Autostrada

Pasta is one of the world's most cherished foods. And, Vancouverites certainly love their pasta. At Vancouver’s Autostrada Osteria, sit down at a table or grab a seat at the wine bar, and you will feast off a style of cuisine using local products that hasn't changed in centuries.

Autostrada (meaning highway in Italian) comes from the owners of the much touted Cinara restaurant – executive chef Lucais Syme and wine expert Dustin Dockendorf. Here, the staple of Italian cuisine – pasta – is treated with reverence. “Osteria stands for casual dining using classic Italian cooking techniques,” says Syme. “The dishes are approachable and welcoming.”

Syme says they opened Autostrada Osteria "to highlight the simplicity and quality ingredients." Autostrada features the best dishes from all regions of Italy. Sourcing local, organic, sustainable and seasonal ingredients as much as possible, including hormone-free meats, Syme and his kitchen team handcraft noodles, their own Tuscan-style sausage (using fennel from Umbria seeds), fresh home-baked bread made daily in-house, and the sinfully delicious chocolate tort.

“Great pasta is simple … you just need to use the right ingredients,” he notes, adding he does import Italian cheese, like the rich, buttery burrata from the southern coast. There are several stars of the show on the beautifully curated menu but here are some that really standout: the duck and anchovy ragout, inspired by Syme and his wife’s trip to Venice; Sicilian-inspired rigatoni with eggplant; the iconic garganelli with fennel sausage, peas and pecorino and the Vitello tonnato – sliced veal with a thick tuna-and-caper sauce.

No Italian meal is complete without wine. “We are having a lot of fun with the wines, all of which are Italian and will be changing so our clients can try new wines,” explains Syme.