Category Archives: Italian

Marcello Pizzeria and Ristorante

Marcello Pizzeria & Restaurants Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - ZomatoThis restaurant is on the corner of Commercial Drive and Kitchener. It’s got character with iron bar gates on the front door facing Commercial (which isn’t used as a door) and high ceiling with chandeliers made from wine bottles. It gives it a bit of hipster-ish feel, but without the run-down feel. It was cozy and had a really nice atmosphere.

We were there for lunch, and I had the Chef Tagliatelle with sauteed mushrooms, black olives and capers in a creamy tomato sauce $14.95. I knew that their signature dishes were the pizza, but I just love pasta that I couldn’t resist. I also had a slice of the Prosciutto pizza with tomato sauce, mozarella and ham $13.95 (for medium) The medium was quite a large portion, and very good price. It had a thin crust that was baked just right. I was pretty impressed and knew I had to bring Sheepie who has become picky with pizza after traveling to Italy this fall. Their pizza is baked in their wood fire pizza oven – and it’s not just an ordinary oven. It’s shaped in a face of a human, where the oven is the opening of the mouth of the person. Very unique! Again, adds character to this restaurant.

idearabbit-marcello idearabbit-marcello6Unique fire pizza oven!!

My pasta was very good as well, though it was slightly dry so that all the noodles stuck together. Good portions, and I couldn’t finish it all, so I had the left overs packed up. Service was satisfactory. The music was a bit loud, making it sometimes hard to hear each other clearly, but then again, I complain about this with many places…lol.

idearabbit-marcello2Chef Tagliatelle with sauteed mushrooms, black olives and capers in a creamy tomato sauce $14.95 idearabbit-marcello4 idearabbit-marcello3Prosciutto pizza with tomato sauce, mozarella and ham $13.95

We all had coffee at the end, one cappucino, espresso and a latte for myself. I had been disappointed to return from Europe with all the great lattes over there only to return to Vancouver with very expensive but not good coffee drinks. But this latte was pretty good.

idearabbit-marcello5I would definitely return again.

Taste: carrotcarrotcarrot    Price for Value: carrotcarrotcarrot

Atmosphere:  carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot   Service:  carrotcarrotcarrot
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Bella Roma

Bella Roma on UrbanspoonSheepie wanted to take me to an Italian restaurant he fancied trying out which had a real fire oven to make the pizza. After returning from Italy and indulging on lots of authentic pizza, Sheepie was craving for more. However, he seemed to have mixed up the address or the restaurant and we ended up at Bella Roma instead. But Bella Roma also had the fire brick oven, so we decided to give it a try.

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idearabbit-bellaroma2 idearabbit-bellaroma6 It was around 8:30pm on a Saturday evening, but the place was completely deserted. We thought it might be the time and the street was also empty, but we saw other restaurants across the street doing fine with customers enjoying their meal.

We were a bit concerned, but the server greeted us with a friendly smile and was quite perky throughout our dinner. The restaurant has a night cozy atmosphere, great for romantic dates. The tables are already set up as you would find in higher-end restaurants. It was a little lonely being the only ones dining though…

idearabbit-bellaromaBite-sized complimentary bread with toppings were really good. We were off to a good start. Later, there were two more bread (without toppings) that came.

idearabbit-bellaroma5The prices from the menu online and in actuality differs, so I guess their website hasn’t been updated yet. I thought I saw Linguini with white wine and clams, and that’s what I ordered, but I got the Linguini white Wine Vongole $16.99 instead. I didn’t complain as I was unable to decide for a long time since I was sitting on the fence on whether to go for a tomato base, or olive oil/white wine base. At the end of our dinner, I picked up their to-go menu and looked but the pasta with only white wine wasn’t there…so I guess I’m wrong? But I was sure…otherwise, why would I debate on which one…

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Anyways, the pasta was filling and satisfactory with lots of clams – yay! The pizza was not as good as the ones we had tried in Italy, but the server told us that she’s been to Italy and it’s pretty close. Not sure, but I think Sheepie makes better pizza (from scratch).

idearabbit-bellaroma3Medium Capricciosa $19.99

When I went to the bathroom, the server was checking stuff out on her phone. I didn’t see any of the yelling and rudeness that many people had complained about – I guess that’s a good thing.

Will we be back? I think it deserves another chance. Maybe not for pizza though.

 Taste: carrotcarrotcarrot    Price for Value: carrotcarrot

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Location: carrotcarrot

La Brasserie Des Artistes in Whistler

La Brasserie Des Artistes on UrbanspoonMany of the restaurants were full with an average wait time of 1 hour. We were getting a bit discouraged in finding a restaurant, but we were lucky and found La Brasserie Des Artistes located on Village Stroll in Whistler Village. It was a small restaurant, half of it taken up by a bar. It was old wooden setting, and a bit cramped in the booths. Gives off a hipster, but a bit rustic feel out in the wilderness. The wall by the booths had mural paintings.

idearabbit-labrasserie idearabbit-labrasserie2 idearabbit-labrasserie3 idearabbit-labrasserie4 idearabbit-labrasserie5Chicken Pesto Penne $10.95 (SMALL) idearabbit-labrasserie6Spaghetti Bolognese  $10.95 (SMALL)

I ordered a small sized Chicken Pesto Penne $10.95 (Fraser Valley chicken with basil pesto, garlic, white wine, and cream, shaved Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top of penne noodles). The portion was quite small, and pricey for the size. But it tasted good.

I had a bit of Sheepie’s Spaghetti Bolognese small $10.95 (La Brasserie’s rich homemade meat sauce made from Alberta lean beef mixed with spaghetti noodles). Again, the size was pretty small. But the sauce was really rich and delicious. I really liked the dish.

Overall, the service was satisfactory, the food was good. The atmosphere is ok, only because I’m not really into the bar scene. The price was a bit expensive for the quantity.

 Taste: carrotcarrotcarrot    Price for Value: carrotcarrot

Atmosphere:  carrotcarrotcarrot   Service:  carrotcarrotcarrot