When looking for pasta and pizza and good Italian food, most folks first consider Commercial Drive, but let me turn you onto North Vancouver.
Today I was at Roma Pizzeria & Ristorante in North Vancouver. It appeared to be authentic Italian with the menu, music, and decor speaking to this. It is run by a Persian family, and according to the owner, they made the switch from Persian to Italian cuisine 4 years ago. Where they hired a chef who now has over 40 years of experience preparing Italian cuisine. His food is so on the traditional mark that Italian locals have claimed that they have accept it as their own.
I believed this to be the case, as walking in it smelled like fresh mashed tomatoes and warm Italian spices coming in. This is always a good sign in my books.
If visiting, aim for the weekend as they have live musicians singing and strumming guitars every Saturday and Sunday.
And during the time of this visit, Roma just recently announced on North Shore News and City TV that every Tuesday from now until the end of the 2026 year they will be offering free pasta and pizza to all first responders who dine in. There doesn’t appear to be any stipulations on which pizza or pastas. This promotion was brought on by management’s desire to appreciate those working hard in and for their neighbourhood. They see the workers and they hear the sirens and are often reminded of the good they do.
Reading the menu was a tad overwhelming. Everything sounded great and having decision paralysis, we allowed the owner to order for us. The result, a stunning spread and more than enough food to feed 2 for an entire week. 4 pastas, 3 pizzas, 2 appetizers, and a sandwich.
Everything was exactly as I expected it to be. Quality ingredients shining through skilled techniques. They have a speciality imported an artistic, brick pizza oven. This they use to prepare made to order pies quickly. The result is light and fully pizza dough topped with a thin layer of sauce and heavy with your chosen toppings.
The Capricciosa is prosciutto cotto “ham”, salami, mushroom, artichoke mozzarella cheese, black olive and homemade tomato sauce.
Carne Amore with prosciutto cotto, pepperoni, salami, soppressata mozzarella cheese and homemade tomato sauce.
These two were a lot more traditional with a red sauce base, salted meats. And for the former, the addition of olives and artichoke for additional texture and taste, making for a more fulsome bite.
Admittedly both my guest and my favourite pizza is a Hawaiian. Not traditional, not authentic, but we just like the sweet and salty of the pineapple meets ham combo.
As for pastas, hearing the owner’s recommendation, I had to order the lasagna. It is one of my favourite Italian dishes, and it is such a labour of love. One that I don’t often have the time to do for myself. This is their Traditional Lasagna, which takes 20 minutes to prepare. It is layered pasta sheets sandwiching meat sauce, topped with bechamel and mozzarella cheese. Sadly it didn’t look all that appealing served in a ramekin that you have to scoop up and out of. I did like that it too was baked in the same pizza oven.
However if you can only do one pasta I would recommend any of the following instead, as you can get it served in a house made bread bowl. This is done with the same pizza dough, baked on an over turned bowl, in their pizza oven, in order to create the desired bowl shape. This is then used as such, served on a plate and filled with your pasta choice.
The Penne Primavera is penne sautéed with garlic, vegetables, white wine glaze, and homemade tomato sauce. This was a lighter option with crisp vegetable, offering a nice contrast to the chewy pasta.
The Linguine Al Pesto Genovese is linguine pasta with petto di pollo, sundried tomato, and creamy pesto sauce. This too we got in a bread bowl, and additionally had it topped with a whole round of burrata cheese for the full and real indulgence. This was delicious and enough food to share.
Not yet on their menu yet, but a new one they wanted us to try was the Salmon Linguini Carbonara. Admittedly I am not a fan of salmon prepared this way so found that it overwhelmed an otherwise light tomato sauce noodle.
And another new one to their menu is their line of sandwiches. It is basically a pizza but folded. The same dough halved to make a pita of sorts. This one was filled with fresh burrata, arugula, sliced tomatoes, pistachios, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil. This was yet another testament of the quality of ingredients used and their craftsmanship. It tasted exactly as it read with fresh raw ingredients.
I also liked the Deep Fried Calamari with baby squid. I appreciated the generous portion, the larger chopped rings, and the decent amount of dipping sauce that it came with. No complaints here.
I don’t normally gravitate towards salad, but did appreciate the freshness that the Caprese Salad with bocconcini, capers, tomato, red onion, balsamic, and olive oil provided. This was a lovely side to take a break from all the red sauce and carbs.
In short, this was a fantastic meal and a great way to lure anyone down to North Vancouver. I will definitely be recommending this one and highly suggest that anyone reading this inform all your first responder friends of their amazing promotion.
Roma Italian Ristorante
1352 Lonsdale Ave, North Vancouver, BC V7M 2H8
(604) 990-9986
romarestaurant.ca
