La Quercia

Absolutely amazing. My husband and I got the family style (tasting menu?) with wine pairing. The food and wine were absolutely superb, our favorite restaurant in Vancouver thus far (we just moved from New York City). We highly recommend this restaurant. Do the family style if you can swing it, it’s a great value and the food is incredible.

As if this place needs anymore glowing reviews! The food is to die for and they cater your menu to what type of wine/​beverage you order!
Each dish was elegant and delicious! Great flavor combinations and high quality food! I don’t really eat pasta but theirs was probably the best I’ve had!
The waitress suggested a wine based on our taste and it was FAN-​TASTIC
7 courses is plenty, so go with the $ 60 menu for sure, unless you have a huge appetite! I have to admit though, I wanted to try more! I was eyeing the food on other peoples tables out of curiosity for what they had that was different from me and because, well yeah, I wanted to try it. On second thought, maybe just don’t eat for a while then go for the 12 course menu so you get to try more of their delicious food!
I will definitely be back!

We went to La Quercia with expectations of a good dining experience. Unfortunately for our group of 4, we received SNOOTY EGOTISTICAL unprofessional service.
We opted for the family style 3 apps, 2 pastas, a main and dessert, and ordered a bottle of red to share. The bone marrow was delicious. Smoked salmon salad was okay. 30 minutes or so later, we got the risotto dish which was too al denté and very boring to look at and eat. Next dish was quite disappointing — bitter stuffed bites of dumpling like pasta. Another 30 minutes goes by — with empty plates at our table, and us obvious politely waiting for the next course — 2 hours into the start of dinner, the decision was made to say something. Never once did we get asked «how was everything?» Or «sorry for the wait, our kitchen is quite busy tonight». Nothing of the sort, just a lot of ignoring and avoidance from our server. When it takes half an hour between courses, it’s normal to get impatient.
After deciding to say something, and getting some attention from our only connection to the kitchen that we wondering how about the main seafood course? We were unblessed with a very uptight French girl as our server who condescendingly responded, «IT’S COMING» O_​O. We mentioned to her it had been about half an hour since the last course and her response: «yes. well, it’s coming». Then, the other server nearby decided to chime in and tell us that the style of the restaurant’s course serving is such that they would assume that we would be enjoying each other’s company and want to spend time together thus the timing of the courses being delivered slowly out of the kitchen.
What happened to professional & pleasant service? Many other top Vancouver restaurants prove that it exists. This reaction was unbelievable. The delivery of the overall good food that was prepared was so bad and quite rude, it’s almost hilarious! What a joke. I’ve had better service at hole-​in-​the-​wall diners.
I do not recommend this restaurant for these reasons. I don’t recommend this kind of dining experience for the price tag to anyone. Very disappointing. Regretful of this choice — for what should have been a good dinner with good friends.

This place is everything you want from a cozy Italian place. The food is creative, fresh, and extremely tasty. It’s like a culinary attack on your taste buds. The service was amazing. These ladies and gents know how to provide professional 5 star service.

Food was exquisite — not contrived. Classic dishes prepared with attention and the best ingredients, what more could you ask for. The service was friendly and engaged, without ever being invasive. House wines were remarkable and everything was reasonably priced.
Christopher and Ronny were attentive and professional and made the experience a delight. Couldn’t recommend this restaurant more highly.

Our favourite restaurant in Vancouver bar none. No point in reviewing each dish since they change every day, but everything we’ve had here has been extremely high quality, especially the pasta. We always order the smaller of the tasting menus, and we leave so stuffed we could not fathom ordering the larger one (though part of me wants to try it so I can sample a greater variety of their tasty dishes!).
Service has always been impeccable — friendly and unassuming. Location and décor are about as far away from trendy Gastown/​Chinatown as you can get. Zero pretension, just a great experience from start to finish.

This is probably my favourite Vancouver restaurant. We order the smaller of the two tasting menu options every time, and I can’t think of a single dish that’s failed to deliver. The value is good. The focus is on authentic Italian cuisine, and while I’m not a fan of authenticity for its own sake, it hasn’t seemed like an artificial constraint here. Wine program is good. Bar program is adequate. It’s difficult to get a reservation, so we often fall back to dining next door at L’Ufficio, which shares the kitchen and is great for a casual meal. Service is great.

Came here for my boyfriend’s 30^th birthday with high expectations, and we left blown away. The amount of love poured into each dish comes across in every bite. We ordered the small family-​style option and a beautiful bottle of wine, and left so blissfully full. We enjoyed:
— shaved aged rib eye, pecorino cheese and arugula
— 5-​day brined sous vide pork, seared for a nice crispy texture, served on a marinated bean salad
— fennel & endive salad with garlic infused olive oil
— 2 different pastas: one was a porchetta stuffed tortellini (made in-​house), and the other was an elbow pasta what had a mince sauce on it that my boyfriend happily exclaimed, «this tastes like nonna’s sauce»
–Main course: sous vide pemberton meadows beef, grilled to medium rare, served over beet pure with baby carrots, beets and arugual
–Dessert was a pot of crème with two chocolate, fudgy brownie like cookies and slices of grapefruit (holy smokes this one blew my mind!)
Our server was amazing. He described every dish to us, and even went into some details around how they prepared the meats, and grew the arugula and herbs in the restaurant’s back garden. I think our keen interest in his descriptions of our meal, led him to offer us a tour of the back garden, and a story about how they had just harvested 5 gallons of honey from their rooftop bee hives! We even got to sample the honey comb!
This was truly a special dining experience, and the perfect way to celebrate a birthday or any other occasion.

