As much as I love this place, was extremely disappointed at their unwillingness to accomodate on their no-show fee. It's $30/person, and they do not give reminder phone calls as most places in Vancouver do. They also gave the table away in half hour, which means they did not actually lose revenue that night, but they claim that is why they cannot transfer this charge to a future booking, which I was fully ready to do. I did not ask for a refund, but simply a transfer of this minimum charge towards the next booking. Having said that, their food is fabulous and I love their parmesan souffle. read more

After hearing about this place and salivating over the details from a friends experience I knew I had to check it out. I love that this place is not pretentious - they know what they have to offer and there is a quite confidence about them. Very cute location, nice an intimate. The server suggested we try the 7 course since it was our first time, and thankfully we took his advice. It was perfect. I mean every. single. bite. This is a great place to go to if you are looking for a bit of an experience, great for a group of friends or a date, they serve everything family style. The flavours, textures and the adventure of not knowing what you will be eating next really adds to the evening. The squid was beautiful, as well as the beef cheeks - sooooo tender. All seven courses were delicious, we ate every bite. There is something there for everyone. It's nice they actually ask you what you don't like or if you have any allergies - so not to worry, if you don't like say mushrooms, you don't have to worry about being served a course of something you won't enjoy. They have a wine bar opening up next door and I can only imagine it will be just as busy as the restaurant...if you are planning to go make a reservation early - they fill up fast! read more

We've been here 3 times and it truly has become our favourite place to eat in Vancouver. The 11 course tasting menu is definitely worth the money, as you will be presented with such amazing flavours and food all night long. The setting is romantic, and the service is exceptional. A must for all foodies! read more

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One word describes my entire feeling about La Quercia - Ridiculous. A beautiful, intimate, perfectly tiny dining room? Ridiculous. Beef Cheeks so tender its like they decided chewing should be optional? Ridiculous. Chilled Lemon Creme so smooth with just the right balance of tart/sweet? Ridiculous. Genuinely friendly, yet perfectly polished & professional service? Ridiculous. Two 7-course tasting menus, half bottle of wine, and a bill under $150? RIDICULOUS. Our server assured us that we would thank him after for his recommendation to go with the 7-course tasting menu over the 11-course menu. He was right. Ridiculous. read more

One of the best in the area for excellent quality of food at reasonable prices. Reservations ahead of time are a must, especially since it's a small restaurant. My family went there for the first time last week and wanted to go back again before my parents' visit ended, and they were booked straight for the next 10 days. Yup, they're that good. :) The four of us shared the alla famiglia style 5 courses, which they say is technically 7-courses because of the 3 starters. They don't let you know the menu beforehand since the chefs decides, so every table is slightly different. Nevertheless, everything was beautifully arranged and more importantly, tasted very flavorful without being too salty or inundated with sauce like others. The amount is just right, too. The 2 hour time limit is more than enough, especially since we decided right off the bat to do the alla famiglia. We finished early with time to chitchat with our neighbors during dessert even! I'm looking forward to our next time there so we can try the 11-course tasting menu! read more

While I can't come to this beautiful restaurant on a regular basis due to budget constraints, I can say without hesitation that this is one of the best places Vancouver has to offer for casual dining. It's so good, that we had to make reservations two weeks out (I've never had to do that before in this city!) Some great notes about the restaurant: it's small, so their service is amazing since they can keep a better eye on their customers. The restaurant purchases mostly local ingredients, which is great because you know it's fresh. The menu changes daily, so you can try new things every time you go. And the food is amazing. Like seriously amazing. I went with a friend and we ordered the $45 7-course tasting menu (a great choice if you want to sample their menu). The food was delicious, we had their house-cured beef with pickled local morels, endive, grapefruit and fennel salad, crispy pork trotters with salsa crudo, gnocchi with morels and rabbit, tagliata di manzo, and a camomile and honey yogurt pannacotta with rhubarb and almond biscotti for dessert. All the dishes were fantastic. The wine was a bit expensive for me to just enjoy a glass (we split the house wine), but otherwise I felt it was completely reasonable in terms of prices for the food we were getting. I especially liked how the two tables we were between also ordered the 7-course meal, but received slightly different things - I liked knowing that the restaurant didn't just have generically plated foods for everyone who ordered the tasting menu option. This is the perfect place for a nice evening out. A lot of families were there when we went since it was father's day. Many couples brought their children there as well, and it wasn't a problem at all. Overall, a great place for everyone, for any special occasion! read more

