La Bottega Cafe Deli Wine Shop — Restaurant in Vancouver

There needs to be an option to award a sixth star, after our last visit to La Bottega!

My wife and I had opted to dine at a different restaurant in downtown Vancouver, but when we were told it would be a two-hour wait, we peace'd outta there and went looking for a more accommodating option. When we drove by La Bottega, we knew there was no better choice in the area. We sauntered in and were seated immediately, in a dining area at the back of the restaurant (just through the wine shop) that we had no idea existed!

I was prepared to be disappointed that the Wild Boar Ragu wasn't on the menu, when I noticed...it's back! Maybe it never left after all? I recall being unable to find it on a previous visit, but my memory can be a bit iffy at times. Regardless, there it was, and you can believe it was ordered! It was every bit as wonderful as I remembered it to be!

My wife had the Smoked Mushroom Ravioli, which I avoided like the plague (I can't stand mushrooms), but of which she spoke quite highly. She described the smoky richness of the mushrooms as being "meaty", almost as if she'd ordered a meat ravioli. In fact, it was so hearty that she had to take half of it home!

We also split the cheese plate platter, a favorite of ours, and a half chicken and smoked bacon sandwich (on focaccia) that was so large, our son could barely open his mouth wide enough to take a bite! And yet, somehow he devoured the whole thing, along with most of the candied nuts on our antipasti plate.

Despite being in the back, with one server handling the four occupied tables therein, our cheese plate was on our table in less than 3 minutes, and our entrees right on its heels (maybe 10 minutes, if I were to guess) - startlingly fast! And somehow, the entire meal, including two full adult entrees, appetizer, half sandwich and a glass of Chianti, somehow clocked in at only $67 bucks! It was so affordable, we ended up taking home a bottle of that Chianti (cue Hannibal Lecter noises) as well!

La Bottega is revered among just about everyone I know, and with good reason. The next time we're in downtown Vancouver and discussing our dining options, the tables will be turned: that OTHER place will be the backup choice, in case La Bottega has a two hour wait. And with this level of quality of food, service and value, I wouldn't surprise me...

First off, Lisa is adorable. Atticus is adorable. Everyone who works here is darling. I love, love, love this place and my friends do too. Anyone I bring here has such a great experience! And anyone I bring goodies to loves it! For New Years eve board game night, I brought over cannoli gelato from the freezers and it was a hit!

Food here is fresh, flavorful, healthy, and delicious. They use great ingredients. This is one of the rare places where you can eat at on a regular basis and consistently feel good about the quality of food you are eating. I love their half sandwich and pasta lunch portions, which makes this place ideal for me to pop into for lunch since I work remotely. I really appreciate having just enough to eat, no leftovers, and that can get right back to my day happy as can be... without the whole face smash on the keyboard that you get from being in a heavy junky food stupor.

The only menu items I haven't been too crazy about involve ham in soups that are salted, then because the ham is already salted, it's really reeaaally salty, and a pasta dish with seafood that I think was dressed with olive oil, maybe garlic, and herbs? If I see Frutti Di Mare on a menu at an Italian restaurant anywhere in the world, I expect a red sauce but it wasn't the case, which was my misunderstanding.

Their soups and marinara are delicious! Their baguettes are so fresh, soft, just the right kind of chewy with a great slightly crisp crust. Desserts are scrumptious. Menu items with seasonal ingredients are brilliantly creative and delicious! Aaanndd!! If I come here early enough I looooove their coffee!! SO GOOD! Ooh, their Italian sodas! Love the strawberry. Curious to know if they can mix strawberry and passionfruit?

Also! I LOVE DUCK. The way they prepare duck goes straight to my heart, not just my...

My Fiancee and I have gone in here many times for lunch, or their small market speciality items. The food is great, and the items are quite unique. Today's experience was unlike any we've ever had there, or any restaurant/ market. As we strolled around their market around 7pm, (maybe this was our fault as they had dinner seating?) we looked at various items, and picked up a few items like pasta on the shelf, squid ink noodles from the freezer, even looked and pointed at the various Gelatos. We had no intention of purchasing the Gelato as my fiancee has a severe peanut/tree nut allergy. After mosying around for a total of 5 minutes in the market, we left empty handed as we didn't find any particular items that peaked our interest. After leaving, we were chased down by one of the employees emphasizing that we pay for the Gelato we had taken. We had taken nothing from the store, not even pulled the Gelato out of the freezer. The employee made us feel very uncomfortable like we had stolen something, but we left just as we came, with nothing in our hands and it was clear nothing was buldging from our pockets. This employee could've looked at the camera footage and realized we, in fact didn't take the Gelato even out of the freezer in the first place. After leaving my fiancee was crying as she has never stolen a single item in her life, and yet this person just made her feel extremely guilty, for nothing. She has been so upset about this experience and doesn't feel comfortable coming back to this...