in my top 5 overall at this price range in town.Listed in: Making the most of your…
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/9/2009
Fabulous resto... any resto that has complimentary valet parking in downtown Vancouver gets a bonus… Read more »
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Review from Claudio B.
5/3/2010
Good Italian dining for a relatively expensive price. We are unlikely to return any time soon...
The decor is reminiscent of a high end Las Vegas restaurant with high ceilings, large wood panelling, fake windows overlooking the dining room and some frescoes.
Service was acceptable but there was a mistake on our bill which was readily corrected.
Valet parking for $10. -
Review from Tim L.
8/16/2008
I come here whenever I can afford for some of the finest Italian dining I can get. I love how they always have a perfect wine pairing that they recommend with which I have yet to be disappointed over.
After dinner a stroll down to the water is always easy and there's plenty of thing in the surrounding area, but this is certainly a great date spot or place to have an intimate conversation.
Getting to know someone or catching up with an old friend is perfectly outlined by the ambiance here. -
Review from Jacqueline Y.
Vancouver, BC
2/8/2011
Such a well rounded experience! Lovely ambiance/decor, amazing food with great ingredients and service that puts other restaurants to shame. Antipasto, a little pricey ($77 for 6 ppl) but worth it. Portions were big and everything had just the right mix of flavors. 3 in our party ordered pasta- i wouldn't say it was spectacular, but still solid. Duck confit, mushroom risotto and sable fish received rave reviews. As always, the cheesecake baked in phyllo with sour cherries was perfect. I would come here again just for this dessert. Service is outstanding. The waiter knew exactly how to act, asked the right questions and kept track of all the details (ex. noted that it was my mother's birthday and brought out dessert with a happy birthday message). He was also very knowledgeable with both food origins and the extensive wine list.
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Review from Bumble B.
Vancouver, BC
2/15/2011
I don't usually review places that I eat at, but this place was extremely disappointing. I was very excited to come to La Terrazza for Valentines Day with my boyfriend, and it was all very lovely at first.
Service was very slow, but I was willing to be patient because of the Valentines dinner rush. Something that turned off some other diners was that they eliminated their regular menu. I watched the couple next to me leave because of this. All diners had to order off the special "Valentines" menu at $99.98/person.
At $100 a person, I would expect service and food to meet a certain level of quality. I had 2 unappetizing dishes out of 4: the duck salad and sablefish.. Instead of finding actual pieces of duck meat, they were shredded and it really looked like someone had eaten it, and spit it back out on the plate.
The sablefish entree came with risotto. Fried. What was so unappealing was not that they had fried it AND oversalted it, but rather the grease that was presented to me on the plate looked like it came out of a Denny's. When I told my server that there was something off with this dish, she simply said "Oh you don't like it? I'll take it back". She hurried off with my barely-touched dinner, avoiding eye contact with me. It was obvious that she didn't want to ask me what was wrong with the food - What kind of service is that?
Needless to say, I won't be returning to this restaurant. -
Review from adam b.
9/2/2010
Just had the pasta with shrimp and clams. The sauce was very good, and the noodles excellent. The clams were fine and the shrimp wasn't very fresh. Overall enjoyable but nothing special.
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Review from Lee N.
Vancouver, BC
11/2/2009
The food was good, the ambiance was very good and the wine list is interesting, where did they buy the wine cellar from they are not an old enough restaurant to have all the first growth wines from the 70s and 80s?? The wine is priced above normal though they have products you don't find much of in town, the selection of barolos is very good.
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Review from Thomas D.
2/28/2010
I am surprised that there aren't many reviews for this place. The food is great and the service is excellent. Started with the squash soup, got the Chef Special Bolognese and finished the meal with a chocolate souffle. Everything was delicious. Great spot for a big occassion.
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Review from Niki K.
Vancouver, BC
5/7/2009
it is definitely a nice place. the wine list is good. it has "burrowing owl" which is a great plus for me, i'm a fan!
i prefer the appetizers to the entrees, i found the entrees not a big hit for myself.
go for the carpaccio, truffle vinegarette, yum, the gnocchi appetizer was definitely good to try. -
Review from Kal B.
12/7/2009
really good restaurant.. italian and otherwise
located on pacific boulevard (yaletown).. there is street parking nearby and a parkade just down the street (the street parallel to pacific blvd)
i went here recently for a talk by an endocrinologist.. so we were put in a private room where he could do a presentation and we could eat at the same time
the bread was warm which got brownie points right away
they had a mini thin crust pizza as an appy which was average
we had a pasta with a meaty bolognese sauce as a starter which was not bad.. what it sounds like but the pasta was fresh and tender so better than what u expect
for the main, i had the steak which was cooked perfectly.. i had the medium rare.. one of my friends had it rare and he said hands down it was one of the best steaks he's ever had
for dessert i went with the cheesecaked baked in phyllo pastry.. it was warm and incredibly yummm.. some people got the cinnamon creme brulee which was not bad but not one of the better flavour variations.. at the end of the day you can't beat vanilla!
the house red wine which was a blend of 3 wines was superb.. service was great as well
this is a great place to bring a date as the decor and ambience is charming and romantic
its a little bit on the pricier side.. 50-70 per person with wine but well worth it! -
Review from Nestor B.
Vancouver, BC
5/20/2009
La Terrazza may well be the closest thing to authentic Italian cuisine you can get in this Azurro-forsaken city. However, it simply doesn't live up to the hype and, more importantly, the prices. On the plus side: the dining room is really rather beautiful and certainly one of the top places in Vancouver to take someone for a romantic dinner - even despite the utter absence of any view whatsoever. Also, the wine list is hands down the most impressive I've seen here. Arguably, one doesn't necessarily need 60 letter-sized pages worth of selection, but it certainly doesn't hurt. The service is professional and polite. But where La Terrazza absolutely failed to deliver for me was the food, which is, after all, why I go to any restaurant. Literally every single one of our dishes was underseasoned, some to the point of complete blandness. No single dish really commanded any wow factor, neither in taste nor presentation. And while none of it was really bad, these dishes were simply not what I'd expect in a high-end establishment like this. I guess I'll just have to finally accept that Wow! and Italian apparently don't go together in Vancouver's restaurant scene. A shame, though.
