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Osteria Napoli Restorante
Category: Restaurants Italian Italian [Edit]
1660 Renfrew StVancouver, BC V5K 4E1
Neighbourhood: Hastings-Sunrise
(604) 255-6441
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
9 reviews for Osteria Napoli Restorante
9 reviews in English
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Review from Brian R.
Vancouver, BC
5/25/2012
My wife and I went to Osteria Napoli for her birthday yesterday.
We were asked if we had reservations, which we didn't, but after a brief look at the book we were seated in the back. I thought this a little odd since the restaurant was empty, but within forty minutes or so the place was nearly full. This was a Thursday night, so if you are planning on going here, I highly recommend making a reservation.
I always like to find a good pasta place in the neighbourhood I live in, and I think we found it with Osteria Napoli. When we lived in the West End, we used to go to Cafe Luxy all the time. But they have raised their prices, so Osteria Napoli's pasta dishes are now comparatively priced to Cafe Luxy, but far superior in my opinion. We also ate at Caio Bella the other day, and the quality and price of Osteria Napoli's dishes were comparable.
The weight staff were polite and attentive. The buffalo milk mozzarella caprese salad (a special, usually their caprese is cow milk bocconcini) was amazing. I had the veal cutlet special, which was pan seared to a perfect medium rare, and was very tasty. The pasta side was a simple penne in a tomato sauce, but the pasta was cooked perfectly and the sauce was heavenly. My wife had the Linguine in a cream sauce with baby shrimp, and she absolutely loved it.
Overall, I found the experience very enjoyable, and I intend to spend many more evenings at Osteria Napoli gorging myself on pasta! -
Review from Richard W.
Vancouver, BC
5/23/2012
Came here during the week and received good service but i would suggest ordering pasta dishes instead of meat oriented entrees. The veal parmagiana was okay, calamari was below average. We heard from an Italian friend to order pasta only. I give it an okay only.
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Review from Roni L.
Vancouver, BC
10/19/2011
Racist-much?
A friend and I live in the local area and we decided to try Osteria Napoli Restorante on a whim, since we've never been.
We parked the car and went in through the back entrance where the maitre'd or waiter quickly found us and asked us if we had a reservation and then told us that they were full that night and that they can only take people with reservations, on any night of the week.
Now, it seemed suspect to us because of his body language and the way he said it. First, the restaurant was half empty, with a lot of tables free.
When we entered and he saw us and quickly came up to us, he gave my friend and I *a look up and down* that didn't look good (we are both Asian, I'm Chinese and my friend is East Indian) and we found his demeanor to be rude. It was obvious that he didn't want us there, *we could feel it.*
So, we never actually got to try their food, but c'mon, do we need a racist Italian restaurant in a city like Vancouver?
I question that. -
Review from JJ W.
Vancouver, BC
3/18/2012
Terrible customer service. Waiter rude. Food was not fresh. Chewy pasta, not al dente. Nothing special. I can cook better at home. Italian food, huh. There are to many other Italian restaurants in Vancouver to go to. Don't waste your money and time with this place. Even my Italian friends say "NO" to this restaurant.
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Review from A L.
Vancouver, BC
2/20/2012
My friend and I went there here for dinner and we both ordered Ossobuco and the main waiter asked if I want my in lamb or veal. I never had lamb Ossobuco so I selected lamb. We also ordered two appetizers and wine. We arrived there at 7:30 and our main course arrived at 9:00pm. The place was full and there were three waiters but it seems like only one waiter taking orders. Our waiter is tall with salt and pepper hair. Right away both my girlfriend and I didn't feel right by his energy, he was very short with us but clearly not with other tables. He was very friendly with other guess and I hate to say this but they are all Caucasian and mixture of males and females. We decided not to order dessert because we afraid it would take another half an hour for it. We asked for the bill and handed our Entertainment coupon to our waiter. He looked at us with an annoyed face expression and walked away. Shortly he came back with the bill and told us that we can't use the coupon because we ordered the special. I asked what special, he said the lamb Ossobuco. I told him when I order the Ossobuco he asked me if I want it in lamb or veal without telling me that the lamb was special, I thought it was a choice. He just ignored my comment and said that it was a special and we can't use the coupon. He also said that we should be thankful because we got serve faster than others. OMG!! I could not believe he said that! At that point I had enough of it so I paid the bill and left. Later on I found out that Ossobuco is always served in veal and not lamb. The dish I got was lamb shank with tomato meat sauce!
