Through a wall of dashing glass windows with a painting\u00a0of the ‘Savio Volpe’, aka\u00a0the Wise Fox, I thought I was at a\u00a0showcase of a classy restaurant space. In a\u00a0blend of natural day\u00a0light and elegant light fixtures hanging from the high ceiling, the dining room is\u00a0modern and spacious, and filled with\u00a0tasteful details such as the\u00a0handsome wooden furniture. I was so distracted by the beauty of the space, \u00a0walking right past the tall dark wooden door, a door\u00a0so tall that I thought it was another wall in the front.<\/p>\n I found my dining companions, Foodgressing<\/a>, \u00a0Food Wench of Drunken Noms<\/a>\u00a0(Food Wench), and\u00a0Nosh and Nibble<\/a>\u00a0(Nosh), sitting in the front of the restaurant and right by\u00a0the window, bathed in the early evening sun – they definitely picked the best table in the house. It was only 10 minutes\u00a0past 6pm, and the dining room was already fully packed with food lovers. And I suddenly\u00a0spotted Chef Michael Robbins<\/a>, executive chef of AnnaLenna<\/a>, who appeared to be\u00a0waiting for a table. \u00a0This is just a glimpse\u00a0of \u00a0how popular this place\u00a0is – even the top chefs in the city eat here!<\/p>\n Summer came early this year. Having walked\u00a0almost 15 minutes to reach the restaurant, I was all hot and\u00a0thirsty for a cold pint. My Four Wings West Coast IPA<\/strong> ($6.5) and Food Wench’s\u00a0Adami \u2018Garbel’ Prosecco<\/strong> ($10) were among the summery choices on Savio Volpe’s very well designed drink menu, featuring a list of carefully selected local craft beers and a comprehensive Italian wine program. And even their\u00a0Latte<\/strong>, was such a piece of art!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Our waitress was super lovely and passionate about what they served at the restaurant. With her assistance, we were able to sample dishes from different sections on the menu.<\/p>\n SALUMI & CONSERVA \/\u00a0CURED & PRESERVED<\/strong><\/p>\n This section features cured and preserved meats, such as Salumi, Anchovy, and Prosciutto, with techniques\u00a0used for generations\u00a0but incorporated with modern twists.<\/p>\n We ordered the\u00a0Ox Tongue Tonnato<\/strong> ($14), a spin on\u00a0a classic Italian appetizer of thinly sliced veal topped with mayonnaise. While\u00a0ox tongue came across\u00a0a\u00a0tougher meat but with a lot of flavour, \u00a0the treatment made it\u00a0quite the opposite here. Each slice was so thin that it was very\u00a0delicate, almost too delicate to be eaten on its own. The tuna mayonnaise sauce itself was absolutely delicious, with the right ratio\u00a0of creaminess and acidity, a very subtle sweetness from tuna, and a bit of a kick from cracked pepper. The use of capers was a nice refreshing touch too. But\u00a0I was not quite sure about\u00a0the intention of the dish. As the sauce was much more flavourful, the texture and the flavour of the beef tongue was not very obvious.<\/p>\n LE VERDURE \/\u00a0VEGETABLES<\/strong><\/p>\n The next dish, the Bagna Cauda <\/strong>($17) with a hot anchovy & garlic bath ($17) was visually pleasing\u00a0with the choices and arrangement of colourful vegetables, and\u00a0\u00a0a few bread slices. And the star was\u00a0this buttery liquid flavoured with anchovy and garlic, kept\u00a0warm on a tea light burning ceramic bowl, where\u00a0we would dip our food in like eating a fondue. The liquid had a ton of flavour, but posed a small\u00a0issue – the liquid slipped off most of the veggie pieces, except the leafy ones\u00a0and the bread slices.\u00a0And I hated to see\u00a0quite a bit of that yummy levitra over the counter <\/a> liquid went to waste after we finished all the veggies.