I was really looking forward to trying out this restaurant due to the great things I've heard. However I wonder if it has gone downhill over the last few years. There is a 6 course "family style" option available for $60 a person and an 11 course available as well. Our reservation was for 7:45 and overall we were there for 2 hours. My first issue was with the slowness of the courses. Perhaps people who come here like to sit and chat between courses but I would prefer not to be starving while waiting for food. It took 2 hours for all 6 courses to come out. This is roughly 20 minutes between courses!! I would NOT suggest to come here hungry as the portion sizes are very small. The charcuterie plate was nothing special. The meats were fairly bland and I could've done without the hard mini breadsticks. The second course was a cheese soufflé. The cheese in this was so pungent and strong it was difficult to enjoy. Maybe those who like strong cheeses would enjoy this course. It did, however, have a pleasant smooth texture. Next up were the scallops which were slightly rubbery. I have had much better scallops. They were also very small, and the flavour was not enough to compensate. After that came two pasta dishes. The first was spaghettini and was very dry, bland and reminded me of wonton egg noodles. The texture was rough, which I've never experienced with pasta before. It was pretty much tasteless. The second pasta dish was much better, stuffed with veal. This was good but nothing spectacular. The main course was a lamb loin with potato and vegetables. It smelled very aromatic and the potato was good. The vegetables were quite bitter and the lamb very gamey. I prefer as little gaminess as possible and I'm not a huge fan of lamb. Please don't be shy and let the waiter know your food preferences before eating! Dessert was standard - a slice of chocolate cake and an apple strudel. The cake was good but the apples in the strudel were mush, like baby food. We didn't finish. Overall I felt like the dishes here were too complex in flavour. Everything was either too pungent, too sour, too bitter or had too much going on. The service was standard for this price point so nothing to complain about there. I definitely think my money would be better spent elsewhere. read more

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Checked out La Qercia after hearing great things about it. Cassie (my date) arrived just after 8 looking radiant and ordered a Rusty Nail. Awesome. I ordered us a bottle of Valle Reale 2009 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo which was quite nice, full bodied with lot's of juicy berry notes. We decided on the 7 course tasting menu which would be designed around our bottle of wine. Seriously?! What? That's freaking rad. No table received the same dishes across their tasting menu an at $45 dollars per person it is an amazing deal. (They offer 11 courses for $60, they also have an extensive al a carte menu if you want to choose your own courses Our first course arrived: Cream of Celeriac Soup. The soup was a thick and hardy puree of the lovely winter vegetable. Warm and earthy with perfect seasoning. Within the small bowl floated a crostini with shaved Parmesan balanced on it. I snapped the still crip bread with my spoon and mixed the cheese into a spoonful and marveled in the flavour of the salty sweet Parmesan alongside the richness of the celeriac and the crunch of the crostini. Divine, and Cassie echoed my sentiment. We discussed what brought us to Vancouver as the second course arrived: Parmesan Sformato with tomato and zucchini. This airy soft souffle of Parmesan and egg melted in my mouth and brought audible gasps and sighs from us both. We smeared it on the rustic bread and when that was done just ate itby the forkful with the cold sour zucchini and tomato coulis as condiments. So far... winning at dining. Our third course... Our waiter said it was a salad of Butter Lettuce, Gorgonzola and spiced walnuts, but I immediately realized that the greens on our plate were frisee. I'm not usually a fan of frisee but with the heavy bold creamy dressing of Gorgonzola and the spiced walnuts (which were fucking astonishing and I want to try to recreate) the frisee with it's peppery notes and more fibrous nature, worked. Well. Course, the fourth... Our first pasta course after three antipasti (appetizer) courses. This course we were informed was called their Lucianico Lasagna. A cream based lasagna with small chunks of cured pork, it was the one course of the evening that didn't blow me out of the water. It was under seasoned and a bit weighed down in the thick creamy sauce that glued the layers of soft lasagna noodle together. The noodles themselves were cooked to perfection with just enough tooth to give a bit of bite to them. I heard that pasta at La Quercia was prepared to order and I saw no reason to doubt this. Cassie agreed it wasn't her favourite and I looked longingly into her eyes as the waiter poured more wine. Our second pasta course and fifth course of the evening was a Veal and Spinach Aglonotti in a Veal stock and butter reduction. Simplicity itself and it manifested in such a pure form that I would have to say it was one of the best things I had put in my mouth in the last year. Perfect pasta around a tender bit of veal and spinach with the rich buttery stock just coating the tongue. Washed down with the Montepulciano I could have died happy at that moment having achieved food heaven. However, their was more to come. Almost an hour and most of a bottle of red later our 6th and penultimate course arrived. Thinly sliced pork chop cut from a centre rib cut based on the bone made it a tenderloin and the plate was dotted with Brussels sprouts and small potato croquettes. Sauced in a basic mustard and stock reduction the pork was able to speak for itself without being overwhelmed by it's sauce. And boy did it speak. In volumes. Equal parts savoury and rich with a wealth of flavour that spoke to an in-house roasted bone stock, while the perfectly cooked tenderloin soaked up everything the sauce had to offer. We scraped up every morsel and as I started to get full realized their was only the dessert course remaining. Enter... the Chocolate Nemesis with in-house vanilla bean ice cream. Now not only does this bastard have the most amazing name for a dessert pretty much ever, it's also a flourless chocolate cake so for anyone with a gluten allergy or whatever fucking problem you have with a little flour (seriously, everyone is a god-damned Celiac lately) is fine eating this little piece of Heaven. It starts out like a soft brownie, kinda dense but with little airy pockets and then as it hits your tongue a cascade of rich dark chocolate coalesceses into essentially fudge and flavour that is instant foodgasm. Mixed with the ability of the cream in the ice cream to cut into the sugar and egg of the cake each bite was savoured long before being swallowed. We finished up, both fully satiated and actually quite full. The bottle of wine had lasted all seven courses and we gathered ourselves to pay the bill. This was one of the best meals I have eaten in Vancouver and highly recommend La Quercia. read more

