Cosy restaurant feels like the closest thing to Italy
Menu and ambience boast Old World charm
Recently I visited two restaurants, hoping to write about them. The food was average at both, and since I write about restaurants I can recommend, I was stressed. As deadline approached, I beelined to a third eatery.
Relief might have influenced my enjoyment of Mangia Cucina and Bar, but I don’t think so. It’s a cosy little restaurant in a blushing red vintage house located in a semi-industrial area in Mount Pleasant. It’s not to be mistaken for Caffe Mangia and Pizzeria, which preceded it. Alessandro Riccombono took over the restaurant four months ago and he strikes very pleasant chords.
In Vancouver, he’s worked as the chef at Trafalgar Bistro (which closed in 2017) and at Hide Lounge in Bentall Tower 4. He’s also worked at several high-end spots in London.
“We want to give people Italy outside of Italy,” says Riccombono, “not just with the food, but with the atmosphere and servers. People expect it to be casual, but we give a little more.”
Well, that’s not just blather. That’s how it is. Our server was, as in Italy, not a millennial, but a man edging towards middle age who was very good at his job. He made pleasant small talk as Italian music played quietly in the background.
The pizza was the highlight of the night, boasting a crust baked just as I like it — poofed in parts, singed in others, with a bit of chew. The pistachio e mortadella ($20) is a nod to Riccombono’s Sicilian roots. The pistachio pesto is dolloped on after the pizza escapes the oven.
The dough meets a furnace heated to 650-700 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to make it bubble frantically. The pizza stone, Riccombono says, imparts the flavour.
“It counteracts the acidity of the tomatoes and interacts with the sugar. It’s rustic and I like that.”
True to Italian food, he keeps things simple. The tomato sauce isn’t cooked.
The pistachio pesto is great ; he uses it on the arancina bomba as well.
Another simple but delicious dish is the polenta fritta ($9). Cooked, pressed, dried polenta is cut into fingers and deep-fried, stacked neatly and served with pesto mayo. The crisp exterior and softer interior mimics good french fries.
A lightly tossed salad of mixed greens, half red-wine poached pear (sliced and fanned), walnuts and Gorgonzola dressing ($15) was another winner.
Our other main dish was lobster ravioli dressed in a light white wine, chili and tomato sauce. This needed a little punch as the pasta dough competed with the lobster (and some crab) filling.
Riccombono says he outsources the ravioli dough to a local Italian family because of his small kitchen. The spaghetti is the dry version.
“I like al dente, and dry makes that better.”
Another dish, the crespelle alla fiorentina, hails from the Abruzzo region. It’s a crepe filled with a ricotta spinach mix.
“We cut it into portions and pan fry it,” he says.
For dessert, a keep-it-simple approach would have benefited the pistachio cream puff that featured a filling with a base of strawberry jam. The pastry was enrobed in white chocolate with pistachio. I’d have been happy with a puffy pastry filled with pistachio cream.
A short wine list features good value Italian wines including rose, Prosecco and moscato. There’s a good selection of local craft beers and Italian-inspired cocktails.
Mangia Cucina and Bar is open for lunch as well, with an emphasis on pastas and panini.