OTHER CITIES: 
Italian Kitchen: Fine Dining Done Right
- Posted by Anna
- Filed in Restaurants
- May 27, 2008
The original plan was to go to Boneta. Alas, we found out at the last minute that it's closed on Sundays, so we had to quickly come up with an alternate restaurant for dinner. Italian Kitchen was one of those places that opened when I was away from Vancouver, so I didn't catch much of the press surrounding it. My friend also hadn't heard of it before, so we were walking in there with clean slates. As we stepped in, I was immediately impressed by the simple and sleek design of the room, and the way it contrasted with the brightly-lit bar. We chose to sit at a more secluded corner booth inside (although there is a small but inviting patio!), and immediately began scoping out their menu. Choosing was difficult, since the restaurant offers a good deal of variety in terms of both appetizers and mains. After we finally made our selections, it wasn't long before the antipasto arrived at our table...
The meal started with its most memorable dish - the beef carpaccio. I am a sucker for well-prepared carpaccio, and this was very, very good. The beef was thin, as it should be, and its flavors played perfectly with the gorgonzola cheese, pesto sauce, and greens that it came with. It was a good size for an antipasto plate, and we devoured every single bit. For our mains, we shared two different dishes - ravioli filled with Dungeness crab and lobster, and chicken saltimbocca. The ravioli was great - a wonderful combination of flavors and a texture that was melt-in-your-mouth soft. The chicken was a little dry, though, and came with pieces of torn up French bread, which I thought was a bit of a cop-out. The taste of prosciutto that was also in the dish got lost in the chicken, as did the sage. The dish wasn't bad, but it paled in comparison to the two others we had ordered. For dessert, the two of us shared the flour-less chocolate cake with espresso gelato and strawberries. My friend, being the expert on chocolate cake, commented that although the flavors mixed well together, the cake itself could have been a little more interesting.
In a nutshell, Italian Kitchen is good. It's pricey, with mains floating between $18 and $30, but the dining experience there is pleasant and unpretentious. The restaurant space is loud, and the music switches from Amy Winehouse to deep house. This is not the same Italian experience that you will get at, say, Don Francesco. Italian Kitchen has a much more modern vibe, but this doesn't come at the expense of well-made food. Although there is no shortage of fine-dining establishments in Vancouver, Italian Kitchen is one that's sure to get a return visit from me.
Italian Kitchen is located at 1037 Alberni St. (Corner of Alberni and Burrard)
Lunch Monday to Friday from 11:30 am
Dinner Saturday through Sunday from 4:30 pm
604-687-2858
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A friend dined at Italian Kitchen and they poured the sparkling water before he could say "no" - i.e. essentially forcing a $6.00 bottle of water on him.