This has got to be one of the best restaurants in Vancouver and all the way out at Alma! I took my partner here for a belated Valentine's Day and we were both incredibly happy with our night out. We ended up just ordering items off the board and sharing. The menu changes a lot, so my review will just have to serve as an example of a great meal! The Endive, Gorgonzola, Hazelnuts was a large starter and we didn't end up finishing it between the two of us. We ordered two pasta dishes. The potato and bacon ravioli was excellent and the waitress informed us that all the stuffed pastas were to die for. I believe her. We also ordered two mains, but probably could have made do with just one. The pork was phenomenal. There was so much on the plate, I felt embarrassed that I wasn't sharing. My partner tried the Tagliata Di Manzo (sliced seared beef) which would also be good for sharing. I'm sorry to say there was no room for dessert! I'd go back here for any special occasion. read more

Wanted to love this place but maybe my expectations were too high. Went for my birthday (over a year ago), with two girlfriends. The service was lovely and the food was very good, but kept expecting my socks to be blown off, as it had just received the award for best restaurant of the year, and they weren't. We had the family style and it seemed like one dish would be really great and then the next would be just good. I have also eaten at La Ghandia a few times and it was a great spot. I think I will give this place another chance at some point, and am very happy that they are doing so well. I love that they are in a non-typical restaurant area. read more

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! read more

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! read more

I was taken to La Quercia for my birthday, with the plan that we would be doing the 7 course tasting menu. After having some pretty ordinary Italian cuisine in Vancouver since I arrived, I was told that this place would not disappoint. This is a small restaurant and books out quickly, particularly if it's a Friday or Saturday evening, but being a weeknight, we were able to get a reservation with only a day's notice. After being advised by the waiter that the tasting plate would be determined by the the wine we selected, we chose a bottle of Pinot Nero. Had we known what was coming, perhaps we would have chosen a white wine instead. What started off with a selection of cured meats, followed by a rich, but delicate and tasty cheese souffle, more meat and cheese dishes began to follow. By the time we reached the poached pears and lemon cream dessert, I felt a little ill. Don't get me wrong, each dish, on it's own, was lovely. The rabbit wrapped in prosciutto with pork belly, carrots and lentils was lovely, although the pork belly was a tad dry. The pasta dishes were also beautifully balanced. But all of the above, and more, in 7 courses, was just a bit too much. Usually when you get the tasting menu, there's a complimentary balance that leaves you full, but in a pleasant way. This time around, I left feeling full but sickly from too much meat and cheese and overall richness. I still think I would come back and try some of the dishes off the a la carte menu, particularly becasue it changes every week. But I wouldn't recommend the tasting menu if it'll be anything like what we received last night. read more

