KITCHEN TABLE CELEBRATES INCLUSION IN THE FIRST-EVER MICHELIN GUIDE VANCOUVER
Ask For Luigi, Bacaro, and Carlino All Recommended by Michelin
Kitchen Table Restaurants is thrilled to announce that three of its beloved Vancouver restaurants have been named as Recommended in the new MICHELIN® Guide Vancouver. The Guide’s debut selection was announced during a ceremony at the Vancouver Convention Centre, and Ask For Luigi, Bacaro, and Carlino were all named in Michelin’s category of recommended restaurants.
Said the MICHELIN® Guide: ”No one feeds you quite like Ask For Luigi.” On Bacaro, “The address may be Vancouver, but this spot is decidedly Venetian with its menu leaning towards the art of cicchetti, or small bites enjoyed on the go while quaffing a glass of wine.” Calling Carlino a “verdant sanctuary”, the Guide went on to state: “The menu displays a typically Italian devotion to simplicity, celebrating seasonal produce from local farms.”
First published in France at the turn of the 20th century to encourage tire sales by giving practical advice to French motorists, The MICHELIN® Guide offers a selection of world-class restaurants and remains a reliable companion for any traveler seeking great meals in destinations around the world. Using the methodology established when first published, the Guide’s anonymous inspectors award One, Two or Three Michelin Stars for unparalleled cuisine. Beyond the stars, the guide also includes restaurants around the city that are notable.
“We’ve watched and been a part of the transformation and evolution of Vancouver’s restaurant landscape over the past 15 years and observing the excellence of our peers has inspired us tremendously. It’s incredible to finally witness the collective success become recognized on a global scale by the MICHELIN® Guide,” said Jennifer Rossi, Partner at Kitchen Table Restaurants. “It’s been a long road to get here but this is just the beginning. My guess is that we will see Vancouver up it’s game in the coming years. This was just the shot in the arm we needed to refocus and elevate after a very challenging past couple of years.”
“MICHELIN® coming to Vancouver, and Canada in general, is wonderful for our food scene and restaurant community. A lot of up-and-coming cooks and chefs work at Michelin-starred restaurants abroad in order to gain experience — perhaps this will keep a lot of our talent at home,” Chef Scott Korzak from Bacaro shares. “Bacaro’s inclusion is a tribute to our team past and present. I am grateful for our team as nothing could have been accomplished without the continuous effort we all put in.”
Vancouver is the seventh destination to join the Guide in North America and second in Canada, with the country’s first Guide selection, Toronto, unveiled on September 13.
The full list of Michelin Guide Vancouver restaurants can be viewed online here.
ABOUT KITCHEN TABLE RESTAURANTS | A mainstay of the local hospitality scene since 2009, Kitchen Table Restaurants places a premium on simplicity, integrity, giving back to the neighbourhoods in which it operates and the belief that the fondest memories are made at the kitchen table, not in the dining room. The brand operates a number of beloved and award-winning restaurants in the Greater Vancouver area, including: Gastown comfort-food-and-cocktail hotspot Pourhouse; Main Street’s Northern Italian-focused Pizzeria Farina; Railtown casual Italian eatery Ask For Luigi; authentically Italian caffè-by-day, ristorante-by-night Di Beppe in Gastown; Italian hotspot Farina a Legna in North Vancouver’s Lower Lonsdale district; Venetian-inspired restaurant and wine bar, and downtown Vancouver’s Giovane Caffès; Friuli region-inspired Carlino in the Shangri-La Vancouver, Super Veloce, a health-conscious coffee bar experience in Vancouver’s Shaw Tower and Motoretta, an authentic gelateria. | ktrestaurants.com
ABOUT ASK FOR LUIGI | Charming and intimate this 27-seat restaurant is an Italian-inspired restaurant with the warm hospitality and energy of a traditional Italian home. Specializing in fresh handmade pasta and family-style dishes designed to share. Kitchen Table Restaurants opened this city favourite in 2013 and it was honoured with several awards including Best New Restaurant, Best Italian, and Best Casual in the annual Vancouver Magazine Awards. Luigi is the name of the grandfather of the proprietor.
Lunch daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. | Brunch on the weekends from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. | 305 Alexander St, Vancouver | askforluigi.com | Instagram: @askforluigi
ABOUT BACARO | Part of Bacaro’s charm is inspired by the way time passes in Venice — lingering with family and friends, eating and drinking, where you can move at your own pace. Guests are welcome to drop by for a quick spritz and Cicchetti with friends or stay a little longer. The natural ambiance blends seamlessly with modern Italian food that takes influence from the traditional Venetian bacaro. Located in the lobby level of the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel, Bacaro is a space that proudly pays homage to the culture, cuisine and style of the bacari: their pace, pride of place, and time-honoured conventions of the Italian approach to food, drink and conviviality. | bacarovancouver.com
1029 W Cordova Street, Vancouver BC V6C 0B9 | 604-687-9887 | Open seven days a week | Lunch (M-F) 11:30 am – 5 pm | Aperitivo 3 pm – 6 pm | Dinner 5 pm – 10 pm | Instagram: @bacarovancouver
ABOUT CARLINO | Carlino pays homage to Northern Italy and its similarities to British Columbia – spectacular mountain ranges, forests, lakes and coastal waters. Carlino celebrates Northern Italian cuisine by way of the bounty of British Columbia. Carlino offers an expansive dining room, a private dining room and a cocktail bar and lounge | carlinorestaurant.com
1115 Alberni St. (Level 3), Vancouver, BC V6E 1A5 | 604-695-1115 | @carlinorestaurant
Media release and images provided by Saschie MacLean, SMC Communications Inc.
