Vancouver restaurant Elio Volpe evokes a sun-drenched Italian seaside membership

In Vancouver, a metropolis well-known for gray skies, Elio Volpe is a welcoming infusion of heat and brightness. The newly opened restaurant is meant to be a carefree sibling to the Michelin-recommended Osteria Savio Volpe, with a menu that merges a coastal Italian ethos with components from the Pacific Northwest. With the title ‘Elio’ having its roots within the Greek phrase for solar, the whole lot of the eating expertise evokes the texture of a heat southern Italian breeze.

Elio Volpe, Vancouver

Situated in a former mechanic’s store, the interiors of Elio Volpe infuse a southern Italian sensibility into the economic house. Designed by Vancouver-based Ste. Marie Studio, the restaurant leans right into a subdued, nostalgic color palette impressed by the Kodachrome images of Luigi Ghirri, including heat to the ethereal interiors. There’s a steady interaction between the economic, structural parts, such because the factory-style home windows and vaulted truss ceiling, with a relaxed, coastal spirit.

‘We wished to pair the economic roots with a extra laid-back, beachside really feel,’ explains Ste. Marie’s principal and designer Craig Stanghetta, who additionally co-owns Elio Volpe. ‘The massive transfer we began with was together with curvilinear types, impressed by architect Luigi Moretti’s sculptural Villa La Saracena, coated with a coastal Mediterranean heavy plaster – it feels virtually like a wave rolling into the sharp edges of the economic house.’

Past this reference to Moretti’s iconic construction, additional nods to Italy are seen by accents of Breccia Sicilia stone and authentic imagery of southern Italy from photographer Armin Tehrani. The furnishings are largely custom-designed to provide a home made really feel, from tables inlaid with tiles which are hand-painted with aquatic designs to comfortable sage cubicles with piped detailing.

The sense of heat and lightness extends into the menu, which follows the ethos of Italian delicacies – emphasising simplicity, honesty and seasonality – whereas bringing in native produce and seafood. Take the calabreselli – a selfmade thick-cut, lengthy pasta – in a creamy vodka sauce with Dungeness crab and pangrattato, or the sunshine and crispy pizza verde topped with burrata and native cherry tomatoes. A central, expansive bar invitations company to linger over one of many herbaceous and citrussy cocktails.

Discover Elio Volpe at 540 W seventeenth Ave, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1T4, Canada, eliovolpe.com