If you’re feeling nostalgic for fine Italian dining, go to the freshly opened Mangia e Bevi for consistently good pastas
Mia Stainsby
Sun
Mangia e Bevi owner Doug Grisdale (left), chef Rob Parrott and manager Antonio Sauro with dishes of Ravioli Capesante and Rombo Amalfitano (halibut). Photograph by : Stuart Davis, Vancouver Sun
With two A-list restaurants on the block already, the arrival of Mangia e Bevi triples the pleasure on the 2200-block of Marine Drive in West Van. It joins the fabulous La Regalade and Zen restaurants, so there’s French, Japanese and now, Italian food.
While everybody still loves pizza, pasta, and caprese salads, fine Italian restaurant openings have cooled over the past decade — we’ve been busy creating our own West Coast identity while gobbling tons of sushi and izakaya dishes and falling back in love with French all over again. I realized the relative absence of new Italian places when I visited Mangia e Bevi (eat and drink) and I felt something akin to nostalgia.
The place is run by a closely connected trio. Rob Parrott was chef at the Quattro restaurants (Fourth Avenue and North Vancouver, as well as opening the one in Whistler); Antonio Sauro was general manager at Quattro in North Van; and Doug Grisdale is Sauro’s brother-in-law. He managed a chain of retail stores previously and returns to his roots in West Van. As guests arrived, he was able to address many by name. Others are fans of Gusto di Quattro where Parrott last cooked.
In a corner, Global National’s anchorman Kevin Newman, fresh from his evening newscast, was having dinner with his wife. Diners range all the way from babies to eightysomethings.
The food, not surprisingly, is reminiscent of Quattro’s. Some dishes were better than others but pastas seem consistently good, judging from one I tried and others I eyeballed at other tables. The Cannelloni Zafferano (saffron cannelloni with braised lamb, roasted eggplant and goat cheese) in lamb broth was very good — it’s nice and light in the mouth, yet no wimp when it comes to flavour.
We started one meal with the antipasti for two and really could have ended it at that. We had bite-size pieces of smoked salmon, eggplant with goat cheese, artichoke dip, crostini, grilled mushrooms, olives, lamb sausage, grilled calamari, prawns and caprese salad.
Mussels and clams in a tarragon prawn bisque was tasty, although not shining examples of seafood; a grilled portobello mushroom over polenta with porcini truffle sauce was visually unappealing with the mushroom overwhelming the dish; the food turned black from the mushroom gills as I ate.
Two thumbs up to the duck breast with dried cherries and cassis — it was a generous piece of duck, very tender, and the sauce was great. Halibut, capped with potato galette was nicely done but a grilled wild salmon was too well done for my liking. Side veggies for the day seem to be the same on every plate.
Under desserts, Grisdale talks up the chocolate cherry shortcake with cherries jubilee but I preferred the lemon zabayone.
The wine list, assembled by Sauro, is largely Italian and he’s the guy to ask if you want an assist.
MANGIA E BEVI
2222 Marine Drive, West Vancouver. 604-922-8333. mangiaebevi.ca. Open for dinner seven nights a week. Will open for lunch starting in June.
Over-all: 3 1/2
Food: 3 1/2
Ambience: 3 1/2
Service: 4
Price: $$/$$$
Restaurant visits are conducted anonymously and interviews are done by phone. Restaurants are rated out of five stars.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007