<\/p>\n SALTATO IN PADELLA \/ FROM THE SKILLET & STEWING POT<\/strong><\/p>\n I’d like to think that the Italians\u2019 love\u00a0for meatballs almost\u00a0rival the North Americans\u2019 for burgers. And I’m sure every food-loving Italian family must have their own recipe of meatballs. The version here, the Meatballs in Neck Bone Gravy<\/strong> ($14) is\u00a0definitely special. \u00a0There was not too much fat in the meat they had chosen, and\u00a0the meat seemed to be\u00a0finely chopped instead of processed through a grinder, for there was a nice\u00a0bite to it, \u00a0totally satisfying a texture guy\u00a0like me. \u00a0And the amount of\u00a0tomato sauce was adequate and added acidity to the flavourful neck bone gravy.<\/p>\n PER LA TAVOLA \/ FOR THE TABLE<\/strong><\/p>\n Our\u00a0waitress told us\u00a0the story about the\u00a0Garlic Bread \u201cAll\u2019Americano\u201d <\/strong>($6) that playfully came\u00a0in tin foil, and how it\u00a0was created \u00a0from an inspiration by the chef’s nostalgic\u00a0memory of shopping at\u00a0Safeway. I certainly remembered\u00a0buying that super buttery garlic bread from the store myself\u00a0years ago, and with this version, even more butter was found in the centre of the bread, but the crunchy exterior was definitely\u00a0the best part.<\/p>\n We also had\u00a0their house-made bread, the Pane Rustico<\/strong> ($3), which was indeed rustic looking,\u00a0but also incredibly delicious.<\/p>\n DAL FUOCO \/ FROM THE WOOD FIRE<\/strong><\/p>\n Our\u00a0waitress was definitely proud of their\u00a0griglia\u00a0<\/em>in the kitchen, \u00a0the wood-fired grill\u00a0that produced amazing smoky flavour on their chicken and salmon dishes, as well as the\u00a0Octopus<\/strong> ($19) that we ordered, and she even invited us to check out the grill after dinner if we were interested. And of course we said YES. The Octopus was served with chick peas, cherry tomato, and\u00a0spicy salami, and all the flavours and textures together were such a \u00a0harmony. Some might say there was too much olive oil on the p1late, but to me, it had added fruitiness to the flavour and lusciousness to other components – it was just fantastic!<\/p>\n PASTA FRESCA FATTA IN CASA \/ IN HOUSE HANDMADE PASTA<\/strong><\/p>\n The star of the evening had to be the house handmade pasta, recommended by our\u00a0waitress, who claimed this Mezzaluna with Spinach, Dandelion and Wild Onion<\/strong> ($18) as her most favourite pasta dish here. And I could see why she loved it so much. To me this dish was absolutely perfect – the delicate fresh pasta texture, the impeccable flavour of the pasta filling, the exquisite sauce that’s creamy yet so soft and subtle, and the aroma and texture contrast from the fried sage leaves. \u00a0While\u00a0the quality of the ingredients\u00a0really shined in this dish, \u00a0the precision of execution was the key to put everything together and wow me.<\/p>\n Osteria Savio Volpe\u00a0is easily one of the most beautiful restaurants I have visited\u00a0in the city. The design of the\u00a0spacious dining room is timeless. And\u00a0the creator’s passion also shows in their food.\u00a0Thanks to our enthusiastic waitress, we had terrific\u00a0dish choices\u00a0from almost all\u00a0the sections on\u00a0the menu, from rustic\u00a0table bread, scrumptious meatballs, wood-fire grilled octopus, to fresh house-made pasta. \u00a0My favourite dish of the evening was hands down the Mezzaluna<\/strong>, the exquisite hand-crafted stuffed pasta dish that would be remembered for a long time. The only section we did not get to try was\u00a0the Steak Over-the-Coals<\/strong>, which I am looking forward to trying next time.<\/p>\n Website:<\/strong> Menu:<\/strong> More reviews:<\/strong> Location:<\/strong>![\"Osteria](\"http:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/image-66.jpeg\")
<\/a>The Drinks for The Warm Evening<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a>The Tasting<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>More Photos<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a>Overall<\/h3>\n
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\nhttp:\/\/www.saviovolpe.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.saviovolpe.com\/menu\/dinner\/<\/a><\/p>\n
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