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    Il Nido Italian Restaurant

    3.2 (72 reviews)
    Closed 12:00 pm - 8:00 PM

    Il Nido Italian Restaurant Photos

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    IL NIDO ITALIAN RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Classy
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Il Nido Italian Restaurant

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    Tiramisu
    Frances L.

    On a hot summer night, what's best than sitting outside in a patio with a glass of wine recommended by the sommelier + lights + live pianist performance enjoying Italian food just like Lady & the Tramp. This place has become our go to Italian restaurant just because it reminds us of the small Italian restaurants in Italy - hidden in the hustle & bustle. Plus, it is not like other downtown "Group" restaurants that all taste the same & very commercialised / lack of personality / quick turn around. Food quality remain high. Service remain attentive. Definitely a good alternative for a nice evening meal.

    Chicken risotto
    L C.

    This small Italian restaurant has been in this location for many years. It is sort of tucked away in an interior courtyard, off the beaten path. While the service was very good and overall a positive experience, we found the food to be mediocre. In particular the tomato sauce in all the pasta dishes was very sweet. The calamari was poor, really very much like deep fried rubber bands. The tiramisu lacked flavour, could not taste the espresso or liqueur it is supposed to have, however, the bruschetta and chicken risotto were good and some in our group enjoyed their meal. There was live music when we were there, for which we were changed a cover per person, I was not aware of this when booking on open table, apparently there is a note on their website. Due to the restaurant being virtually empty, the music overpowered the ambiance of the meal. As well, there is a lot of art depicting nudity in the dining area which seems like a strange decor choice. Not really a traditional Italian restaurant and not on par with others of a similar genre in Yaletown and Robson neighborhood.

    a restaurant sign on a brick wall
    Rita B.

    Service & food were both outstanding, although the decor really needs some work. A great meal overrides decor though. I'd go back again for sure!

    Avoid this place!
    Cathy C.

    In search of a place to carbo-load, every single Italian restaurant in Vancouver had at least an hour wait and they were visibly packed. We saw that nobody was here so, we stepped in. The Caucasian ladies in front of us had no reservation but they got seated. So, it was our turn...the old man who seated the ladies turned us away and told us they had no tables available. I never in my whole life have been treated this way nor do I pull out the race card. In this day and age, I didn't think I would have to. So, we stood outside with our heads hung low to find a different restaurant through Yelp and Open Table. Well, surprise! This place has a table! So, what reason were we turned away? While we were outside, a group of 3 Caucasians wearing their gym outfits without a reservation got seated. We were too disgusted by how we were treated that we just couldn't hit that "reserve" button. It could end up even worse for us. So, if you are anything but Caucasian, I'd stay away from this place.

    Sara A.

    What a quaint little place, pretty romantic too! I went for a business lunch and had the following: 1) Vegetable soup - this was SO delicious! 2) Pike - fish of the day served with bok choy and garnish with chopped almonds. Very tasty and the fish was moist! 3) Blood orange sorbetto - a nice palate cleansing dessert. Not overly sweet and fresh It's nice that is it not overly busy and the service was very personable.

    What a wonderful evening we had at Cafe Il Nido! I had never noticed this hidden gem before right off robson street. The atmosphere is very laid back yet classy, love the low lighting without being too dark. Our server was kind, attentive, and his timing for each course was spot on. Hard to choose a favorite course because everything was delicious. If i had to pick, it would be the Prawn Oreganota and Scallop Carpaccio. I also love how there was live music and the guy could play any song on the piano! Perfect for date night.

    Scollops carpaccio, cheese platter, beet salad
    Ann H.

    Secret spot in Downtown Vancouver! Amazing menu with reasonable price. The appez are amazing! Main course are also delicious. They also have great wine selections. We had 4 appetizers and 3 main course and 2 desserts for less than $160! Good value for 5 people.

    Beet salad
    Annie M.

    I have been to many Italian restaurants in Vancouver and probably miss Café Il Nido! I'm not a big fan of Italian food anyway but my mom likes pasta. It's Dine out Vancouver festival again and I found Il Nido's menu was ok (more selection than others). Why not try it out? Of coz, it's nothing spectacular! We were greeted at the door by the host with no smile and just asked for "did you make any reservation?" After we got seated, my parents only needed a cup of hot water and waitress seemed a bit annoyed. We just ordered from dine out menu (3-course for $38). Il nido insalata (roasted beet salad, feta cheese, gourmet greens with lemon dressing) Good to have salad to start with even though just a sour of lemon dressing, still refreshing. Tonno (Albacore tuna with belgiam andive dressed with spicy ginger citrus reduction) Tuna was good but not fresh Calamari (Grilled squid, fresh tomatoes, green olives tossed in spicy lime pepper remoulade) It's so delicious and tasty! It cooked perfectly. Gamberoni (Seasoned Prawns, served in spicy tomato sauce) I could taste the frozen prawns even in spicy tomato sauce, it's a bit overcooked and dry. OssoBuco (Lamb shank, slow braised in a red wine reduction) Lamb shank quite soft and big. Lasagna (Home made baked vegeterian lasagna layered with eggplant, kale, spinach, parmesan, mozarella in a napoletana sauce) Lasagna was great and the napoletana sauce was good too! Spaghettini (Spaghetti with sautéed mussels, clams, calamari in a spicy arugula pesto sauce) It's fantastic!! A lot of mussels, clam, and squid with tasty spaghetti. We all had Tiramisu as dessert and it's so good. Food was ok but the service wasn't good enough to make us return.

