New Italian Restaurant will Open.

[Buongustaia]

I just found out that a new Italian restaurant, La Famiglia ("The Family" in Italian), will open in the location where Wesley Street Cafe was. The owner/chef is Dino, who used to run Maffeo's Ristrante Italiano in town for many years.

The restaurant is currently under renovation, and Dino is planning to open the restaurant in the mid to late January.

[riverrat]

Exciting! So it'll be right beside Grapevine Trattoria then? Seems risky?

What happened to Wesley St Cafe? I never went...

[Buongustaia]

Grapevine Trattoria closed some time ago. Someone else opened another Italian restaurant after that in the same location, but he closed it after the lease was up. The place is now vacant.

I heard that the owners of Wesley Street Cafe now run Bistro at Westwood Lake in Nanaimo Tennis Club. They also own Mon Petite Choux in downtown.

[foodfrenzy]

Just walked by the other day and noticed they are now open! I love Italian food so I am looking forward to trying it out one of these days.

[vanislandrev]

Very nice! Will definitely check it out

[Buongustaia]

My husband and I went there on their opening night for a dinner, and back there again for a lunch with our friends this past Saturday, and we really enjoyed our meals at both times.

For the dinner, we shared the Carpaccio and the prawns with Sambuca Sauce for antipasto, and then, the linguini with fresh tuna and white wine sauce. After that, we shared the veal scaloppini with a Marsala and mushroom sauce. Every dish was delicious with all of the ingredients tasting very fresh.

For the lunch, we shared mixed antipasto for one (grilled eggplant, salami, mushrooms, olives, artichokes, etc.) and Pesce Fritelle (it is similar to salmon fish cakes – delicious!). Then, I had a half order of Calzone (folded pizza dough stuffed with ricotta, salami, mozzarella, and red pepper, and baked) and my husband had homemade gnocchi with mascarpone cheese sauce. Our friends had Cream Tomato Soup to start and then one had Penne with salmon in cream sauce, and the other had Vegetarian Lasagna. The portion was very generous (our friend who order penne could not finish it), and again they were delicious.

The service was also excellent, the prices reasonable (they have a good selection of wine in very reasonable price), and the staff attentive and warm. The new décor consists of some wonderful colours that give the restaurant both warmth and a sense of being stylish and modern, without overdoing it.

You can see their menu at their facebook site: http://www.facebook.com/lafamigliananaimo?v=info You can also see the photographs of the inside or the restaurant.

It has been open for just over a week, and they are still working on a few things. But, I am so happy to see that we have a real Italian restaurant again in Nanaimo, and I certainly recommend it to others to try.

La Famiglia Ristrante Italiano
#1 -321 Wesley Street, Nanaimo, BC V9R 3A9
250-591-1321

[G-Ram]

I'm having a little trouble with this review because I gave the restaurant three chances to make sure I did not judge too early. I have often puzzled why it is so difficult for an Italian restaurant to make it in Nanaimo (must be the only place in North America), and I'm afraid I still have some reservations. The ambiance and service here are excellent, and the food can vary widely. It is better than average on some nights, and then on others, not so much. I had one meal which had both risotto and potato as side dishes. They might as well have added pasta for three starches on one plate! There was also a double sprig of broccoli which had been cooked to a rubbery state, but worse was literally ice cold. It was not seasoned in any manner and when I asked my waitress to have the chef explain this rather curious addition to the plate, I was informed that he had just gone home. I will give it one more try because I think the potential is there, but they have to try harder.