Needless to say I will never go back there again and I WILL tell all my friends about this. I noticed that someone wrote here that is non white had a similar poor service. -
Review from Jaime T.
Burnaby, BC
4/1/2011 1 Check-in Here
Me and my date ordered:
-tomato and bocconcini salad -- tomatoes weren't very red, nor were they tasty...but i was probably pushing my luck, seeing how there's a tomato shortage right now and even wendy's is holding back;
-antipasto platter for one: some slices of cheese, a few slices of bocconcini, a few olives, marinated eggpant & bell peppers, salami, prosciutto, cantalope (those last two items were the best part): enough for two people to share, actually
pasta trio: penne in tomato sauce (decent), linguine pesto (best one of the three), tortellini in cream sauce (no flavor at all)
linguine vongole - lots of clams, pasta needed a bit more flavour
tiramisu: i finished the whole thing
Overall -- the dishes we ordered weren't very tasty. i went with the dinner special, so it was about $35 for a choice of appie, main and dessert.
service was friendly and attentive (though there were only four of us in the place for dinner), but i would rather go to dario's if i'm looking for an italian place nearby. shame, since the menu has a really intriguing selection of homey dishes and typical items. -
Review from Al R.
New Westminster, BC
1/23/2011
Went here 12 1/2 years ago to celebrate our first wedding aniversary. I seem to remember that the proprietor's name was Alfonso. Seemed like a real gentleman; treated us very well (made us dance a waltz, LOL - I can't dance to save my life), and the food was outstanding!
I remember that it was a cozy, intimate sort of a place. Have never been back, simply because we've been to so many other places. But I'd go back if it turns out to be in the cards.
5 stars for sure. Make reservations. -
Review from Simon K.
Looking for a small, cozy, Italian restaurant, and your in my neck of the woods, well you probably have gone by this little place so many times that you would be amazed that there was even a restaurant located here. This place has been here quite some time, and just how the front of the store is, you wonder why they do not try to spice it up to make people notice. Just know this, that the place is a small gem of a place.
Coming here on a real rainy day around 9 o'clock, it was quiet, probably due to the heavy rain outside. When you enter, you notice a wooden door, and a windown on each side, you cannot see much of inside from the windows, and the door is wood, so that is all your seeing! Located right in front of a bus stop on Renfrew, close to 1st Avenue, I live around here, but even my friends say, "what, there really is a restaurant there?". Once you enter, you are greeted by the workers inside of this small establishment, and feel welcomed right away in this little place. The bar on the right side once you enter is probably the biggest thing in here, with the loads of red wine's located everywhere in this restaurant. The other thing you might notice is the live music. At times, they have live music going on, to the point where I have seen the person sing, and get the crowd involved to the point where he will get you off your table and follow him around through the tables, it is quite a site). The atmosphere of this little place is something to behold.
We get to the one thing that even if didn't have the above, it would still get top marks from me. The food here is excellent, with a good number of pasta dishes, and also meat specials, from veal and even lamb. On this night we both ordered some pasta. It took some time, but this can be explained, as when the two dishes came out simultaneously they were 'piping' hot. Like just ejected off the stove top, and out the oven, as my dish was lasagna. The dishes were a fair size, but just how hot they were was surprising, as they definitely were not sitting under a heat lamp. The taste of each of the pastas was not a heavy taste, and they were not dry, each bite was saucy, from the sauce, right down to how the pasta was cooked. The taste was light, but just right, and not an overload of sodium, like other places. The freshness is in every bite, and I had to watch myself so I didn't burn the inside of my mouth with each bite. The odd thing here, but actually made sense is that the bread did not come till when we started on our meal. The two rolls were cooked fresh, as they were nice and crispy on the outside, and soft, and steaming on the inside.
One of the restaurants that has survived from the era before this area became "Chinese", this little Italian place is a great alternative from Commercial Street, and the combination of food, ambience and service are top notch.Listed in: The Italian in Me - Pasta…
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Review from Josie K.
Surrey, BC
5/12/2011
Have been to this place quite a few times over the past 22 years. Always feel it is good Italian food, not very uptown, yuppy but just comfy and cozy for some good pasta and a glass of red.