    Piedina appetizer
    Danielle B.

    I've been struggling with this review for quite some time now, because I really wanted to give them a better rating. I've eaten at il Nido about 6 times in the last year, three times for dinner and the rest for lunch. Each time, the food has been very good and the service has fluctuated from mediocre to really good. Sadly, the really good service I received was about a year ago and I'm not sure that server is still working there. What a shame. My most recent experience there was a few weeks ago for my birthday. If you subscribe to their newsletter, il Nido will send you a letter for you to bring in on your next visit for a free birthday entrée. So, my friend and I went there for my birthday meal and I was really looking forward to it after my last visit. I found the servers (who I believe are also the owners) to be very indifferent towards us. The gentleman who took our order also brought our wine. At the first sip of wine, my friend commented that it seemed a little too warm, so the server suggested we place it on the windowsill at our table, as there was a bit of a cold draft there. Interestingly enough, each time the female server came to top up our wine glasses, she would remove the bottle from the windowsill (giving us a withering glare) pour the wine and then place the bottle on the table. Of course as soon as she stepped away, we would put the bottle back on the windowsill to 'cool'. It became like a game almost and we kept laughing at how determined she seemed every time she put the bottle back on the table, glaring at us as if to say, "It belongs HERE". Well, fine - if you want the wine bottle on the table, then you should serve it at the right temperature! Sheesh. Let me say that the reason I'm giving this place 3 stars is entirely due to the food - I have to ignore the service because the food is really quite tasty. Plus, the bread they served is quite possibly the best bread I've ever been served in any restaurant, ever. (Yes, even better than those amazing little bread rolls at P2B Bistro!) This bread was served warm and it tasted like what dreams are made of. The top of it was perfectly salty, beautifully browned and the inside was pillowy softness. I wanted to make a bed out of this bread, lay in it and try to eat my way out. Okay, that was TMI, but that's how good this bread is. Really. For starters, I had the seared scallops (beautifully presented) and my friend had the Piedina (Crostini with pesto, cambozola cheese, capicollo ham and dried figs) both appetizers were delicious, no complaints there. For the mains, my friend had the bolognese pasta and I had the osso bucco, which was divine. The only complaint with the mains, was that the parmesan cheese was powdery instead of freshly grated. Otherwise, quite enjoyable. So, despite the really great food, I can only give this place 3 stars because the whole time I was there (especially considering it was my BIRTHDAY) the servers did absolutely nothing to make me feel welcome or appreciated as a guest. In fact, I don't think either one of them smiled once the whole evening. I can't say I won't return, (I'd go back for the bread alone) but Cafe il Nido is certainly not high on my list of places I WANT to eat. I like to feel, when I'm spending my hard-earned dollars, that both my presence and my money are valued, which in this case wasn't evident.

    Victoria R.

    I don't make if I originally posted on the wrong Il Nido so here it is again: What a cute surprise this restaurant is!! One of the prettiest patios I have seen in Vancouver. They offer a great martini and wine variety and the food is delicious!! The dishes start around the $20.00 range. There is street parking and it is kid friendly but the main selling point is the quiet patio with it's lush foliage and twinkling white lights. The waiter and possibly the owner was a very friendly older gentleman who allowed us to come in an hour before they were officially open. Amazing customer service. The Camembert is phenomenal!!! It is warm with berries on top, crisp apples and crunchy bread. I wish I took a picture. I enjoyed the mango martini and a beer. Will definitely be going back. This place would make an excellent date night gem. The food is very well presented. Such a great find.

    Ravioli (entree)
    Kristen K.

    Came to Cafe Il Nido for Dine Out 2020 on a Thursday evening, since I was craving some Italian food and a friend (who was well-versed in the Vancouver Dine Out locations) recommended the place. The ambiance of the restaurant was nice, and not exceptionally busy but definitely active. The Dine Out menu -- 3 courses for $45 -- had a huge variety of dishes, so it was a difficult decision. I decided to go with the Funghi (mushrooms), Ravioli, and the Tiramisu. My friend had the Afettoto misto (dried sausage), bolognese penne, and the chocolate cake. We also ordered a side of the focaccia (bread) with olive oil and rock salt. I really enjoyed the food! In particular, the bread, although an additional cost, was extremely tasty. I also enjoyed my ravioli that was perfect - not too salty but also had a lot of flavour. The tiramisu was probably my favourite part of the meal. It was so soft, light, and flavourful! The service was also good and friendly. Would recommend if you're in the mood for good Italian food!

