Casereccio Foods: Authentic pasta bar in Kitsilano
Casereccio Foods is a cafΓ© and eatery in Kitsilano focusing on fresh homemade pasta, desserts, sandwiches, soups and salads. A small but mighty business, they offer a build-your-own pasta bar, gelato station, and lots of pre-made or frozen fresh dishes to take home.
We were invited to come and try some of their most popular dishes and they did not disappoint! Here is everything we tried and how our experience went.
Casereccio Foods Coffee/Pasta Bar
2480 Vine St, Vancouver, BC V6K 3K8
The vibe
We came at noon on a sunny Saturday. The place is pretty small and has a counter-style system where you order and pay.
Inside, there are limited seating available – maybe around 6 tables and they mostly seat 2-3 people. They also have a small patio outside that is dog-friendly but I don’t think it is heated. Generally, the space is pretty small.
During our time here, Casereccio was quite busy despite its small size. Tables were always filled and even the outdoor patio got filled too by 1pm. Lots of folks came in and out whether it was for takeout or just a scoop of gelato.
Aside from the gelato station, they also sold baked goods at the counter and a fridge/freezer of sauces, soups and ready-made options.
Food review
Disclaimer: Everything we tried was free as part of an Instagram collab, but I have included the prices in this blog post for your reference. Prices are in CAD and rounded to the nearest dollar for simplicity.
Matcha latte ($5) + Espresso macchiato ($3)
The espresso macchiato was smooth and strong, but I didn’t like the matcha latte very much π. Perhaps it was my own fault for ordering matcha at a non-Japanese cafΓ©, but I found the taste and texture to be quite “powdery” due to the matcha powder not mixing in the best. I was also given honey to pour into the matcha latte, which acts as a sweetener but I prefer my matcha latte already sweetened with something else.
Meatballs side ($13)
I think meatballs are a good dish to judge an Italian place on for its authenticity. The meatball side comes with 4-5 traditional beef meatballs in a tomato sauce and garlic bread.
Now the garlic bread I didn’t have any special feelings for, but I really enjoyed the meatballs π. They were not dry inside and juicy and flavourful! Seasoned well and not too salty.
Classic bolognese lasagna ($22)
One of their most popular dishes is their lasagna – they offer both a meat bolognese option and a vegetarian spinach & ricotta version.
The bolognese version comes in a small baked dish, layered with homemade pasta sheets and AAA ground beef. They also use tomato sauce, bΓ©chamel sauce, mozzarella and parmigiano.
I am not usually a big fan of lasagna but I thought this was tasty π. I especially liked the edges where there are a few crunchy bits from getting baked in the oven. I felt the pasta sheets also tasted great and overall, this was much more filling than it looked.
Porcini & cream gnocchi ($22)
Another popular pasta dish is the porcini and cream one. For these, you can choose any pasta base but our server recommended the gnocchi for this sauce. The sauce uses roasted porcini mushroom, heavy cream and parmigiano, giving it a very rich and almost truffle-y taste.
The gnocchi was also a great choice – each piece was fluffy and soft and tasted heavenly with the white sauce. This was our favourite pasta dish of the day out of all the ones we tried even though it is vegetarian π.
Amatriciana rigatoni ($22)
Our third pasta dish is also one of their most popular choices – the amatriciana sauce paired with rigatoni. This sauce is a homemade tomato sauce, paired with guanciale (pork cheek), red wine and pecorino romano.
I love rigatoni and this was cooked perfectly al dente. The sauce was tangy from the tomatoes and the pork cheek was crispy and savoury.
Tiramisu ($12)
I was super interested in trying Casereccio’s traditional tiramisu. They use Kahlua coffee savoiardi layered with whipped mascarpone and eggs and topped with your choice of cocoa powder or pistachio. We opted for the pistachio as it was a more unique twist π³!
To our surprise, it came in a big waffle bowl – genius π€―! This way we can eat all the cake inside and even the bowl.
The tiramisu was very yummy and I liked the pistachio topping. It was very moist inside also, but I do have a slight preference towards tiramisu that has a higher ratio of mascarpone. This ratio was more balanced.
Final thoughts
Loewe’s rating: βοΈβοΈβοΈβοΈ
We had a very rich and filling lunch at Casereccio!
When all the pasta dishes first arrived, we thought the portions weren’t that big but as we ate, we realized we really couldn’t finish our food. We left with about 50% of all 3 pastas packed into takeout boxes. So don’t let those plates fool you – they are deeper than you think!
Out of all 3 pastas, the porcini & cream sauce with the gnocchi was our favourite. We also felt this one tasted the richest, likely from the heavy cream, so perhaps this pasta is more shareable. A hungry person can crush the rigatoni and lasagna individually.
I would also definitely order the meatballs again – one of the best meatballs I’ve tasted recently!
All the food tasted fresh and authentic, which we loved the most about this place.
Service was also decent considering how busy and small the place is. There was always someone coming in or standing at the counter!
I recommend you to give Casereccio a visit if you are in the Kitsilano area and to buy some fresh pastas to take home for another day.
Sincerely, Loewe