Tonight we were at the grand reopening of Trattoria in Burnaby, by Metrotown. They are now the only location of this casual Italian restaurant left, with West 4th and Park Royal now shuttered.
They were once recognized as the kid sister to Italian Kitchen, however this re-incarnation has it growing up and standing on its own, as a more elevated Italian restaurant. A welcomed change and a good fit, considering there are no other like restaurants nearby.
As a grand opening party, they invited the entire neighbourhood out. From the mouths of show-runners, “500 to 600 guests” were invited and the space did its best to accommodate. With standing room only on the mezzanine, in the dining area, and around the new circular bar. As media guests, we were additionally given access to the covered patio. Here, it was a lot cooler, allowing air to flow and offering a lot more breathability in the shoulder to shoulder sea of people wading through within.
Each guest was given a couple of drink tickets to redeem at the bar. Tonight‘s offering included a white and red wine option, Prosecco, as well as a couple of cocktails available regularly on the restaurant’s drink menu. Different stations dispersed the crowd, but there was still a wait for it all.
To be honest, the first hour and a half had me thinking about leaving, they were just too many bodies to be able to enjoy yourself; whether you wanted to mix and mingle or have an intimate conversation with your guest. But thankfully we stuck it out and as others did leave for the same reason, the room cleared, and there was more food coming through and the drinks were still nonstop.
There was a pasta station preparing Alfredo out of a Parmesan wheel, a fan favourite for the visuals alone. These were cheesy trianglar noodles smothered in cream. Best eaten still warm from the red glow of the heat lamp.
Other pasta options were brought around in individual cups. There was a spicy red sauce, a very meaty Bolognese in a rosé, a light and tangy seafood pasta number, and one that had longer spiral noodles coated in a barely there tomato-based sauce.
As the night wore on, I was able to try each and found the textures of the pasta fantastic and the flavours each unique onto itself. For those who have never visited the property, this a great introduction to their in-house made pasta program.
There were also small cups of caprese salad being passed around. Sweet and colourful tomatoes topped with fresh mozzarella, and a fragrant basil leaf. A beautiful classic.
The restaurant has a wood fire pizza oven installed at its centre bar. And on this night it was turning out light and crispy, thin crust pizzas all night long. A wide selection being offered for self serve, of which included Hawaiian and funghi.
I was able to try the margarita and the prosciutto. Both with similar profiles of light tomato sauce, extremely stretchy mozzarella, and some fresh basil or arugula added at the end as some fresh greens. Except the prosciutto had the addition of ribbons of thinly sliced meat over top. Just like the pasta, these did not disappoint.
At the media patio, there was more prosciutto, being sliced to order. The pushing of the slicer back-and-forth to cut beautifully delicate ribbons of meat, to only be hungrily snatched up by the crowd.
This was served with a table of help yourself sides. Pizza oven baked herbed flatbread, briney olives, pickled coloured peppers, and a tomato salad.
At the back of the restaurant was a buffet of their desserts. This included the new table side tiramisu, taken from the menu of Italian Kitchen, which we recently discovered and were amazed by.
There were also canolis, chocolate brownies, and a cup of cake.
For drinks, we enjoyed a couple glasses of sparkling, followed by a couple glasses of red Italian wine. We then switch to cocktails, trying their house Venetian Spritz, and a fruity margarita. And we eventually finished the night off with a couple of shots of tequila.
As guests ate, drink, and simmered we were also able to interact with a lot of the Trattoria and Glowbal Group’s staff. I recognize a few of the chefs in their various positions. I was able to hear the excitement in their voices for this update and the refocus on the restaurant.
Overall, a great night and one that is definitely what you made of it. I will absolutely need to return, and do a proper sit down meal, in order to give a better assessment of the food and drinks. Although of what bites I did have, I did enjoy.
Trattoria by Italian Kitchen
4501 Kingsway #102, Burnaby, BC V5H 2A9
(604) 424-8779
glowbalgroup.com
