CinCin | Vancouver
On a busy shopping street in Downtown Vancouver lays a culinary gem. Many people walk by the cobblestone staircase that leads to this gorgeous restaurant, without knowing it is actually there. Hidden up a stairwell is this years Best Italian Restaurant by Vancouver Magazine. ekk!
The spacious restaurant has many areas to sit including close to the kitchen to watch the chefs execute perfect Italian gastronomy or the beautiful terrace to ‘people watch’ shoppers and tourists on Robson Street. At night Cin Cin glows by candlelight and the terrace is overcome with twinkle lights strung to nereby shrubs and trees. Not a bad place to spend your evening.
I am not going to lie… I wasn’t over the moon the first time I came to CinCin over 5 years ago; but since Andrew Richardson
came on board as the Executive Chef I have been a regular, devouring dishes like the ones below and enjoying their extensive wine and grappa list.
Here are a few items I’ve enjoyed xo
To start, we aimed for something light and refreshing to cleanse the palette. DAMN! It’s so hard to pick just one item. Thank goodness Texan is my partner in crime which allows me to order more than one item on the list:
Green asparagus soup with first press Cladium Olive Oil | Burrata from Puglia, salad of spring pea tips, Garbanzo beans and Crushed Mint. Can you say H e a v e n! This is the perfect way to start. Fresh. Creamy. Dreamy.
Just a tip for ya’ll. If you want to spend the evening out eating (which is what I enjoy doing very much), specifically ask for your dishes to be spread out EXTRA long. My biggest pet peeve is to be rushed through dinner. I mean, who wants to start the next course with food still on the plate and in your mouth. Am I right? AND… to be fair, many fine dining restaurants have the timing down just fine. However, when eating many courses (like we are doing) I also ask for extra time in between dishes to allow myself to digest and get a bit more hungry before the next course.
With that being said, I don’t think you can go without eating pasta when you head to an Italian restaurant. Clearly, we have to try some!
Casarecce with spicy chorizo sausage, tomato, chili, rosemary and parmesan | semolina gnocchi ‘romani’ with wild mushrooms, sunchoke and pecorino al tartufo. One of the best things about this restaurant is the smaller portion options. If you have your eyes on more than one pasta, do not fear! You can opt for the small portions and order every pasta on the menu (Hence the above).
Then, of course, we had the fish special. Forgive me, we devoured the fish without finding out what it actually was… (I’m a bad food blogger). I did, however, take some food shots for your drooling pleasure.
But the icing on the cake (uh… well more like the Pistachio Sponge on Bergamot Curd) is this dessert. I will say Pastry Chef Lewis Birch knows what he is doing. This is BY FAR my all time favorite dessert in the history of dessert eating. Sweet enough, Sour enough, and not too heavy. It is heaven on a plate. Not only does he know how to make a mean dessert, it also looks like a piece of art. Just. Look. At. It!
Bergamot curd, pistachio sponge, lemon and orange gel – smoked pistachios
The Verdict: Great for groups, a quick dinner or a romantic evening over candlelit. Certainly a place everyone should try.
The Atmosphere: Semi Formal. That said, Vancouver is a casual city so that could mean many things to Vancouverites. I’ve seen people in flip flops to people in gowns. As I always say, it’s better to overdress than to underdress.
Food: Upscale/Fine Dining
Cuisine: Italian gastronomy
Service: Friendly, professional, approachable.
Hours: Open for Dinner only 5pm – 11pm Bar 4:30pm – late
for more information, check out their website here