I’m not that patient, so I rarely ever wait more than 30 minutes for a table at a restaurant. But at Ask for Luigi in Gastown, there’s just no other choice. I think Grape and I made it to the restaurant roughly 15-30 minutes after it opened at 5:30pm and we still missed the first dinner round, so we had to wait over 45 minutes… thankfully, they had an electronic queuing system that texted us when our table was ready.
Do not forget to turn off vibration mode.
Anyway, we just chilled at a nearby cafe and browsed Luigi’s menu online until we were texted.
So Luigi’s menu changes from time to time, so the dishes that we ordered might not be available. We started off with Luigi’s Meatballs (was $15, now $18). These balls were the highlight of my night. They were moist, simple and flavourful. I liked the addition of pine nuts and golden raisins that gave it more texture with a hint of sweetness.
I ordered the Tagliatelle & Bison Ragu Bianco ($24)… after Googling 75% of the words in that dish name. Tagliatelle are long flat ribbons, usually paired with a bolognese sauce. And Ragu Bianco is like a classic bolognese sauce, but without the tomato. And bison is bison.
The pasta was freshly made, and well made at that. It was dressed nicely in the sauce, without being overly heavy. However, I kinda expected more protein from a dish that commanded $24. I found the dish to become slightly dull as I ate on since each forkful was like pasta pasta pasta bison pasta pasta pasta. I know it’s a pasta dish, but it could’ve been a bit more interesting. Or cut the price and portion so that something else could be ordered to add more variety.
Grape ordered the Mafaldine, Duck Sugo & Black Olives ($24). Again, we whipped out the Google. Mafaldine is a long ribbon pasta, but with more pronounced edges compared to the tagliatelle. Duck Sugo is a meat sauce with tomato. And olives are olives.
Overall, I wouldn’t wait in line again for Luigi… but the meatballs were good.
Foodobyte’s Rating
to eat / to recommend
305 Alexander Street, Vancouver, BC
