Review: Italian Kitchen

Last Sunday, we decided to head Downtown to grab some lunch before shopping.

We decided to park our car and  go into the very first restaurant we saw (yes we are spontaneous like that). We walked a block down and the first thing we saw was Italian Kitchen on the corner of Alberni & Burrard St.
During Christmas, we received a $50 gift card for the Glowbal Group, which worked out perfectly for us because Italian Kitchen is one of the restaurants associated with the Glowbal Group.
We were greeted and seated immediately by a friendly hostess.

The first thing we noticed was that the kitchen was outside, opened and connected to the bar area. I have this theory that if a guest can see the food being cooked, it tastes more yummy / the restaurant gets more tips. I don't know if that's just me..

We were given complimentary meatballs on the house; and believe me, pictures don't do it justice, they were HUGE in person.

The meatballs tasted delicious! They were tender and the flavours complimented each other well.
I appreciated the fact that the herbs/ greens didn't overpower the flavour of the meat like some other meatballs I've tried before.

Eric ordered a Grilled Angust Tenderloin with poached egg, Atlantic lobster hollandaise, and caramelized onion hash ($19.95). The first thing we noticed was how tender the steak was (duh it's called tenderloin for a reason). But seriously, it was so tender and easy to eat. The egg was cooked perfectly and Eric really liked the potatoes. The lobster was okay, maybe a little bit of butter would have made it taste better. The dish itself wasn't that big, but it will satisfy your stomach for a Sunday brunch.

To be honest, I didn't know what half the stuff on the menu was (or how to pronounce it), so I ordered a Classic Eggs Benedict ($10.95) because I'm boring like that. It had 2 eggs, crispy prosciutto, hollandaise sauce, served over potatoes. If you knew me in person, you'd know that I LOVE my butter. That is why I'm a big fan of their English muffin because it was very soft and buttery :P.. Everything on the plate was seasoned perfectly, however, my only complaint is the fact that ONE of the eggs were way overcooked while the other one was cooked just right.. The server even asked how I wanted my eggs =_=

My over-cooked egg. In my books, it's not a real eggs benedict unless the yolk oozes out when you cut it in half.

Verdict

I definitely liked this restaurant. It had a comfortable atmosphere, good service, yummy food, and reasonable prices. With the food and 2 beers, our bill came to under $50 which was covered entirely by the gift card. If I came back here next time, I would try out their pastas for sure.
I recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a more modern / fancier Italian restaurant to try out. They aren't as busy during lunch, but if you're going here for dinner, make sure you call ahead of time to make reservations!

Customer service: 5/5
Flavour and taste: 4/5
Cleanliness of restaurant: 5/5

Recommend: Yes