Gastronomia Italia — Local services in Downtown

Over Gastronomia Italia's time, I have noticed a sheer drop in overall quality. I write this as a customer who's been supporting Gastronomia Italia since they've opened. I'll explain:

1. Front of house workers consistently do not follow the basic FIFO (First In, First Out) rule. Multiple times when I've come in over the last few months, workers are reaching for the goods that were LAST IN, meaning they were the freshest. When it was my turn to purchase, the fresh products (specifically referring to the items in their fridge such as their Panna Cottas) were all gone, leaving me with the old products. This is a pretty concerning violation of a key Fraser Health rule, and I hope management tightens their ship in this regard.

2. Very poor customer service. When this place opened, I remember (despite the place being so busy) that customers were welcomed with warm attitudes and workers were knowledgeable about the products and eager to engage with customers. I remember, from around the time they opened, especially and sincerely, these two workers that left such an impression on me, one with glasses and a cool moustache and a thin brown-haired young man that always seemed excited to engage with customers. Now, the workers Gastronomia are considerably colder, many times refusing to even acknowledge customers. They are also considerably less knowledgeable about their products, which overall leads to a pretty poor experience, especially for customers who may need help navigating all the products and ingredients they offer. This establishment is charging upscale prices and hoping that customers can justify the prices based on how good the food is. Its difficult to support an establishment that treats its customers like nuisances rather than actual customers, especially when charging such prices.

3. Food quality has dropped. This is a somewhat unfair point, as I believe all the food Delbert (the head chef and owner) cooks is absolutely amazing, and I understand that one man simply cannot do it all. However, its getting more clear that the creation of certain products has been delegated to newer workers, and there is now significant quality differences in certain products they sell. Considering the difficulty in making such Italian products the right way, this might be a big challenge for them.

Please take these things into consideration, as I am a longtime supporter of this establishment and have been a fan of Delbert's cooking since he opened Artusi...

After two failed attempts to make it down to New West’s newest eatery before they sold out each day, I decided to beat the clock and take an early lunch today and I was not disappointed. GASTRONOMIA! The store is just lovely. You are literally transported into the hustle and bustle of a deli or bakery lining the streets of Italy and the smells are heavenly. There are a bunch of sandwiches to choose from. Today I went with the Fresco. Prosciutto with Burrata and a Basil Pesto. Ingredients so simple that they have to be amazing to make this sandwich stand out… and it does. What this sandwich taught me was that the Western culture draws on size and value when it comes to food more times then not. The smaller drops of Basil Pesto that dot the sandwich make you appreciate them so much more once you hit one! It was simple yet simply delicious. I have honestly never had a sandwich made like this and the bread was something I will dream about. It was perfection. Highly recommend it.

The Potato pizza had just come out of the oven and I got to watch them assemble it. The gentleman was a literal master, almost like an artist with the care he put into decorating this pizza with its toppings. The thinly sliced potatoes were baked onto the gorgeous focaccia and then he laid down some beautiful white soft cheese and then a layer of truffle and ended with a drizzle of olive oil… the aroma was to die for. This is something that I have no regrets trying. Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone and try things that you never would have otherwise. It was an experience for sure. Loved it. There are also isles and isles of Italian delicacies and the desserts looked amazing as well but I will save them for next time!

Do yourself a favor, come for an early lunch during the week as they sell out! Great location, good parking and right on the strip. Welcome to the neighborhood...

I don’t live near New Westminster but I enjoy going out there, always something new going on. So we headed out to visit an Italian emporium. I thought it would be bigger from impression on the website, small store. The baked goods were good, a loaf of semolina bread just came out, $6.75 for a sizeable loaf, very good, 24h later it is almost gone. A piece of focaccia with pecorino and artichoke, $5, very tasty. I would have had a piece of pizza but all choices had meat and I wasn’t in the mood for meat. We bought some breasola, min. 100g, which is bizarre, breasola cuts thin and a little goes a long way, why a minimum, I don’t know. It was ok, we found it not to be anything special, I have had better in town. Then a medium container of olives, $15!!!!, it was loaded with sun dried tomatoes and oil so that is what I ended up paying for, olives were super tasty but not $15 tasty. Dry goods were a great selection but a little pricey. There is another large Italian retailer that don’t display their wares on Boos tables and have pricing much more reasonable. Great for a lunch treat or a loaf of bread but not a regular...