This restaurant is excellent. The food, refined modern Italian, was superb and the service was very professional and welcoming. Was expecting it to cost a lot more than what it did, but food and wine prices were quite reasonable. The restaurant is only small but the ambiance was very lively. Their menu changes often so you'll probably get something different every time you go. However, if you see the quail on the menu I can highly recommend that! Enjoy! read more

11 courses for $65! It's a deal and the food was really top notch. Like really! Top Notch! Everything from the pickled eggplant on the charcuterie platter to the beet salad to the crazy tuna mousse thing to the salmon to the giant, enormous porter house steak for 6! The wine was top notch too! I really felt like I learnt about Italian wine based on the choices served with dinner. So why isn't this a five star review? The service just wasn't there. It started off well, but our first server dissapeared and new ones came and went. We were served food before our matching wine came, our glasses weren't refilled for large periods, and we weren't asked about new bottles enough. This is a very tiny restaurant with a huge staff to customer ratio, so it should really be a lot smoother. I will say that a few of the waitstaff, particularly a dark haired gentleman who helped us out at the end of our meal, was pretty great. But all in all... the team efford wasn't there. Oh and the white wine was too cold. What is up with that, Vancouver? It's such a common problem it's hardly even worth mentioning anymore. Anyways, I loved it here and I hope to be able to return and give it a 5 star rating. A real great spot. Reserve early. read more

La Quercia is fantastic. I've been lucky enough to eat here a few times now and I really can't say enough about the place. The menu is always changing so I won't bother mentioning some of the dishes i've had in the past but I will say that the lamb blows you away and the made in house pasta is amazing as well. The service here is first class and the ambiance of the place is great - small, busy but relaxed. Make sure to make a reservation far in advance because this place is packed and hard to get into. read more

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

I went here with my girlfriend for my birthday dinner and I left believing that this is the best restaurant in all of Vancouver. Personally, it was my best dining experience ever. We booked our reservation 2 1/2 weeks in advance and the only spot we could get was at the bar. This turned out to be one of the things that made the evening so wonderful however as it gave us our own private viewing booth where we could watch the cooks do their thing we snuggled up to some truly fabulous food and drank some fantastic wine. We had the 7 course tasting menu and every course was fantastic. My favorites were the stuffed braised squid and the chicken liver ragu with papparadelle. Also, I can't say enough about the service. I am a tad picky with customer service and I was very impressed. La Quercia gave me a magical night and that, for me, makes it one of the MUST go-to's in Vancouver! read more

A very busy little restaurant at 6:00pm on a Friday. The menu changes frequently and everything looked so good so we decided on the family style 7 course menu so we could try more things. Some highlights...heirloom tomato salad, bone marrow, risotto, duck breast. The food was well prepared - nice presentation, nicely seasoned, and just the right portions. read more

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Strolled in at 21:55 on a Wednesday, without a reservation, and the place was packed! Fortunately, there was a small table by the window where I managed to fit myself. Raviolo filled with porchetta and a soft egg yolk was an amusing appetizer, tasty and al dente. Beef cheek with mushrooms was flavourful, with a nice meaty texture--moist, neither tough, nor too soft. The duck confit (can't recall what it was called in italian... conserva?) was perfectly prepared. Golden brown crispy on the outside, moist and tender inside. Dessert was a pleasant spice cake with stewed plums and clotted cream (if I remember correctly!). While it wasn't spectacular, I was sufficiently impressed with everything else to give them five stars. Oh yes, and the waitress was very nice and patiently described and elaborated on all the menu items (displayed on a blackboard) regarding which I had questions. read more

Wow. What a meal. We splurged for white truffles on our pasta dishes. Truly sublime experience. Loved it beginning to end. read more

:La Quercia is hands down, the best Italian restaurant in town. The food is always fresh and innovative, and you can always count on the recommendations. They offer a family style menu where the chef prepares whatever he feels like in a sharing manner. Above 4 people I believe you have to go with the chef's menu, and you will leave VERY full. Their wine list is amazing, all Italian. I can't wait till their wine bar opens next door. Their service is A+, very attentive and polite. Their pastas are awesome, the way it's supposed to be. Without a lot of toppings, but with strong focus on the sauce and the pasta itself. Their appetizers are mains are far better than their desserts, which aren't bad either. For the best carrot cake in town, go to La Ghianda, which is a cafe open during day times across the street. La Quercia is always a treat. Make reservations 2 weeks ahead of time. read more

