There’s so much to love about Cibo Trattoria at night. It’s the best place to eat and drink between the Granville Shitshow and Yaletown, making it ideal for pre- and post-show nosh. It’s also one of our overall favourites for dinner downtown, so much so that I used to only ever remember that it was open for lunch when I’d walk by in the daytime. Nowadays, however, it’s hard to forget.

The service is as fine, the wines as well chosen, and the room as stylish an original as ever. It’s nowhere near as busy at lunch as it is at dinner, which is great if you’re looking for a little daytime seclusion. But best of all, the Italian cooking from Faizal Kassam and his crew – playful, modern and fresh without straying too far from the traditional – still fires on all cylinders.

Case in point: this tagliatelle with San Marzano-spiked veal and pork ragu. Luxuriously meaty, flecked with fresh basil and plenty of parmesan cheese, it’s as autumnally warming, flavourful, and restorative as it looks (plus it gels with the 2012 Nebbiolo from Matteo Correggia that they sell by the glass).

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