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    Bar Gobo

    Bar Gobo

    4.6
    (8 reviews)
    2.0 km

    Cute lil date spot! My review is only wine and dessert as we came here after my husband's bday…read moredinner for a nightcap. We both ordered red wines to start which we both enjoyed. Good wine list! Hubby switched to a negroni that he liked and I had more wine but this time late night happy hour had started which was a nice treat! We ordered the Dolce de leche dessert and the kitchen was lovely and gave us both desserts on the menu as a bday treat. The rice dessert was incredible - it was like sticky toffee pudding but with a rice base. The caramel sauce was killer! It blew the dolce dessert outta the water. The service was also kind and attentive! The music choices were odd for our night, I love vinyl and collect it myself but just wasn't feeling the vibes that evening, it was a lot of house style music and the same beat over and over with no lyrics. Some folks loved it tho and had asked to move closer to the speaker so to each is own. The tables are also really close to your neighbor so you catch quite abit of convo around you and it's a touch distracting especially when it starts to get little loud as the room is small. It was fun to people watch though.

    I'm so split on Bar Gobo. Small but mighty wine selection including natural wines…read more We went in considering the prix fixe menu thats $65 per person but ended up ordering off the menu to try the things we wanted to as we weren't sure if the prix fixe menu would include all that piqued our interest. Ordering style was interesting, after we ordered our small plates we were ready to select our main courses but the staff just took our menu away and we had to ask another server to put in our main entrees. I understand they were busy so they may have assumed we were done ordering but it was a bit of an off putting experience. Overall food was good, the bread was divine. The highlight item for us was the tuna tar tar with chinese donuts, the chili crips totally brought the dish together. Everything else was pretty good, but wasn't amazing as I hoped. The citrus notes in the canton noodles threw me off and the chicken liver mochi balls felt more like a dessert dish than an appetizer for some reason. Highlight was having the DJ also be one of the servers!! Love the vibes that Bar gobo had, definitely a good date spot. Will have to come try it out again next season.

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    June On Cambie

    June On Cambie

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    I think the atmosphere and the drinks were really nice!…read more However, I believe most of the dishes are overpriced for their taste and portion sizes. I was particularly disappointed with the oysters and the steak. The oysters were quite small, and I would rather order them somewhere else. The steak was well seasoned but was served at room temperature. I don't think I would come back for dinner, but I might return for a few drinks and some light bites at the bar.

    We came here for a birthday celebration and what a superb venue it is. The service is excellent…read moreand they accommodated us with a special prix fixe menu which basically let us sample much of the menu. There are so many good dishes. We had a couple appetizers, veggies, salads, mains, and desserts, all for sharing. Here are the highlights: - the June brioche and its honey butter was amazing bread. They serve it together with the pasta for Rachel whose flavours were sublime and in its unique shape. The brioche goes well with the pasta sauce. - truffled eggs were really good - crab dip with spiced madeleines was so unique and really good. - hamachi crudo was sublime. Flavours so so good. - roasted scallop was one of the highlights. The crunchy top combined with roasted flavour and the sauce it comes in - just so so good. - crispy eggplant I liked. Especially served with tomato puree. - the seared trout was really tender and the veggies it comes with complement excellently - the ribeye was amazing - the beignets and that chocolate mousse were fine. Actually the mousse was so light and good - and I hate chocolate! The only things I thought were just ok were the croquettes and the trout rilette. Highly highly recommended for all occasions especially special ones.

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    TWB The Wine Bar

    TWB The Wine Bar

    3.6
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    I live near this wine bar, so I've passed it a gazillion times over the past 4-5 years, always…read moremeaning to try it out. They've a lovely patio facing the seawall, and especially in the summer, it looks so inviting, and patrons often bring their dogs, and I just love the whole vibe. In the winter, too, it always looks like people are enjoying themselves here, with the warm lighting and twinkling lights. Since this wine bar is attached to the restaurant Provence, I've often passed here and heard live jazz musicians and singers who perform certain nights of the week, and man, they sound GOOD. It just always felt like this would be a super place to mellow out, have a glass of good wine, relax with friends, either on a summer day or at night, any season. I finally got to check it out in person today. I went with a friend for a drink mid-day, sitting outside. The weather was lovely, and it was a perfect day. Carmen was our server and she was great. I appreciated how knowledgable she was regarding all the wine and cocktail selections. My friend had a glass of white wine which she loved, and I had an amazing cocktail with lavender and rose. They have a decent happy hour selection which, unfortunately, we were too early to partake of. Their regular wine menu is extremely extensive. What a great neighborhood place! Will definitely return.

    I ate instead of drinking only this time. I came for dinner. See my pics…read more I don't have liquid dinners or lunches all the time. Really, I don't. You'd think I have alcohol in my veins or something. The food is good and very reasonably priced. I'll have to eat during their happy hour sometime. I know I'll be back. Pro tip: The Sterling Vinyards merlot is the bomb.

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    Il Nido Italian Restaurant - italian - Updated July 2026

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