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. read more

We loved La Quercia. The food and service were outstanding. We arrived early, and were happy to wait while the manager engaged us in conversation, suggested a fantastic bottle of wine, and reviewed the entire menu with us, going into detail about each selection. The restaurant was cozy, everyone was friendly, and the service A+. When we're next in Vancouver, we're making a reservation here. read more

La Quercia has my vote for number 1 Italian restaurant in Vancouver. Comfort Italian home cooking, unpretentious, and priced reasonably. I've been here 4 times having the 7 course alla famiglia, and each experience has been amazing. Some of the highlights were: - Vitello tonnato: Elegant and traditional antipasto. Excellent quality veal, and read this: They don't serve the dish pre-mixed with sauce so you can see the real meat, nothing needs to be hidden. - Rabbit and pork rillettes: You need to trust a restaurant to be able to eat such dish. Who knows what meat and animal fat they put in it. I don't usually eat rabbit but I make exceptions for this dish at La Quercia. What is so smart is that they serve it with very light pastry instead of traditional bread or toast. - Veal and swiss chard ravioli: I swear I can have this every day. It's so comforting. Skin is thin as how it should be, good filling, and garnished with veal broth and butter, you don't need anything else. - Fried pheasant: I only had this once and it was the best I've ever had. You don't want to overcook pheasant but it has to be well-cooked. The meat was tender and crispy on the outside. - Braised beef cheek: Amazing dish, well cooked and served with cauliflower puree and my favorite vegetable "rapini" and finally topped with salsa verde. read more

+ had an amazing dinner here - the chef's special menu + everything was incredible - seating tight read more

Most wonderful meal of my life. You must save up and go here. We got the family style and asked for no butter and mushrooms in our meals. Our appy had heirloom tomatoes and I mentioned to the waiter how much I love tomatoes. Our pasta dish then pasta this wonderful fresh pasta and tomatoes with basil. The desert was wonderful and with no butter. read more

Great restaurant! We went there for my birthday and had the "family style" meal. It was a 10 course meal, and man was it ever delicious. Great food, great atmosphere, but can only accommodate a certain number of people. read more

Great food & great service!!! http://foodietang.tumblr.com/laquercia read more

Best Restaurant In Vancouver. You can actually taste the love...in your mouth. Check out this vid. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOBQtJbgBsA&feature=plcp Nuff Said. read more

We came in for an 8:15pm seating for four on a friend's birthday. All of us opted for the 6 course tasting menu for $45/each. The kitchen designs the menu for you and it's served family style. So you don't know what you will be getting. Pre-dinner drinks ordered, two of party were not drinking that night and ordered the sparkling water. They placed it on the window sill when poured and it was difficult for us to fill up our glasses unless the waiter was on the ball..which he sort of wasn't. There are other bottles there so it was difficult to tell which was ours. That little annoyance aside... The food. Wow. Amazing. I personally enjoyed all of them but for me the two that stood out was the stinging nettle agnolotti simple tossed in butter..it was amazing and tasted just like the version we had in Italy a few months ago. The lamb 3 ways was my other standout. Rack of lamb, lamb sausage and the start - roasted lamb shoulder. Tender, juicy and flavourful! The two courses that didn't do it for me as much was the gnocchi with mushrooms, maybe it's just me but I like my gnocchi a little more firm. For all four of us we found dessert a bit underwhelming which was too bad because they actually had a really nice selection on the menu. We were given a firm chocoloate pudding-like square with marinated sour cherries and a berry tart in a berry sauce - sorry couldn't recall. I was still thinking of the lamb :) It was also interesting to see what the other tables beside us were getting as it seemed most people opted for the set menu. It was actually different for the tables on each side of us as well. My only lament was we didn't get to try the stuffed bone marrow which looked really delicious. read more

Haven eaten at the resto many times, we tried the adjoining (and newly opened) wine bar, L'Ufficio. Took a year for L'Ufficio to open, but well worth the wait. Same wine list as restaurant, but wine bar menu focuses on sharing-size plates in the $5 to $15 range. If you ask nicely and depending on how busy the kitchen is, they may bring you a pasta or two, or steak florentine. Casual, comfortable nook of a place (maybe seats 20) well worth the trip to Alma and 4th. (No signage, but right next to the restaurant) You can linger for hours, or come by for a glass. read more

