Much has changed within the Glowbal Restaurant Group since my original column on the Park Royal South location of Trattoria Italian Kitchen nearly four years ago.
The group’s eponymous flagship restaurant, Glowbal, has relocated from Yaletown to Georgia Street, spanning three floors, multiple rooms and countless square feet within the behemoth Telus Garden business centre. Tiffany-style glass and marble jewel cases display slabs of aged wagyu beef within that venue in an unapologetic show of dining decadence. The rooftop patio at the group’s ultra-high-end Black & Blue steakhouse has become one of the hottest spots in the city in the summertime for the expense account business crowd, while the valet service at next door neighbour Coast seafood restaurant remains consistently occupied with Italian supercars.
The Trattoria sub-brand has apparently been divorced from its Italian Kitchen progenitor and now identifies three iterations around the city, including the one at Park Royal. The original Italian Kitchen that once occupied a massive footprint on Alberni Street directly across the road from its steak and seafood brethren has also relocated, this time to Burrard Street in the considerably smaller space formerly occupied by dining institution Francesco’s Ristorante Italia.
Glowbal Group is a well-oiled machine, occupying some of the most coveted real estate in Vancouver and managing to ensure steady patronage throughout their phases of significant change.
Thankfully, what has remained the same is the reliability and consistently unfussy approach to dining of the Park Royal iteration of Trattoria where, remarkably, it still rarely takes more than 15 minutes to secure a table on even the busiest of evenings.
Glowbal Group’s Trattoria sub-brand is my favourite of the lot. It features straightforward, thoughtfully executed New World Italian fare served, for the most part, with little to no pretence in a comfortably contemporary space. Despite my tireless rantings against the “big box,” multi-outlet venues that dominate our dining landscape, I do feel a certain affection for Trattoria as it is a place my kids positively love. More importantly, it is a place that my kids will eat every bite of their meals, without me resorting to coercion, burst blood vessels in my eyes or strained vocal cords.
It was here, for instance, that my older two children learned to appreciate squid, served by Trattoria in Sicilian fashion with a spicy tomato sauce. I have written about this extraordinary Humbolt squid dish before, so I won’t revisit familiar ground other than to say the dish remains a must-have on the menu and continues to humour the palates of my two older kids, Blondie and The Boy (who are now eight and 10 years old, respectively) although not so much the palate of my three year old daughter, The Youngest (formerly Baby N, an admittedly short-sighted handle), who finds the idea of food plucked from the sea hard to fathom but enjoys the crispy fried batter that it sometimes comes in.
In addition to the esteemed squid, my family and I, visiting Trattoria for possibly the 12th time, shared an appetizer of Watermelon and Arugula Salad, a fresh and peppery appetizer suitable for up to three, in my estimation. The mountain of arugula was tossed in a fragrant, herbaceous dressing and topped with toasted hazelnuts and ribbons of ricotta salata (ricotta that has been pressed into a firm cheese that can be shaved like Parmesan).
With our appies my wife DJ and I sipped Aperol Spritz, a perennial favourite aperitif with its bitter orange notes and refreshing Prosecco finish.
For her main DJ chose Gnocchi, served here in a pinenut-forward pesto cream and topped with tomato bruschetta. On Tuesdays all pastas are just $13 and make for great value entrees given their substantial size.
The Boy chose Spaghetti with Signature Meatballs, a staggering portion of al dente pasta with a tangy, slightly spicy tomato sauce, dollop of creamy ricotta and three squash ball-sized meatballs. The portion was enough for two meals for him. For more adult palates, the dish is also available with “truffled” spaghetti which boasts pungent notes of the prized tuber in a creamy sauce.
I sidestepped the pastas and pizzas that usually feature in my Trattoria meals in favour of Braised Lambshank, one of a handful of alternative entrees that also includes Eggplant Parmesan, New York Steak, and Wild Salmon. The lamb, a huge shank with fall-from-the-bone morsels of moist meat, was served atop risotto bianco, an al dente preparation with powerful flavours of white wine and garlic. The lamb braising jus was drizzled atop the risotto, which also included roasted heirloom carrots and a quenelle of creamy, heady goat’s cheese. The result was an unequivocally rich and hedonistic dish that bested me two-thirds of the way through; it was delicious but best chosen to satisfy a ferocious appetite and craving for decadence.
I paired the lamb with a glass of concentrated, ripe and round Barbera, a medium-bodied, food-friendly wine from Piedmont, while DJ opted for a glass of minerally, bone-dry Vermentino.
My daughters both chose penne with creamy Parmesan sauce, presented on the kid’s menu as Macaroni and Cheese. The dish is straightforward and child friendly, a good value at just $7, but if pasta shape is a deciding factor in your kid’s enjoyment of her meal, be warned there is not a macaroni elbow in sight.
Our meal for five, including appetizers and mains, plus cocktails and wine, was $150 before gratuity.
757 Main St, Park Royal South, West Vancouver, B.C. Glowbalgroup.com/trattoria. 604-424-8777.
