Restaurant review: La Terrazza

By Sherman Chan,
Special to The Post

For six years, I lived almost directly across the street from La Terrazza in Yaletown. But did we ever eat there? We were deterred by the high prices and also took its close location for granted. Eight years later, we no longer live close by, but we finally made it to La Terrazza for dinner. Located close to BC Place and Rogers Arena, it’s well located for a nice dinner before watching a game or concert.
We started with a few appetizers, including Calamari e Gamberi, which is grilled Humboldt squid, crispy baby calamari, Tiger prawns and toasted garlic with a chili lime reduction. The ample amount of baby calamari was tender while crispy on the outside, and the batter was well seasoned. Underneath lay a slice of Humboldt squid which exhibited a spongy tenderness. With a lingering spice and slight acidity, the chili lime reduction complimented the ingredients well. Next we tried the Funghi Pizzetta comprised of wild mushrooms, black truffle purée and quattro formaggi sauce. Resembling a cannoli shell, the crust was thin, firmly crispy and light.  There was a plethora of tender mushrooms that added to the truffle and cheese.
We ordered one cabonara pasta dish, the Bucatini with truffled bison meat balls, smoked bacon, and asparagus tips. Our expectations were met with this dish as the bucatini was a firm al dente and it stood up well to the creamy carbonara sauce. It was sufficiently salty without being overwhelming, and the meatballs were meaty and had little nuggets of bison throughout. The truffle may have been a little too strong for the dish. 
Our last appetizer was the Polenta Fries, which were fantastic in our opinion. Lightly crispy on the outside while creamy and fluffy on the inside, these were everything I envisioned them to be. 
Onto our mains, I had the Agnello or oven roasted rack of lamb crusted in grainy Dijon, roasted potato and vegetable terrine with green mint pea purée. Prepared on the more rare side, the lamb was succulent and tender. It wasn't overly seasoned and the natural roasted lamb flavour was discernible. I found the pea purée sweet, but this was balanced by the salty demi sauce. I fond of the potato and vegetable terrine as it wasn't impactful in terms of flavour and the potato was firm while the veggies were soft.  
My friend ordered the Costata, consisting of a 10 oz. grilled Sterling Silver beef rib eye, buttermilk fried onion rings, roasted mushrooms and green peppercorn sauce. This was a substantial amount of food that even he couldn't finish.  He requested for medium-rare and it ended up being more to the medium side, however that didn't hinder its tenderness. The meat ate really well, especially for a rib-eye. In addition to the natural rib-eye flavour, the mushrooms and demi added an woodsy saltiness.
We also ordered the Merluzzo with oven-roasted panko crusted sable fish with black kale, chive potato cake and white truffle-lemon vinaigrette. Presented high on the plate, it was visually appealing with an array of colours. The fish itself was flaky and firm with a crispy crust. We liked how it wasn't aggressively seasoned so that the fish could stand on its own. Soft, yet with discernible layers, the potato cake was nicely herbed, but the chewy kale had a considerable amount of truffle oil, which wasn't necessary.  Our final entrée was the Anatra, consisting of pan-seared Fraser Valley duck breast, roasted summer vegetable and goat cheese tart, wild arugula and sherry wine reduction. The duck was a bit salty, but the skin was nicely rendered and prepared with an appealing colour. We found the goat cheese tart mild and creamy, and the reduction was slightly sweet with a background acidity.
For dessert, we shared La Creazione and Torta D'Amore. Wrapped in phyllo pastry, the mascarpone cheesecake was soft, while not particularly creamy. The Amarena cherries and strawberry coulis added some fruity sweetness as well as a touch of acidity. Universally, we preferred the Torta D'Amore more. The warm decadent chocolate cake, lava-like centre and vanilla bean gelato was well executed.  
This meal was a long time coming, and it was much better than anticipated with generally pleasant food in relatively large portion sizes.

Sherman Chan is the #1 ranked food blogger on the Vancouver portal of Urbanspoon.com. Read more of his reviews at www.shermansfoodadventures.com.

La Terrazza
1088 Cambie Street, Vancouver
(604) 899-4449

The Good:
• Decent portion sizes
• Pleasant food
• Attentive service

The Bad:
• High pricing
• A little aggressive with the truffle oil