Recently I made the mistake of suggesting the new restaurant campagnolo to some out of town guests I was meeting. I am dying to try this stylish new haunt from the owners of Fuel, so enthusiastic that I forgot that it is located on a somewhat challenging block of Main Street. I know its trendy and up-and-coming and you know that too. But for tourists in a rental car, well lets just say that dinner got moved to Al Porto on water street before I could say Paté di Campagna.

Al Porto is one of those restaurants that has someone standing in the street handing out menus to cruise ship tourists all day. And they do quite well at it too, the place is regularly packed.

The dining room is surprisingly bright and spacious given the number of stairs you go down, opening onto an attempt at classic italian design. The art in Al Porto is your first clue that things are going wrong; it could be a clearing house for bad prints, the bigger the better. As much as I love Napolean on a horse, it was hard not to burst out laughing.

The service was fine and they are a busy restaurant used to a full dining room. We had a big table with lots of white tablecloth and it was pleasant enough. The problem, of course, was the food.  The menu is filled with uninspired dishes, listed American style, pizza and pasta, fish and meat. I ordered a beef Carpaccio, ($11.95) which tasted like a walk-in refrigerator and was garnished with a haphazard pile of whole spinach leaves (with stalks) and parmeson cheese.

Let me say here that when you are in an Italian restaurant, you should be able to count on parmesan cheese to get you through anything. But the parmesan was unlike anything I have ever had at a restaurant.  It was  the plastic-like brand you can accidentally buy in a supermarket with no taste whatsoever. Shocking!

The rest of the meal was no better. The cucumber soup, a special, was broken with a layer of water on top. The risottos ($19.95) were undercooked, heavy and seemed to sweat bad stock, (i would wager from cubes) earning you instant lead belly.  The pasta and cream sauce was unrefined and evocative of a different kind of cuisine altogether.

Clearly, we were unimpressed. And although the prices are moderate, you could buy a fabulous meal at la buca or la quercia on the same budget; there is simply no reason to go to this restaurant. Ever.

Now, who wants to meet me at at campagnolo?

321 Water Street
Vancouver B.C.

Phone: 604.683.8376
Fax: 604.683.6682
Email: info@alporto.ca
Website: www.alporto.ca

Restaurant Hours:

Mon-Fri 11:30am-10:30pm
Sat-Sun 5:30pm-10:30pm