Federico’s Supper Club: Dine Out 2020
Dine Out Vancouver is a food festival with over 200 participating restaurants. These participating restaurants offer 3-course menus at different price points: $15/$25/$35/$45. It’s a fun way to try different restaurants in Vancouver that you may not normally go to.
Read my review of my 2020 Dine Out experience at Chambar.
The fourth Dine Out I try is Federico’s Supper Club located on Commercial Drive. Federico’s Supper Club is an old school Italian restaurant with live music and a dance floor. It is a classic upscale spot – one where you may want to dress up for and not bring your children.
I came here with my boyfriend’s family to celebrate his mom’s birthday.
Dine Out menu
Federico’s Supper Club’s 2020 Dine Out menu is $45 per person. For $55 per person, you can select 4 courses instead of 3 – you choose a pasta as one of the mini entrees.
| Appetizers | Entrees (pasta) | Entrees (mains) | Desserts |
| Vellutata di Pastinaca (parsnip soup) | Gnocchi al Pomodoro (potato gnocchi) | Torre delle Verdure (vegetable lasagna) | Tiramisu |
| Prosciutto di Parma e Bufala (proscuitto, cheese and tomatoes) | Linguine Pescatore (seafood linguine) | Filetto di Trota (pan seared trout) | Cannoli Siciliani |
| Insalata di Arance, Finocchio e Noce (fennel salad) | Parpardelle Bolognese (beef ragu and ribbon pasta) | Rotolo di Pollo (pancetta wrapped chicken) | Profiteroles |
| Polpette di Agnello (lamb meatballs) | Risotto ai Funghi e Gorgonzola (mushroom risotto) | Bistecca alla Griglia (grilled aged flat iron steak) | Bavarese al Cioccolato |
| Arancini ai Funghi (mushroom risotto balls) | Gelato |
Interior
Federico’s Supper Club was first established in 1999 on Commercial Drive’s “Little Italy” section. As you may guess it, a man named Federico owns the restaurant and even performs on a frequent basis to today! This is super cool and you can tell from the interior that this place has tried to maintain its original classic Italian vibe.
There are not many tables so it’s not a large restaurant, but every table is set up and warmly lit. Tables are set up around a small dance floor facing a stage with instruments. You are welcome to get up and dance at any time.
Live music and entertainment occurs 5 days a week with some special themes every now and then including featured guest performers and world class tribute nights.
Appetizers
Free bread
You get some free bread. Carry on.
Arancini ai Funghi
Many of us order the arancini ai funghi, which are mushroom risotto balls. They use portobello mushrooms, sage and fior di latte filling. The sauce is truffle aioli.
I love love love arancini because who doesn’t love anything deep fried? Their appetizer serving has 2 arancinis and they are of reasonable size. Inside the risotto is fried well and not oily. You can stretch the cheese inside all the way up to the air if you hold your arm straight and the mushroom smell and taste is there but not overwhelming. Really like the truffle aioli sauce with it as well.
Insalata di Arance, Finocchio e Noce
Some of the people at my table order the fennel salad, which is recommended by our server. The fennel salad includes diced oranges, mixed greens, walnuts, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic drizzle.
I can’t comment much since I didn’t try any of this salad.
Entrees (pastas)
Again, if you choose their 3-course menu, you can choose one of their pastas as your main. If you do this, the portion size is larger. If you choose to do their 4-course menu, you can choose your pasta as your mini-main and your portion will be smaller.
My boyfriend and I opt for the 4-course menu so we can all share some of the pasta with the rest of the table. This is a good way to try a little variety.
Gnocchi al Pomodoro
I love potatoes so you bet your ass I choose gnocchi even though it is a vegetarian pasta. The potato gnocchi is made in-house and is served with a tomato basil sauce.
The gnocchi at Federico’s Supper Club is super fluffy – the way gnocchi should be. I like the tomato basil sauce but if you have too much sauce on one piece, it can taste a little too sour. In general, I like that they did not drench the gnocchi in sauce.
Parpardelle Bolognese
Parpardelle is a thick pasta shaped like a wavy ribbon. The bolognese sauce (meat sauce) is a traditional red wine beef ragu sauce.
Unlike the gnocchi, the parpardelle is cooked al dente so it has a nice chewy texture. This pasta does not taste as sour as the gnocchi because of the beef ragu sauce.
In general, I don’t particularly like bolognese so this was not my favourite dish of the night, but if you are a big bolognese or spaghetti & meatballs type of person, you will enjoy this.
Entrees (main)
Rotolo di Pollo
This is a very interesting entree. They wrap roasted chicken roulade with pancetta and then oven roast it. A roulade is a European dish consisting of a slice of meat rolled around a filling, which in this case is a filling made up of chestnut, herbs and mascarpone.
The chicken meat is not dry and the filling gives it an new nutty taste that I have never really paired with chicken ebfore. The pancetta is kind of like bacon and it is easy to cut and sticks onto the chicken meat. Definitely a lot of new flavours and textures in this dish I have never tried anywhere else before.
It is also served with potato puree – lots of it so yay for me -, carrots and brussel sprouts. Love the brussel sprouts as they are roasted separately and are not soggy with the potato puree.
Bistecca alla Griglia
This is the other entree most of us choose if we did not order the chicken. It is a standard grilled aged flat iron steak with a red wine reduction. For sides, they add red baby potatoes, snap peas and a cauliflower puree.
I’m not a big steak fan, but my boyfriend is pleasantly surprised when the steak is placed in front of him because it smells especially nice. There is an instant aroma coming from the steaks as they arrive at our table. He also says the potatoes are very soft and are seasoned well.
Desserts
Profiteroles
New to their dessert menu for Dine Out are the profiteroles. Profiteroles are very similar to a cream puff. The filling for these profiteroles is custard.
I think they are a bit too heavy handed on the chocolate sauce, so this is definitely more for someone who has a sweet tooth. The strawberries are supposed to be marinated with port wine to make them sweeter as well.
Tiramisu
Everyone else orders the tiramisu and it is certainly an authentic slice of tiramisu. I love tiramisu that has more of that mascarpone cheese mousse and less of the actual sponge cake/lady fingers.
The tiramisu is very moist and at the bottom. The cheese mousse on top is light and creamy. All in all, I really like their tiramisu.
Final thoughts
Out of all 4 Dine Outs this year, I have to say I like Federico’s Supper Club the most. From the moment we arrived to the moment we left, we received excellent service. Our server was friendly and explained everything on the menu. They also quickly change our cutlery and all the food arrived at once without a long wait.
The live entertainment was fun even though nobody danced (lol) and they also sang happy birthday for my boyfriend’s mom and gave her a candle. I think for special events, they are certainly very accommodating.
The food looks and tastes way better than other pictures I’ve seen on the internet. Their portions are big and their dishes are interesting. Plating is not the most aesthetic I’ve seen, but I think this is because they are keeping it old school and classic, which they succeed in.
The only disappointing part of my night is that we didn’t get to see Federico the man himself. The entire night, we were guessing which man is Federico. Our server tells us that once we see Federico, we will know he is Federico. But Federico doesn’t arrive to play music until 9:30 pm, which is too late for us.
Definitely consider Federico’s Supper Club to celebrate a special occasion. It may be more fitting for an older crowd because young people don’t know how to dance without looking inappropriate.
Sincerely, Loewe