So impressed with this place. We decided on a whim to try this place and we were so glad we did. They were busy but they managed to seat us at the bar which was perfect for 2. The wine selection was great and the pasta dishes we had exceeded our expectations read more

I have been going to La Quercia for years and it consistently rates as my top restaurant in Vancouver. Chef Adam Pegg's passion for excellence, authenticity and honesty in his Northern Italian cuisine really comes through. Every dish and ingredient is superb - right down to the small dish of olive oil served with their bread. The service has always been very professional and the small scale makes for an intimate experience. With so many new trendy concept restaurants coming and going it is a gift that La Quercia continues to give us such consistently superb dining without the need to be trendy or overwrought. Grazie mille. read more

honestly I wish I could tell you that it is terrible so that it wouldn't be so busy but it is the best restaurant in Vancouver. Here is a video that gives a look at what it is like. http://vimeo.com/82147988 read more

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. read more

La Quercia - The menu on the wall changes daily. You also have the option of going home grown italian style... "la familia" - Italian Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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I can see this restaurant has a lot of excellent reviews, but it's my belief that all feedback is good feedback, especially when you're in the restaurant food business. What I'm about to post is not very nice but it is the truth. I hope the owner of this restaurant will read this and take appropriate actions. My partner and I had made an advance reservation last week (aprox 5 days).This was going to be a first for us both and we were looking forward to it. In the end, we had to walk away before we were event seated because of how poorly we were retreated by the host and servers. I travel a lot to the USA for work and have had plenty of "fine dining" experiences. I'm always of the view that we in Canada have so much to learn in terms of customer service from our American counterpart - this restaurant - unfortunately, demonstrates why we still have a long way to go. In short, here's why: 1) I was early and walked in by "mistake" to their sister restaurant/wine bar, literally next door and connected through the back via cashier. There was no acknowledgement when i entered and when i walked to the back and asked whether this was the same restaurant, the lady at the back gave me the most unfriendly and said "no, that's next door". I then asked if i could walk through it because it clearly was connected, she said no and sent me out. Fine, no big deal but she was rather cold and unfriendly. 2) Now I entered the right place, again, no acknowledgement from anyone. Host approached me moments later and when i told him i had a reservation, he told me i was 15min early and then walked away. There was no offer of a drink at the bar while waiting or offer to take me to the sister restaurant next door to sit down with a drink, he just turned and walked away. Now, that's a second unfriendly and rather "cold" experience. 3) We walked about outside (freezing cold) for 15 and arrived back exactly on time for our reservation. More tables were open at that time and it was clear that a table for 2 right at the back by the cashier was set up and ready to go. Instead of seating us there, the host made us wait for another tiny table that was right by the door, seated next to a big group table with hardly any room to sit comfortably and that table wasn't even cleared. When I proceeded to ask why we couldn't sit at the one that was nicer and warmer inside, the waiter said "it's been spoken already". We stood there and watched as a couple with drinks in their hand, arrived from the BACK and from their SISTER restaurant/wine bar next door. You know the path which I was forbidden to use earlier from the other side? That pretty much was the deal breaker and we just walked out. This may not seem like a big deal to some but for us, feeling properly acknowledged and most importantly, being made feel welcomed is very much part of any dining experience, much less a "fine dinning" one. It really is the little things that have an impact and i feel a sense of elitist attitude from all their staff working there. I can see that there are a lot of happy and loyal patrons to this restaurant and i'm glad. We certainly will not be coming here ever again - competition is a good thing. read more

Recently went to Vancouver on vacation from LA. This place topped our worst restaurant experience of the entire trip. It was difficult to make a reservation, we could not get anyone on the phone. When we arrived without a reservation on a Tuesday evening and saw how tiny the place was, the only option was to sit at the bar. After we sat down we realized that this place was the most non-vegetarian/vegan accommodating spot in all of Vancouver. We were given 1 option to choose from as an entry this was despite reviews online that this restaurant was accommodating to vegetarians on more than one website. We promptly left and I'll be email the websites that advertised this place as vegetarian friendly ASAP. read more