The best pasta in Vancouver, bar none. Consistently and exceptional good, the pasta here is made fresh in house daily. The traditional roman pastas are really the highlight, from the cacio & pepe to the various iterations of guanciale.
We dine here regularly, and it never disappoints.

This place never disappoints and I eat here a lot.
I am a vegetarian, and they are always very accommodating. «Must tries» are their Parmesan Soufflee, anything with Burrata Cheese that they get flown in, and you must always leave room for their Lemon Cream dessert… it is just the right amount of sweetness and tartness.
They have a nice selection of wines that are very reasonably priced.
It is always excellent and friendly service. Everyone there is very attentive.
Prices is high, but value is higher. It extremely reasonable for what you are getting. My only criticism is that it is hard to get a table without booking well in advance. Not a bad problem for them to have.

They’ve got all the right ingredients; the burrata was fresh & the real deal, high quality EVO, the ambiance was nice, our waiter was excellent, very attentive & simpatico.
Everything just fell flat when we were served the pasta. The amatriciana pasta was too heavy on the onion, there wasn’t enough peperoncino and the pancetta wasn’t cooked long enough in the sauce to have its flavour permeate the sauce. My wife had the simple tomato sauce with burrata. The sauce was almost none existent and so was its flavour.

Food — We were expecting the food to be much more flavourful, given how La Quercia is an Italian restaurant. However, we were thoroughly disappointed on how bland the flavours were. The food is still good tasting food, just that we expected better. Like others have said, the portions were small.
Service — The service was great mostly. Like others have said, the dinner took almost 2.5 hours for a 7 course meal.
Ambiance — I enjoyed the ambiance as it’s a nice cozy restaurant.
Overall — It’s a great little restaurant, but for the price and food quality, it seems there are better choices. It is unlikely that I will return to this restaurant.

duck terrine 4/​5, duck breast 4.5÷5, artichoke 3.5÷5, aioli — The duck breast was the best with the nuts and honey on top. The terrine was not too salty.
pork belly, cappuccio, walnut crema ⁴⁄₅ — It wasn’t overly fatty but I would still prefer the crispy skin in the Chinese roasted pork. The walnut cream wasn’t too strong. I could only taste it when eating with the bread. The sour cabbage was too strong to match with the rest. On the other side, the sour apple was fine with the perfect amount of sourness. The walnut was just there for the texture.
foccacia, eggplant-​spaghetti, burrata ³⁄₅ — It was way too salty. Luckily the burrata was plain to balance that.
nettle, scarpinocc stuffed with nettle, ricotta, parmesan, brown butter sauce ⁴⁄₅ — the pasta was al-​dente. The cheese was stronger than regular ricotta and parmesan but still tolerable.
linguine, cod, tomato, parsley ³⁄₅ — Much saltier than the last pasta. Much like a linguine alla puttanesca. I prefer the pasta to be cooked for a little longer. The sauce was not too special either.
herb crusted chicken breast, leeks purée, dandelion, brussels 3.5÷5 — It was a big disappointment when I saw this dish. I was expecting beef, pork, or seafood (something more that chicken breast). Luckily, the chicken was juicy. The green pasto on top was a little too salty. The brussels sprouts with a hint of peanut was really good. Not sure if they used peanut oil in roasting or really nuts.
chocolate chestnut cake 4.5÷5, raspberry sorbet 4/​5, almond tart 4/​5, chocolate salami ³⁄₅ — Chocolate chestnut cake was very light and moist. It did not look that light at all. There was no hint of chestnuts and they were used to make the cake fluffy. The sorbet was refreshing but nothing special. The chocolate salami was a chocolate and hazelnuts. Too bad the hazelnuts tasted stale. The almond tart was very flakey. It wasn’t too sweet and the tart itself was buttery.
Service 3.5÷5 — Our sever came and checked on us on every dishes. He always gave us an explanation whenever we tried to make some negative comments/​suggestions to the dishes. They have recently increased the price of the Small and Large ‘Alla Famiglia’ menus to $ 60 and $ 80, respectively. Having been to La Quercia and La Pentola, I found La Pentola much better in taste and quality than La Quercia. I think I would visit La Pentola next time.

