LA GROTTA DEL FORMAGGIO — Restaurant in Vancouver

The sandwiches here are good but I wouldn’t come back here again because of how poor the service is. I’ve been here once before when the lineup was huge and I got my sandwiches faster than when I came in with no one. I went in on a Thursday morning at 9:30am to grab some sandwiches for me and my family to eat at the beach. When I got there, there were only a pair of customers in front of me so i assumed I’d be in and out quickly. As I waited behind the two, there were four people working behind the counter. One of them was making the lady her sandwich when the other customer piped in and mentioned an alteration in her sandwich she forgot. The worker snaps back “you should’ve said that when you ordered”. Absolute sass. The customer apologized and then when the worker went to slice the meats, the same customer pipes in to mention that she’ll be ordering the same sandwich so she can slice double the meat. The worker looked annoyed when the customer spoke but her face softened when she realized she was actually trying to be helpful. They got their sandwiches and then I went to order. I ordered four sandwiches but because I was ordering four, the person helping me decided to input it into the computer for ease. I told her the first three orders and then when it got to mine, I asked if I could just order it as she’s making the sandwich as I didn’t have anything in mind yet. She said no and that its easier for her to do it all at once. I said okay so just listed some ingredients. She asked for my name and to go pay and that she’d drop off my order at the end so I went over to wait in the seating area. A few minutes later, the same worker told me that the computer isn’t working and I’d have to repeat my order to her so she could write it out manually. She seemed annoyed and like it was my fault that I had to repeat my order. More customers started coming in. They all ordered one sandwich for themselves and left quickly. Id say throughout the time I was waiting a dozen or so customers came in and out and got their sandwiches before me. As I waited, during quieter moments, I could hear a few of the workers gossiping and talking about previous bad customer interactions they’ve had. Talking about how a guy was complaining because he never got his order but they were confused thinking he never actually ordered so they were telling him to go order but he was complaining saying he did. And another situation about how someone spilled sauce on their shirt and they were just laughing about it. It all seemed so unprofessional and mean-spirited as I was sitting RIGHT THERE. There was no one else inside and there was one person making my sandwiches. As I waited I kept trying to glance over to see if my sandwiches were done but couldn’t tell if the sandwiches being made by the workers were mine or not. It wasn’t busy and there were four of them there so why were my sandwiches taking so long? I interacted with 2 of the 4 workers so they were very aware I was waiting. After 50 minutes of waiting I walked over and asked if my sandwiches were ready yet. The person who took my order asked me for my name again and when I told her, she turned around and grabbed four sandwiches hiding next to the grill ready to go. The girl who took my payment saw me and the look on her face looked like a face of realisation because I was still there and waiting. She said “oh! Yes that’s for her! They’re all labeled :)” acting much friendlier than she did compared to my first interaction with her. I was very annoyed as I sat for nearly an hour as my sandwiches just sat there and no one ever bothered to give them to me. What is the point of asking for my name then? I’m all for supporting local and family businesses but nah, this whole interaction annoyed me to no end.

All four sandwiches were yummy though. But she forgot my red onions in my sandwich and one of the sandwiches I asked to be grilled...

First off, their sandwiches are amazing so this review does not apply to most anyone reading here but it’s instead about a food allergy and their handling there of. I also want to state up front that I don’t blame La Grotta Del Formaggio for the following incident, just very surprised at their refusal to do anything different in light of raising the issue.

With that out of the way, my wife has a tree nut allergy to cashews and pistachios. Cross contamination is fine but direct consumption requires an EpiPen.

When we first started going here over a year ago, my wife asked if there were any cashews/pistachios and they said no and all was well. My wife stopped asking since she would order the same sandwich and never had an issue until a month ago. She ordered her usual sandwich and began feeling unwell, a large rash started forming and she could barely move. We got out the EpiPen and rushed to the ER. After some IV delivered steroids she began feeling better and we went home.

Again, I want to stress this was not La Grotta’s fault, we didn’t ask, we just assumed everything was the same as the other times we had visited.

In the days after this incident I called and left two voicemails asking what was in the sandwich and sharing what happened. Neither call was returned. Then my wife went in person to ask about it and the person she spoke with was very apologetic and said that yes they had switched their pesto to a cashew based spread and admitted that some employees might not be trained on that change. This woman acknowledged that it wasn’t acceptable and that they would put up a sign indicating the inclusion of cashews and better inform their employees. (This was roughly two weeks ago)

I just went again today and there was still no sign. I asked about it and the manager I spoke with was very dismissive at my suggestion to put up a sign and kept listing reasons not to (one being that they change up which pesto distributor they use, one being that pesto always contains nuts which is not true as pine nuts are not tree nuts - they represent a totally different allergen category). She said she would take my suggestion into consideration but I don’t get the sense I’ll be seeing a sign any time soon.

I hate leaving bad reviews to great local business like this (and will gladly change this up if they decide to put up signage), but their lack of transparency on their pesto and their stubbornness makes it really tough to recommend for anyone concerned about...

This is a high-end Italian deli - they have a sandwich counter where you can have one of their classics or your own custom sandwich made to order, a selection of fresh meats and cheeses, and pantry items like tomato sauce, pasta, soft drinks, and chocolate/candies. They have also have coffee and fresh cannoli (they pipe in the filling when you order)! I was there at 3 pm on a Sunday and was a little surprised that there was a big lineup for sandwiches. There was a bit of a wait just by the nature of how many people were lined up, but I felt that they were adequately staffed and worked efficiently to keep the wait reasonable. I got lucky and grabbed an outside table just as another group was leaving, but most people take to go and all of the tables were constantly occupied. There was a family literally hovering over me as I was finishing waiting to grab my table which was pretty uncomfortable but of course not the restaurant's fault. I ordered a custom veggie sandwich and it came out really good! The selection of fillers you can put in your sandwich gives you lots of options and the custom system lets you add a lot without any additional cost (except certain items which have a small premium charge), so I felt like I had pretty much total freedom to create exactly what I wanted. And the selection of veggies and cheeses was super high quality (I didn't really pay attention to the meats but I'm sure it's the same). The bread was also fresh and soft even after coming off the grill. Just a lovely little sandwich. Fyi you can choose from 3 sizes of ciabatta or a half or full focaccia. The full focaccia is $22 because it's huge - meant for 2 people. I got a small ciabatta bun which was good since I just wanted something light, and the price was very reasonable. I also tried a cannolo which was really good too! As mentioned above, the filling was piped in just before they gave it to me, which keeps the shell fresh. This was also possibly the least messy cannolo I've ever eaten - the shell didn't crumble and it wasn't over-filled so the cream didn't spill out. I tried the "tutti frutti" drink as well which is basically fruit punch. I just wanted to give it a go and I'd say for me the first half was refreshing, but I don't really like sugary drinks so the second half got to be a bit much. But if you enjoy drinking juice then this could be...