When it came to creature comforts, we were well-provided. Three distinctive, luxurious dinners in Vancouver began at the cozy, Old World-charming Il Nido, a temple of simple Northern Italian cooking. Chef-owner Franco Felice greeted us, and we felt well taken care of by the staff. Here and elsewhere we eschewed grappling with the menu and left the courses to the kitchen, which turned out classic trattoria fare. This proved to be excellent strategy for the control-prone: leave the choices to the chef, it's liberating.
I knew my mom would enjoy the food, and the quiet, cozy and simple ambience. I ordered the soup of the day; a fresh and delicious minestrone to start, it was loaded with hearty vegetables, and quite comforting – I pretended my mom made it!
"Check out Cafe IL Nido on Robson. Had a fab pasta puttanesca there last week. So good!"
Erin Ireland - Il Nido: For The LOVE Of Pasta!
“No, I’m not a woman and I know it’s all about the shoes and the clothes,” prefaced CTV movie expert Jim Gordon to his review of the movie every single woman on the planet is dying to see: ’Sex & The City 2'. Regardless, he deemed the flick thirty minutes too long and worthy of measly 4/10 rating. The man is a tough critic.
The Straight.com - Chefs dream up those salad days of summer
Franco Felice, owner of Il Nido (780 Thurlow Street), offers a simple, refreshing salad that also pays attention to balance and contrast. He recommends getting to know the flavour profiles of your greens. With his Il Nido salad, he takes a popular combination in Italy—peppery arugula, bitter endive, and crisp, peppery radish—and picks other ingredients that complement these flavours and textures. Pears poached in cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, sugar, and water provide sweetness, while goat cheese coated in crushed cashews gives a layer of creamy crunch. Read More ...
Globe and Mail – Where to eat when nobody's footing the bill
This hidden gem (tucked below the Manhattan Apartments, behind Starbucks) is perfect for girly get-togethers and intimate tete-a-tetes. The cozy , low-ceilinged room is unpretentious and owner Franco Felice is utterly charming.(...) it's dependable, autherntic and decently priced. In warmer weather, the courtyard patio is a tranquil oasis in the heart of the city.
This hidden gem (tucked below the Manhattan Apartments, behind Starbucks) is perfect for girly get-togethers and intimate tete-a-tetes. The cozy, low-ceiling room is unpretentious and owner Franco Felice is utterly charming. The simple trattoria cooking (..is..) dependable, authentic and decently priced. In warmer weather, the courtyard patio is a tranquil oasis in the heart of the city.
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Vancouver Magazine – West End
This comfortable West End room claims wildly loyal regulars but is also kind to walk-in tourists. Classic trattoria cooking, good fresh sheets, consistent and attractively priced. Neat caprese salad at lunch ($12), for dinner try peppercorn-crusted halibut or cioppino. Custom pastas on request. Wine list reasonable; quality sherry and port sheet.
This comfortable West End room claims wildly loyal regulars but is also kind to walk-in tourists. Classic trattoria cooking, good fresh sheets, consistent and attractively priced. Neat caprese salad at lunch ($12), for dinner try peppercorn-crusted halibut or cioppino. Custom pastas on request. Wine list reasonable; quality sherry and port sheet.
“Social Eyes” reporter Warren Frey caught Il Nido patrons and owner Franco Felice toasting the new Fall menu. View Image
24 Hrs - Michael Schratter, On the Town reporter
The smart date speeds you to an urban restaurant. So lucky man, now you've got yourself a date. What's next? Why not slow it down a bit and take your lovely companion out for a little cuisine and lubricous drink? The choices abound in our city of restaurants, but you certainly can't go wrong with the well established Il Nido. In a business where places come and go as fast as a Middle East truce, (...) is a lifetime. Il Nido's has been serving inventive Italian cuisine for nearly two decades in its hidden cozy corner of Robson and Thurlow. Celebrating the end of the season sitting amongst the lush greens of the courtyard, during Il Nido's "Sights and Tastes of Summer" party, it's hard to believe that just outside the doors there is a hustle and bustle of a city center. While admiring the works of local artists-in-residence, I couldn't get enough of Chef's (...) baby portobellos stuffed with Italian sausage, cambonzola cheese and candied red peppers. Hey, has anyone seen my date? View Image
Dear Franco, Congratulation on being voted #1 Best Courtyard Patio in Vancouver by the Province! My guests were amazed by the service, the food and the ambiance. The couple I sent on Saturday, they said, it was their ever best restaurant experience and that Cafe Il Nido is definitely their favourite restaurant and they will go back next week when they return from Alaska. Thank you, Il Nido team!
#1 of Courtyard patios A Tuscan setting tucked into the courtyard of the Manhattan Apartments for true global meshing and atmospheric and digestive tranquility, exemplified by the new summer menu and pleasant wines.
