When Sahand Bigloo walked into the old Nicli Antica Pizzeria space at 62 East Cordova, he knew it was the place. The space was dominated by a well-seasoned wood-fired oven, an original fixture in the century-old building. He and his partner Kiarash Tarikhi envisioned a contemporary Italian-themed restaurant serving innovative flavours, in an area of Vancouver seeing a rebirth. And from what I tried on my first trip there, the team at Gastown Gastronomy is succeeding.
The space is long and narrow, with a sleek bar extending down one side of the room, all the way to the kitchen with its massive white tiled oven. The fire is kept stoked all night, ready to cook the focus of the menu, authentic Neapolitan style pizzas with unique quality ingredients.
The bar program is headed by Stephen Sherry, who is most passionate about cocktails. “I created all of them on the list”, he explains as he runs through his descriptions. “The plan is to open a speakeasy in the back space, make this a destination for cocktails”. My partner settled on the restaurant’s overall top-selling item, The Raspberry Theory. Not only beautiful to look at, but the cocktail was also full of balanced flavour. They were offering a special Valentine’s menu, so I chose The Goodnight Kiss, a riff on an Old Fashioned, with the tawny port reduction making it a noticeably different sipper.
Although they have a variety of appetizers and salads, every table in the restaurant was eating a pizza, and we could not wait to try one. It was difficult to choose between the Smoke and Mirrors (charcoal cream sauce, bacon, and my favourite vegetable, brussel sprouts), the Pot Head (Stephen’s top choice, because it has potatoes and he is Irish), or the unique sounding 24 Carrot Gold (gold leaf, carrot purée, and pickled carrot). But in the end, we opted for the special Valentine’s pizza, The Tartufo, preserved lemon cream topped with mozzarella, taleggio, and shaved black truffles. Decadent luxurious ingredients ramped up this pizza, but the taste was pure and not too over the top to take away from the delicious crust that serves as the base of every one of their pizzas. They use a sourdough ferment, let it sit for 48 hours, and hand stretch to order. It is soft, chewy, not too thin or too thick – a perfect crust never left uneaten on the plate.
With the pizza, we tried two wines from the glass pour list. We shared the Di Lenardo Chardonnay and the Monte del Fra Bardolino. The Chardonnay was a perfect pairing with the truffles and cheese. The Bardolino was bright, light, and full of red cherry on the palate. That glass carried over to our next course, the beef tartar. Hesitant to order it, as it can be so rich and filling, Gatronomy’s version is visually stunning, with light and puffy rice crisps hovering over bite sizes of minced beef. Black garlic and charcoal mayo to finish is the flavour bomb that makes the dish stand out. We were able to have a small sip of Covert Farms Amicitia to accompany the tartar, just a tease as it was the last bottle. Stephen is working on the wine by the bottle program, which will have 64 labels, 70% Italian and 30% BC wines. He loves unique, hand-sell wines, often choosing products that surprise the liquor reps. “I love natural wines, grapes that play well with food”, he says. Expect to see products from BC wineries such as Rigour & Whimsy and Lock & Worth, in addition to many obscure varietals from Italy. Stephen knows his wine, and he steered us away from our initial choice of Masseria ‘Hercales’ Surani to lighter, brighter whites to accompany our last dish, the squash lasagna. He recommended a Soave or an Arneis. He just happened to have some bottles open for tasting and poured us samples of both Tedeschi Soave and Aldo Marenco Roero Arneis. I have always been a big fan of Arneis but will have to revisit Soave based on the complexity of that glass pour. Both were excellent accompaniments to balance the creaminess of the squash purée and preserved lemon cream of the pasta dish.
Not generally dessert eaters, we decided to share the Elvis, a banana panna cotta with peanut butter, topped with freeze-dried banana, peanut brittle, and balsamic reduction. Our arms were twisted to try a dessert cocktail to accompany the dish, just in the name of research. I tried the Crème Broulee Boulevardier, Stephen’s favourite on the list right now. When I saw banana listed as an ingredient I was expecting it to be sweet, but it was surprisingly not at all. “We use top-shelf products, so this one has Gifford Banana de Brazil”. We also tried the Nitro Goose, with caramel-infused grey goose, fresh espresso, and Kahlua. We were shocked at the creamy texture and richness that the nitro process imparted to the drink without the addition of dairy.
All the food was flavourful and portion sizes were perfect for sharing a few plates. Prices are overall reasonable, except for a few luxury item dishes (but they have sold 38 of their $69 Wen Lambo? Pizzas, topped with lobster and caviar). “We want this to be a place people can come to every week, not just for a special occasion. Come in for a pizza, a cocktail or two. Our average cheque is $50-55/head” says Stephen.
As we were leaving, Stephen brought me a little container of sourdough starter. “Knowing you are a baker, Chef wants you to have this”. I guess I will always have a little part of Gastown’s Gastronomy in my kitchen. But it won’t stop me from going back to enjoy a pizza hot from his wood oven along with a cocktail or a glass of wine from their interesting list.
I received a complimentary dinner and drinks for two to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own. BJ
