Vikas Sharma

As my partner and I were rounding out restaurant selections for the year, about 26 of them, believe it or not, there was a place on her list that we just had to try out.

Orto Artisan Pasta; probably because we love spaghetti so much.

As usual, she told me what we were ordering days, perhaps weeks, in advance. So the only choice I really had was to select a glass of wine to enjoy.

Orto reminds me of those hole in the wall places that you would have found on College or St. Clair in Toronto. Homemade, kind of cheesy inside with lots of tchotchkes all over the place, but with nice service and really good food.

Our order for the night, as prescribed by my partner, was:

• Bad Dog Bread with caramelized onion butter and tapenade
• Olives
• Green Leaf Lettuce Salad with organic local mixed greens from Hannah Brook Farm and Pristine Foods
• Squid ink spaghetti with prawns, scallop, garlic and parsley
• Risotto del giorno, which was mushroom

I ordered a glass of Italian wine. I don’t remember which one, however, I was disappointed as the temperature was warm, the wine was from a bottle that definitely open far too long, and it was the last glass from the bottle, so it came with (the expected) sediment, which, I don’t mind if the glass of juice is good. And I don’t get how the wine was warm, because they’ve got wine cabinets in this joint.

What can I say about the food?

The bread was from Bad Dog Bread, which, in my opinion, makes the best bread that I’ve had in Vancouver, thus far. The caramelized onion butter, the tapenade, and the bit of olive oil that came with the bread were all top notch. The only thing I would say is that it’s a heavy bread basket; we had to take half of it home to enjoy the next day.

The salad would’ve had to have been one of the best green leaf salads that I’ve had out in Vancouver. The greens were hearty, the dressing was simple and tasty, and it didn’t have too many ingredients; just the way I like it. And as per our usual Vancouver experience, the name of the farms that produced the greens were listed on the menu. I can’t wait to see the name of the farmers that picked the produce as the next iteration of farm-to-table integrity.

My partner was dead set on ordering the risotto, so I didn’t argue, but it’s a tough call.

I’ve had risotto, made to order, at a guest house kitchen at a vineyard (Croce di Mezzo) in Montalcino; it takes 40 minutes to make from scratch. So, unless I know that’s happening, I don’t like to take my chances. So, I’ll dignify the review by saying that the risotto at Orto was good; maybe even in quotes.

My favourite part of the meal, aside from the salad, was the incredibly well-prepared spaghetti. The simplicity of the flavours were spot on. It was like they created a light broth-y sauce, right there-and-then to combine with the shrimps and scallops. The sepia spaghetti was cooked al dente and the dish was an example of perfection. This is how I like my pasta. I probably would’ve/could’ve enjoyed it without the shrimp or scallops.

I mentioned the wine earlier … and it’s a bit of problem. This is an Italian joint, and I should expect a decent glass of juice to wash down the meal. I didn’t think I needed to order a fresh bottle to get a nice glass to enjoy with my spaghetti.

That said, I would like to go back enjoy the food again, because it was really good!

Another thing I’d like to point out is that this place appears to have regulars. The people there that evening all appeared to have known the drill on ordering, or appeared to have acquaintance with the serving team. And that’s a good indication of a place that takes care of their customers. There was also a very young child at one of the tables, and I love seeing parents brining their kids out to enjoy good food .

Kudos to Orto.

Return: 100%. Very good food. Very good service.

Rating: 7.5/10