The best restaurant patios around the Lower Mainland - The Vancouver Province 2007
Here’s a city gem as hidden as a Mafioso in the witness-protection program. This courtyard patio tucked away between the Manhattan Apartments has that la dolce vita atmosphere and Italian dishes as finely crafted as a Fellini film. The menu builds on the classics with inventive inspiration culminating in creations like rare seared tuna on shiitake rice cake with scallion pesto, barbeque duck fettucine in a sweet chili sauce with aged ricotta, or fusilli with Italian sausage and mushrooms whipped up with veal jus and mustard cream. The wine list proves to be as eclectic as the dishes. blog posting here: (archinve on province website not available)
Cafe IlNido has been highly rated in recently published Zagat Survey '2010 Vancouver Restaurant'. See the source here - Read More ..
Italian food is my favourite and Il Nido has never disappointed me. The food is delicious. The decor was recently updated and is warm and inviting and the patio in summer is a treat hidden away as it is only steps from busy Robson and Thurlow Streets. I feel as if I have escaped the city. The service and attention is something I really appreciate, especially when I am entertaining family or friends there. Top marks for Cafe Il Nido!!!
Explore the city’s busiest shopping street to discover a variety of hidden eats. Aptly named Il Nido—meaning “the nest,” tucked away in a courtyard behind Robson at Thurlow—serves contemporary Italian dishes such as eight-spice marinated duck breast with mushroom-caramelized light espresso sauce (pictured), and pan-seared cod with saffron cream sauce.
VANCOUVER - As winter chills; II Nido is on hand to warm Vancouverites . Cafe II Nido offers quality meals to all age groups for casual and formal occasions in a tranquil environment on Thurlow Street in downtown Vancouver, repeatedly emphasiz(ing) quality, quality and quality. Indeed, (the) selection of fresh ingredients brings a surge of excitement to the palate. II Nido's dining area bears an aura of elegance. "We have a very wide range of clientele from the ages of 20 to 25...or between 50 to 65...we have reached all types of people," (...) Cafe II Nido has been established for (...22...) years and that experience is definitely reflected through the level of cuisine, the attitude, and the style present. Positive attitudes emanate from the cafe - the entire atmosphere just feels harmonious. Nonetheless, to truly appreciate it, one must experience II Nido firsthand.
Vancouver Lifestyles Magazine - Timothy Renshaw
At Il Nido that experience is pretty much what you’d expect from a restaurant whose name roughly translated means The Nest. Warm, personable and familiar. Add in linen on the tables, Chet Baker on the soundtrack, local art on the walls and a subdued dash of Northern Italian romance in the room and you have a closer approximation of Felice’s nest. It’s his tip of the hat to the European affection for restaurants sited off Main Street. The nest is a safe haven in the urban storm. Il Nido’s predecessor in the 1907 vintage Manhattan Apartments courtyard space was Binky’s Oyster Bar. Can’t say as der Binker left much of a mark on the local restaurant landscape. Il Nido’s enduring run, however is a testament to its simple appeal. The Manhattan itself has had its ups and downs. But the J.E. Parr and Thomas Fee-designed building remains an interesting example of the city’s early 20th century architectural heritage. That look has won it fleeting showbiz fame as the backdrop to such Hollywood productions as the Look Who’s Talking movies with Kirstie Alley and John Travolta.
Business Vancouver - Celebrity chef finds downtown Vancouver gig
Food Channel celebrity chef Anthony Sedlak will perform executive chef duties at the Corner Suite Bistro De Luxe, which friends Andre McGillivray and Steve Da Cruz plan to open in July at the corner of Thurlow and Smithe streets. Read More ...
The Courier
Just off the bustle of Robson Street, Il Nido owner and chef Franco Felice has been quietly sharing his love of food and entertaining for the past (..22.) years in the cozy nook just below the Manhattan Apartments at Thurlow. (...) Silver medalist for Best Casual Italian, Felice introduced his new (...) and expanded patio at an Antipasti Summer Mixer. Fresh from the amateur rodeo circuit, the 23-year-old Aebi, an avid cowboy and bull rider, will mark the crossing from Asian chic to Italian casual with the introduction of a new fall menu.
Canada.com
STILL NESTING: Two decades is an eternity for restaurateurs, even in a century-old building. But Franco Felice's Café Il Nido marked its 20th Thursday, one week after the Thurlow-at-Robson Manhattan building in which it's housed turned 100.
The joint was previously called Binky's Oyster Bar, when former bookseller Celia Duthie established it to commemorate Paperback Cellar manager Binky Marks, who died of an apparent heart attack after conferring with The Happy Hooker autobiographer Xaviera Hollander. Duthie had planned to relate the doings of a virtual literary café in a Vancouver magazine column, but opened a real restaurant instead. Hats off to successor Felice for his labours since.
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