Fiorino: Italian street food in Chinatown
Fiorino is a relatively new restaurant that opened back in 2021. They are located in Chinatown, really close to the local favourite spot Phnom Penh, and offer Italian street food and an Aperitivo experience, inspired by the city of Florence.
Since opening, they have landed a spot on the 2022 Vancouver MICHELIN Bib Gourmands list. I came here with my fiancรฉ and 2 friends for dinner to celebrate my birthday back in May.
Interior
The interior of Fiorino is really cute! It’s got this retro tiled floor and orange booth seating as well as bar seating. They also have a really long table in the centre for communal dining or if you have a really large party.
We were seated in a booth and it was quite spacious for 4 adults. Also Kelvin was pleased because whenever the 2 of us go out to eat and there’s only 1 booth seating, I always get it so he was happy to finally be able to sit at the booth ๐.
There was also a lot of natural light! The place overall had a very bright and casual feeling and a hipster vibe.
Food review
Here is everything we shared between 4 adults. Prices are rounded up to the nearest dollar.
Pane Casalingo ($8)
To start off, we order Fiorino’s house baked bread. It is served with a small dish of Tuscan olive oil and aged balsamic.
I love simple dishes like bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and I also am a girl who loves bread, but I thought this appetizer was just ok. I don’t know why I was expecting a really big loaf of herby focaccia bread. For $8, I was expecting more bread and something more fancy.
Arancini ($15)
Kelvin can’t pass down trying some arancini. These are like little deep fried risotto balls. Fiorino’s arancini uses roasted sundried tomato and garlic rice crochetta, hazelnut pesto, and a Pecorino Romano. The usual serving size is actually 3 arancinis, but our server suggested we add 1 more so everyone gets one (there is probably a small additional cost for this).
The arancini was very yummy! It’s just a small appetizer so it can be gone in 2-3 bites, but the inside was cheesy and I really liked the green sauce they paired it with.
Ravioli al nero di seppia ($26)
There aren’t that many pastas on Fiorino’s menu, but out of the few, we chose to try the ravioli because it sounded the most unique. The ravioli actually uses squid ink so the colour is black. They also use brown butter and sweetcorn, roasted red peppers, prawns and a little bit of gremolata and mostly lobster bisque for the sauce.
As suspected, the pasta was quite unique! The sauce was pretty creamy with a strong taste of the lobster bisque coming through. Things like the prawn, sweetcorn, etc. are a bit hidden under the flavours of the sauce.
Polpo ($29)
This dish features Mediterranean sea octopus so I was excited because I love eating octopus. You basically get a giant octopus tentacle cooked with smoked pancetta, fingerling potatoes and sautรฉed red chard in an amatriciana sauce.
The octopus was cooked really well – tender and not chewy and it was pretty big! The amatriciana sauce is very similar to a red tomato pasta sauce so it paired nicely with the pancetta. Potatoes added some well-needed carbs to this dish and veggies for balance.
Bistecca alla fiorentina ($175)
For the finale, we order the Porterhouse steak, which is dry aged for 30 days. It comes with 2 sides – potatoes and salad and serves up to 4 people.
The steak arrived cut up with the bone as well so the presentation was very appetizing and it was easy to eat and share. I personally am not a big steak lover/red meat eater, but I thought the steak was pretty tasty and had good seasoning/flavour even without much of a sauce.
The 2 sides are pretty large as well (guess it’s for 4 people). The potatoes are big chunks and roasted with a nice aioli sauce. The salad is simple with some parmesan and has a light lemony flavour – refreshing!
Overall, I think this main sharing dish is a reasonable price and with the sides, it has good balance.
Tiramisu ($12) and Panna cotta ($12)
For dessert, we order the tiramisu and panna cotta. The tiramisu uses traditional mascarpone crema and espresso, with a some cooked cherries and a drizzle of cherry sauce. Pretty good tiramisu! I always prefer my tiramisu with more mascarpone cheese than the actual cake part.
The coconut panna cotta had some almond crumble and a mixed berry compote. Because it is coconut based, it is slightly sweeter than other panna cottas you may have tried, but the sourness from the berries balance it out.
Out of the 2 desserts, I prefer the tiramisu.
Final thoughts
Loewe’s rating: โญโญโญโญ
We had a really homey dinner with our 2 friends for our birthday at Fiorino. Their menu was created family-sharing style, so I recommend you come here with at least 4 people so you can order some of their larger sharing items like the steak or the rack of lambs.
I must say I have a very different image when I think of “street food”. I found Fiorino’s dishes to be more elevated than my perception of street food, and it feels more like a modern contemporary restaurant. They are Italian, but have a large variety of dishes that are not pasta or pizza, which I love because I like trying different dishes.
Out of everything we ordered, I would recommend the arancini, octopus, and the steak to share. We left feeling good (not too full) and everything just seemed very balance and simple (except for the pasta – that one had a lot of things going on).
Service was good and our server gave us a lot of information on the dishes and was attentive in ways like recommending adding 1 more arancini. No free birthday dessert though, otherwise I would’ve given bonus points for that ๐.
Will be back another time as their menu changes seasonally. When we went in late May, they just changed to their summer menu.
Sincerely, Loewe