I was so ready to hate this place. Truly. All of the hype surrounding La Quercia and all of the glowing reviews had me itching to write this place off as a restaurant for pretentious food snobs (y'know, the snobs that you love to hate). But, I was wrong. First of all, to enjoy La Quercia means you need to adjust your expectations somewhat. It's very clear from the get-go that La Quercia is a restaurant that demands that its patrons play by its rules. And there are lots of them. But, if you play along, you will be handsomely rewarded. Right off the top, when you call the restaurant, it's more likely than not that you won't get to talk to a real, live person and that instead you'll get immediately bumped to voicemail (even if you call when the restaurant is open). It can be a little off-putting, but just hang in there. Then, when you actually speak to a real, live person for a reservation, you're given the option of 2 seatings: an early seating (usually 5 or 5:30) and a late seating (usually around 8:00). There are no choices other than "A" and "B", so don't even bother asking, Princess. Also, if you get the early seating, they make it clear that you have to eat and be gone within 2 hours, 30 minutes. If you can get past these initial hurdles, as the poet Bon Jovi has said, you're halfway there. But -- surprise! -- there are a few tips to heed. Although it's not an outright "rule", your friendly server will give you a polite, enticing hard-sell the 7- or 10-course "alla famiglia" tasting menu, even though there are usually about 15 or so a la carte items. The tasting menu requires the diner to submit and surrender absolutely to the whims of the kitchen; translation: the kitchen will cook whatever it wants and you're going to enjoy every bite, damn it. Don't worry, you will. If you choose to submit, the madness behind all of these little rules becomes crystal clear: dinner at La Queria is a carefully choreographed dance. The reason for the 2 strict seating times is so that the food can come out at the same time. At the end of it all, the house staff can then strike down and reset the tables with little fear of disturbing its patrons. A little self-serving for the restaurant, but I'm not complaining -- it's actually quite clever. When the rush of food starts rolling out of the kitchen, you quickly realize that the hard-sell of the tasting menu is another stroke of genius on La Quercia's part. While the kitchen prepares its food a la minute, I'm pretty sure it does so in batches. You see, while the kitchen is slaving away on the dishes for your table, it's likely working on the identical dish for the table next to yours, too. Perhaps this is a method that the kitchen uses to ensure quality and flavour. Whatever the reasoning, I don't care and neither will you, because it works. That being said, there is some flexibility in the tasting menu and the kitchen is very accommodating in this regard. For instance, on the night I visited, we asked for a 7-course vegetarian/pescetarian tasting menu. There was no fuss or drama from the kitchen (even though we were -- gasp -- breaking the rules!), and our tasting was markedly different from the other meat-centric tasting menu. Even within the meat-centric tasting menu, I noticed some small differences from table to table. As for the 2 hour 30 minute time limit, don't worry: even if you hmm-and-haw over whether to order the tasting menu or go a la carte (and trust me, you will be torn), and even if you nibble on your food at a leisurely pace, you can definitely finish a 7-course tasting meal (which includes a dessert course) within the allotted 150 minute time limit. The food comes at a fairly steady rate and there isn't much of a lag between courses. Now, for the food itself. It makes little sense to talk about individual menu items because La Quercia changes its fresh sheet every day. The food isn't mind-blowing, but it is carefully prepared, with interesting but familiar flavours where the ingredients remain individually distinguishable. Rest assured that your meal will be well-executed and impeccably seasoned. Odds are also that you'll probably enjoy some delicious fresh, house-made pastas (both of the stuffed and noodle variety) that are cooked perfectly. Delicious. The service at La Quercia is fantastic: the servers are knowledgeable, patient, detail-minded and attentive. Our server carefully went through the 16 individual items that were written on the menu board, which blew me away both from a service standpoint and from the sheer fact that the guy literally knew something about everything on the menu, which I will remind you, changes (even if only a little) every day. Impressive. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to call ahead when making a reservation, because once you make it in, you won't be disappointed. read more

The food was excellent. Certainly can't fault it. Everything we tried was top notch. We shared a bunch of different items on the menu. Service was good until the point we got kicked out of the restaurant. They have a 2 hour reservation limit so it doesn't matter if the food takes a while to come out of the kitchen. They also don't warn you that your time is up. You just experience a sudden notification that it is time to drop your fork and leave. A pretty negative way to end an otherwise wonderful ecoerienc read more