Osteria Savio Volpe
615 Kingsway | 604-428-0072 | SavioVolpe.com
Open Sunday-Wednesday, 5pm-10pm; Thursday-Saturday, 5pm-10:30pm.
The “Fraserhood,” the steadily-gentrifying neighbourhood that centres around Fraser Street between Kingsway and East 30th Avenue, is becoming a tasty place to hang out. Earnest Ice Cream, Batard Boulangerie, Los Cuervos, Masayoshi and Les Faux Bourgeois all live there, as do European Bread (Georgian flat bread, Russian baked goods), O Taho (silken tofu pudding extraordinaire), and the new Prado Kitchen.
It adds up to some delicious eating, but, apart from Les Faux, there hasn’t been much for a casual and classy night out.
That gap was filled with the opening of Savio Volpe back in early November. What used to be an auto body shop has been transformed into a beautiful, bright and warm wooded room that references la bella Italia in the best way possible. Forget the “traditional” shades of Tuscany and terracotta floors, this place is all about the light wood, from the grooved walls to the planked and sanded tables. It’s an elegant look that evokes something hearty and warm, without becoming a much-overused cliché.
True to its Italian ethos, it’s a room that is as equally welcoming to families as it is to the more urbane groupings that seem to take over on Friday nights. No surprise, when you recall that Craig Stanghetta, the talented designer behind such rooms as Bao Bei, Homer St. Café and Pidgin, is one of the owners. His partners are Paul Grunberg, who also owns L’Abattoir, and Mark Perrier, former EC at Cin Cin, who also worked at Two Rivers Meats, West and Cibo.
Service is flawless. It’s an integrated team between front and back of house, and the symbiosis is beautiful to behold. Prices might seem a bit steep for this neck of the woods, but despite the lack of advertising on the menu as to the provenance of the ingredients, everything here is sourced exactly as it should be. It’s simply assumed that you, the guest, understands that “of course it’s all local/organic/sustainable/seasonal.” Because, duh.
There are a couple cocktails on the drinks list (Negroni and Aperol spritz, natch, $9 each), but the focus is really the wine here, and this Italian-only collection is smart, smart, smart. A solid selection of by-the-glass offerings includes stunners like the 2014 Planeta La Segreta Bianco from Siciliy, a lush mouthful of Grecanico, Chardonnay and Viognier ($10) and the 2013 Langhe Barbaresco from Piedmont ($15). BC craft beers also round out the corners.
I paired the Langhe one night with a simple rabbit stew that was aromatically dense. The Planeta accompanied the recurring special of suckling pig ($24), which was roasted on a spit and dressed with salsa verde and crackling. I rounded out my meal with pumpkin and squash ravioli topped with whisper-crisps of sage. It’s a starter that soothes the palate and prepares it for meatier adventures, like that swoon-worthy pork or the excellent ox tongue tonnata ($14).
Some things on the menu are a surprise of a different sort. Garlic bread “all’Americano” ($6) is a nod to Grunberg’s childhood love of the garlic bread from Safeway, of all places. Before you snort too loudly, order it: it’s ridiculous how good it is. The butter is heavily infused with garlic, and each mini-loaf is thickly sliced and stuffed with slabs of fat. Wrapped in a foil bag and heated to order, it’s butter-soaked bread at its finest. Try to save a slice or two with which to mop up your sauces (because, you know, butter).
Whatever you do, keep room for dessert, especially the cannoli ($8). Stuffed with ricotta, raisins, nuts, candied citrus, and sifted confectioners’ sugar, it’s hardly sweet at all, but is a divine finish to any meal here.
Rating:
Food: ★★★★1/2
Service: ★★★★★
Ambiance: ★★★★★
Value: ★★★★
Overall: ★★★★1/2
Anya Levykh is a freelance food, drink and travel writer who covers all things ingestible. In addition to obsessively collecting cookbooks, she is a judge for the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @foodgirlfriday.
Rating guide:
★: Okay, nothing memorable.
★★: Good, shows promise.
★★★: Very good, occasionally excellent.
★★★★: Excellent, consistently above average.
★★★★★: Awe-inspiring, practically perfect in every way.