Our experience at La Quercia was great — 5 stars for the service, ambience, and experience but 4 stars because although the food was very good, it wasn’t the best Italian food I’ve had in Vancouver.
We went in intending to order the seven course family style meal:
(bread/​olive oil): Not a fan… I like a lighter french baguette rather than a dense, chewy loaf. Too bad.
Pork terrine with sausage: My husband and I were each served a plate with good house made pork terrine, crostini, and pickled noodles/​vegetables. The highlight of the dish for me was the side of sausage.
Burrata w/​beets: One of the best dishes we had — a nice, fresh burrata with beats atop a beat and walnut purée to share. The beat purée was especially nice.
Steelhead trio: Another favorite — trio of poached steelhead, smoked steelhead, and steelhead tartar with vegetables to share. The tartar was rather bland but the smoked steelhead and poached steelhead were delicious and perfectly cooked.
Stuffed scarpinocc w/​brown butter sauce: Great pasta, but the dish was lacking in flavor. I couldn’t really taste the brown butter sauce or the sunchoke stuffing.
Potato gnocchi w/​porchini mushrooms and veal shin: The gnocchi was disappointing — kind of mushy. The mushroom and veal shin were delicious, however.
Lamb shank and rack of lamb duo with zucchini and white beans: Both the lamb shank and rack of lamb were perfectly cooked and the bechamel sauce atop the white beans was perfect.
Flourless chocolate cake with chocolate «salami»: I didn’t care for the flourless chocolate cake; even with vanilla ice cream it was almost bland. But the chocolate «salami» was fun, fudgelike, and good!
There were definite highlights and overall, we had a lovely evening at La Quercia.

Easily one of the greats of Vancouver. Not to be missed.
High end, delicious food with excellent service.
Keep up the great work!

Impressive food, though 5:30pm dinner not too great of a time slot.
We did the $ 50 pp tasting which included 3 appy, 2 pasta, 1 entrée/​meat & 1 dessert (7 course) Bottle of house wine $ 50. Price very reasonable for the quality of food.
Pasta stood out from everything else (perfectly seasoned/​dressed & al dente)
Great bread with good fruity olive oil, try not to fill up on the bread.
Atmosphere very intimate/​cozy (next table is uncomfortably close)
Free parking outside

We have been to La Quercia several times and every time we go, the best gets even better!!! Everything from the atmosphere, the service and the food is fantastic.
Our dinner was a special occasion, our friends are expecting a baby any day and we wanted to treat them. They loved it too! Geraldine, our server was amazing, the food flawless. We had the family style meal — 7 courses, original, delicious, fresh, seasonal feast and a great value too. We love food and Vancouver has many good restaurants but La Quercia is our No.1! Thank you again.

I was lucky enough to eat here as the guest of generous friends who asked if I was game to let them order for me. Of course! They ordered the family style tasting menu which was spectacular, all created individually by the chef. Having shared a bottle of pinot grigio, I no longer remember the detail of what each course entailed, suffice to say every single one was artfully presented and exquisite in taste. The European staff were also attentive and delightful. I can’t wait to return with my husband! Truly a memorable and unique dining experience.

Best Italian food in Vancouver, hands down. Coming from a northern Italian family, I appreciate La Quercia’s menu and the high quality of their dishes. When people ask me where to try in Vancouver, I recommend La Quercia without reservation (that being said, make sure you make reservations in advance as they fill up quickly!).
If it’s your first time and you like trying new things, I would go with their alla famiglia (family style) tasting menu. They bring you around 7 surprise courses to share with your table for $ 55 if memory serves me correctly.
Their homemade stuffed pastas are especially delicious. Buon appetito!

We stopped by La Quercia on a Friday night at 8, and the place was packed (I had to make reservations a couple of weeks in advance). The place is pretty tiny, but nicely and simply decorated, with free parking available around the restaurant. It was a warm night, so they had the A/​C on high, which made dining here a little on the chilly side. We decided to order alla famiglia (sharing 3 apps, 2 pastas, 1 main and 1 dessert) for $ 50 per person. The party two tables from us got the same dishes as we did, so we were able to get a preview of what was coming. We were served:
1^st course: asparagus, egg, cotto. The egg was like an Italian version of egg salad, and it was pretty good. This was a light way to start the meal (they also offer good bread and olive oil with your meal).
2^nd course: goat cheese and roasted beets. Although decent, this dish was my least favorite since they topped it with brown sugar, making everything too sweet.
3^rd course: salmon crostini, smoked salmon, grapefruit, sea asparagus. This was my favorite appetizer: I loved both preparations of the salmon, especially the smoked version. I wished the appetizer was bigger.
4^th course: gnocchi, fava beans, mushroom sauce. This was the best of the pasta courses. The gnocchi were light, and the mushroom sauce was really tasty.
5^th course: pasta sheets with pork ragu: I also liked this dish, but the gnocchi won out for me. The pasta was light and fresh, and the ragu was good, though.
6^th course: hangar steak with greens, pine nuts and parmesan. By this time, I was getting full, so having a light main course was good. The meat was nicely prepared medium rare.
7^th course: lemon custard (?) with macerated cherries. Again, this was a good and light way to end the meal (lemon taste was nice and refreshing).
I would skip this place if you are in a hurry: our dinner ended up taking over 2 hours (there were some 10 – 15 minute waits between courses). The service was good, although our main server was busy with a larger party the whole night. Overall, the price of the meal was decent for the quality, and you will leave full but not stuffed. Definitely make reservations in advance and open up your plans for the night if you come here.