La Bottega

heard and read so many great reviews and was expecting more. potential is there. Caesar salad dressing-any anchovies??-a bit bland, but well dressed and presented; missing simple things like olive oil on table but without balsamic; what's with the whipped butter? partner liked lasagna but not memorable, not enough sausage in it . I found the marinara sauce a tad acidic; fettucini carbonara okay. Place didn't look clean. We were both hoping to find a Vancouver restaurant where we could become regulars. Bottom line, not enough reason to go back. Pros: nice location Cons: crowded patio more

Hi all;\r Thank you for trying La Bottega and for your comments. This is a response to the comment about our wine pricing and corkage. We are in fact a cafe, deli and wine shop, however we are first and foremost a full service restaurant; in addition we are a deli, as well as selling food and wine for retail. Our goal has been continuity and simplicity, not price gouging. Rather than offering our wine at retail prices in our wine shop, and then marking them up to standard restaurant prices in our dining room ( which I can assure you are considerably more than retail), we decided to take a pragmatic approach and simply add a corkage to the retail price, whether you bring in a wine from somewhere else or purchase it from our wine shop. I believe if you check around you will find it more affordable for the same bottle of wine with corkage at La Bottega than most other restaurants. In addition, if you are looking for something you won't find in most grocery store, we strive to carry a unique selection in our wine shop. \r In any case, I am sorry that you did not find the value in our restaurant. I would hope that you might give us another try. more

La Bottega has good food - for Vancouver it is pretty nice. My one thing though is that they charge an outrageous corkage for a deli that is in fact a wine shop. So they already are selling wine at a mark up and then to buy it and drink it in the deli they charge a corkage - that is just not right. This is not an upscale restaurant with fantastic service - the place is new and maybe the owners just don't get it. If you go - you'll enjoy the food - but - unless you are nuts it is tough to justify a corkage in a wine shop/deli. Pros: Decent Food Cons: A wine shop/deli that charges a corkage on already marked up wine? more

This restaurant is great for lunch or dinner, because they offer cheaper half portions of all their pastas and salads. Every person I have ever introduced to this fabulous deli, has gone back again on their own. The food is seriously delicious. All of the ingredients are seasonal (and I think purchased locally), which means the menu experiences slight adjustments,like my favorite salad, the spinach/beet/walnut/goat cheese one, will have chevre onions when beets aren't in season. My favorite pasta is the mushroom ravioli. It is seriously amazing! They also serve excellent espresso, lattes cappuccinos, etc., all from real Italian coffee. If you go there, you have to order some coffee. It is worth it. Not only is the food good, but the restaurant is super-cute as well. It is one of the only places in the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area that makes me feel like I am back in Europe. I will say I didn't totally love the tiramisu I tried once. Um, they also have a bunch of different jars of imported Italian olives and cheeses and offer a variety of fresh breads, etc. for sale as well as take-home containers of some of their pastas and soups, but I have never tried them. I prefer just coming in and eating lunch/dinner in the deli. Probably one of my top three favorite restaurants in the area, and I live in Portland, so I have to commute. Pros: Authenticity, Ambience, Food!, Cost, Coffee Cons: Location (Vancouver) more