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Yaletown’s Cioppino’s And Enoteca Join Scout Magazine…

Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill is now a proud member supporter of Scout. We will be publishing their news and releases on our front page, and hosting an individual page for them on our list of recommended restaurants. Scroll below for a taste or visit their Scout page here:

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1133 and 1129 Hamilton St, Vancouver, BC | MAP
Tel: 604-688-7466 for Cioppino’s | 604-685-8462 for Enoteca
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.cioppinosyaletown.com

Gallery

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Bio

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chef/owner Pino Posteraro in his kitchen at Cioppino's Mediterranean Grill

Giussepe (Pino) Posteraro was born in Lago, Italy March 22, 1964. At the age of twelve he came to Canada to visit his brother not realizing at the time that later in his life he would be making Canada his permanent home. After beginning training as a medical student, Pino changed track and decided to come to Canada to work for his brother in his restaurant. Pino later returned to Europe to study with Armando Zanetti, who became his mentor. Before returning to Canada he worked in several well known restaurants in Europe and Singapore.

In 1999, Pino decided it was time to venture out on his own. He opened Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill in Yaletown in September of that year, providing Vancouver with an outstanding Italian-Mediterranean restaurant which has gained many awards for its food and wine. Year after year, it is classed as one of Vancouver’s top fine dining restaurants.

In addition to his duties at the restaurant, Pino sits on the Board of Directors of the Chef’s Table Society of BC, a non-profit group of Vancouver’s top chefs who are working to foster the development of new talent through scholarships and bursaries.

About Cioppino’s

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The Restaurant

Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill & Enoteca are pleased to give you a fresh perspective on Mediterranean cooking with chef/owner Giuseppe “Pino” Posteraro, the 2008 winner of Vancouver Magazine’s Chef of the Year and gold medal winner at the BC Gold Medal Plates (2007).

The critically-acclaimed restaurants, favourites of celebrities, oenophiles, and food lovers, are consistent award-winners that are always looking ahead and staying fresh. Widely acknowledged as the best expression of Mediterranean cooking in British Columbia, Cioppino’s and its sister restaurant next door, Enoteca, offer two large patios, two open show kitchens, two full-service dining rooms, as well as several private rooms for corporate and special functions. Both meet the high expectations of thousands of diners every week.

The Cuisine

Let Pino surprise and refresh your palate with “Cucina Naturale”, a classical style of cooking that emphasizes the use of only the freshest of ingredients. Its lightness of taste is derived from minimizing animal fats and creams in favour of low cholesterol olive oils. To make sauces without flour he uses vegetable purees and reductions of seafood stocks. Wine sauces are kept in the fridge overnight to eliminate the fat layer formed on top. Pino believes in balance in all dishes, and strives to achieve the cleanest of flavours by letting his ingredients do most of the work. “I respect the nature of my ingredients, and I try to bring out their natural taste,” says Pino.

Pino is perhaps best known famous for his exceptionally light pasta dishes. Much attention is paid to the pasta itself, made in house from traditional recipes. But both the lunch and dinner menus are exceptionally versatile, featuring a wide variety of both large and small meat and seafood dishes that represent the very best of Pino’s extensive repertoire, always reflecting the seasonal availability of fish, game, fruits and vegetables.

Whatever your pleasure, come let us please you as never before.

The Wines

Cioppino’s & Enoteca boast one of the largest wine cellars in Vancouver, with thousands of bottles available, among them many of the best ever created. For the experienced wine lover, the full list is a wonder to explore, while casual sippers will appreciate the many well-chosen labels available by the glass. We are proud that our wine list has been acknowledged by the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival with a Gold Glass Award for the last four years in a row, and either given a “Best of Award of Excellence” or an “Award of Excellence” designation from Wine Spectator every year since 2001. Wine is an integral part of the Mediterranean dining experience, and we take it just as seriously as we do our cuisine. To view the entire list in .pdf format, click here.

Accolades

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Mia Stainsby – Vancouver Sun | At Cioppino’s Enoteca, you can heap adjectives upon chicken that it usually doesn’t deserve. Succulent. Melodiously flavourful. (In this case, with rosemary butter, lemon and garlic notes.) It’s erudite comfort food. Enoteca is the “casual” option to Pino Posteraro’s more formal Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill, just as some of New York’s hot restaurants have down-market “next-door” siblings, Enoteca is also right next door. It’s scaled down, but still elegant with light woods a gallery of oil paintings and a lovely wine room for private parties.

Gary Faessler, Vancouver Lifestyles | For close to two years now he has been skilfully turning out beautiful plates of classic Mediterranean food with an emphasis on local and seasonal fresh ingredients. Classic yes, but Pino has the experience, the heart and the creativity to reinvent these dishes into contemporary versions which have a spirit and style all their own.

Andrew Morrison, Westender | One of the hardest things about reviewing a restaurant is understanding the standard it aspires to. Cioppino’s in Yaletown leaves little room for doubt about this. It has won “Best Italian” at the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards four years in a row and been recognised for its excellent wine cellar with even more accolades. Everyone knows it’s good. Not long ago I jumped into a cab in front of the restaurant and the driver said “Cioppino‘s. Nice.” I asked him if he’d ever dined there before and he said no, but insisted he knew all the best restaurants from years of tuning in to post-dinner conversations. “West, Vij‘s, Lumiere, and Cioppino’s. I never hear a complaint.”

Steven A. Shaw, Weekend Post | Perhaps most humiliating for me as a New Yorker was the slow realization that the general level of Italian cuisine in Vancouver is now higher than in New York City. Leading the charge is the dynamic Pino Posteraro, who used to cook for Frank Sinatra. I can’t recall a better Italian meal than the one I enjoyed at Cioppino’s (which everybody calls Pino’s)…

The New York Times | Cioppino’s, is a bustling Italian restaurant in Yaletown with brick walls and an open kitchen…the spring risotto with peas and crab was warm and comforting…

James Barber, Vancouver Sun | The food is terrific, the service is not only bright and well-informed but (that wonderful rarity) unobtrusive. Nobody flat out asked us how we were enjoying our dinner or how things were, but there was the occasional fleeting smile from a passing server, a smile of confident complicity that said “pretty good, eh?”

Jamie Maw, Vancouver Magazine | On any given night, one of the city’s top two restaurants. The results are often most astounding in classic dishes: a casarecce with duck ragout and oranges that just goes on and on; a perfectly cooked Dover sole served off the bone; an understated spaghetti Bolognese. Wine list is extensive but can get pricey. Long Friday lunches here are becoming a welcome salon of good food and conversation.”

Zagat | “As good as Italian gets in Vancouver” is how partisans praise this “sexy”, “happening” Yaletown magnet where “sublime”, “imaginative” creations are served in an “elegant” room graced by an open kitchen; a few claim that service “depends on whether or not you’re recognised”, and ornery oenophiles would like lower prices, but those “on expense accounts” agree that this “high-end” spot is “worth it”; N.B. wallet-watchers may want to consider the adjacent, less formal Enoteca.

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