Robba da Matti

4.5 Stars

Small, cozy Italian spot in Yaletown that touts handmade pasta. We snagged a spot outside where there are heaters.

The burrata caprese ($20) was hands down, the creamiest, loveliest burrata I have ever had. Wow, blew me away.

Lobster and Crab Ravioli ($33) - surprisingly light. Sweet tomato sauce and succulent shrimps.

Spaghetto Carbonara ($30) - rich, salty, and silky with crispy bacon bits

Portion sizes are authentic Italian and not large. Our waitress was brusque and blunt and accommodating - in a good way :)

Decent Italian restaurant tucked in a residential street amongst condos and apt buildings. We were seated in their outdoor, covered, and heated patio. The inside of the restaurant is actually quite small, but the patio extension seats more people.

Food wise, we were on a seafood trip and decided to order the tuna tartare and poached pears salad to start, then the lobster and crab ravioli and seafood spaghetti. All dishes tasted fine, but they weren't memorable. I was really hoping the lobster and crab ravioli would be tastier, but it was ok. Glad we tried this place though. The service was great and our server was just the right amount attentive.

Back again for round 2! I love coming here at lunchtime on weekends because it's usually not too busy and I can actually take time to enjoy my food. There was only 1 server working but she was attentive and checked up on us often.

This time around we ordered:
1. Prosciutto and burrata - Absolutely delicious. Thick pieces of prosciutto that weren't overly salted tasted amazing with fresh and light burrata.

2. Lobster and crab ravioli - I could really taste the crab. The only thing I didn't like was how many tomatoes there were which made the dish quite sour.

3. Gnocchi ai quattro formaggi - Flavour was great. But I did find the portion to be on the smaller side.

4. Spaghetti allo scoglio - tasty as always.

Food quality I would give 5 STARS, but for customer service I would give 2 STARS so the compromise is a 3 STAR review as I hate to slander great locations I visit.

This trip to Vancouver BC I experienced 3 very unpleasant interactions with service workers, and very bland and inconsiderate attitudes. Somewhat even ugly. Don't know if it's just the season, people having a bad day, or some other weird vibe in the air.

My issue here was table placement and the attitude towards moving us to a more comfortable table. We chose to sit on the patio and the table they provided was in the middle of of the section. Due to traffic of the server, they asked me to sit next to my wife rather than across from here, which made for an uncomfortable dining experience, as her knees were pushed into mine.

When a table next to us became available, I asked if we could move there, which wouldn't have been difficult at all. The waitress said she needed to ask the manager. When she returned she said "unfortunately I can't move you there because we have another reservation coming in in 15 mins". My response to her was "can you give them this table?". She said "no, because they have a reservation". I said to myself and my wife "well we had a reservation as well".

My issue here is that we had the most uncomfortable table in the entire restaurant and she wasn't willing to do anything about it. Her attitude was very uncaring about our comfort, and the weird placement of this table. I feel as though she made no attempt to accommodate us, even when there was an option available. It was fine for us to sit there, but not a party arriving after us, even after we made it clear we weren't happy with this seating arrangement.

The food was excellent, the vibe was great, and the location was very convenient. Great place for a date as long as you don't get the table we got.

Would definitely return for the food, but hoping for a better customer service experience.

Italian restaurant's are supposed to be intimate, and seating, vibe, decor, and other elements contribute to that, so terrible seating placement can ruin an entire experience, especially when dining with your lady. Just my take on this.

Great service and delicious food! Deffinetly get the warmed olives as a starter. They are tossed in olive oil and is lemony and garlicky.

If you're looking for FRESH pasta, then come here!!! It's so al dente, perfectly cooked oof. I really liked their carbonara, it was a flavour I haven't had at all. Like wow. I really liked their pesto too, it was so thick and rich. Such a cute date spot or even getting wine with your friends!

Ambiance: 4/5
Service: 2.5/5
Food: 3.5/5
Overall: 4/5

I have been coming to Robba da Matti for years now and used to have a great opinion of it that's slowly diminished over time unfortunately.

As for ambiance, their inside portion is quite small and the kitchen is an open kitchen so it smells strongly like pasta ingredients (mostly garlic) and your clothes/hair will likely smell like that when you leave. The patio portion is nice to sit in and can be covered on rainy or cold days.

The service definitely fell flat for me each time I went; the staff seem to be quite selective with which tables they pay attention to so we found that lots of time would go by with no check (both when we were wanting to order and pay) so we had to flag down the staff ourselves with difficulty.

As for food, while the pasta is good, there are lots of amazing pasta spots in the city at a comparable price point so sadly it's a tough competition that I don't think Robba da Matti would make my list of top 5 for, personally. Overall, I like that you can make reservations here and if someone I knew really wanted to come I would go along with them but I wouldn't suggest going here if an Italian craving hit

Friend from Toronto came back for a quick visit so we had a girls reunion dinner. We ordered bread ($6) and the burrata caprese salad for the table to share. Three of the girls decided to share a bottle of white.

I decided to try something new and got the spaghetti al pesto and burrata. The spaghetti is definitely fresh and was cooked well a la dente style. The burrata was good but the pesto didn't really hit the spot for me even with all the cheese. I didn't finish the pasta and didn't want to bring it home - a first for me. Most of the table ordered the four cheese gnocchi and seemed to really enjoy it. One of the girls ordered spaghetti allo scoglio (seafood) which looked good and what I wish I would have ordered instead.

It took over three tries for the restaurant to get us our correct receipts and even then mine wasn't correct but the girls and I worked it out amongst ourselves.

With so many great pasta joints in the city, I am not sure if I would come back.

Drinks, food, friendly staff, candlelit patio.... This place has everything!! Their beautiful patio is a very good spot for date night and the food just adds to the experience.

They have a chocolate cocktail which is as good as it sounds, a very unique addition to their traditional Italian menu. Would recommend!

Came here for a Friday night out with the girls. The server was super lovely and helpful in making sure we had everything we need. We got RISOTTO AI FUNGHI, PAPPARDELLE "ROSCHE ROSCHE", and SPAGHETTI ALLO SCOGLIO. I find the risotto a little too salty otherwise everything is very delicious and yummy! I particularly like the chewy texture of the pasta noodles. My favourite of the three would be the pappardelle "roaches rosche" because the seafood pasta was unexpectedly spicy.

I had the lavender crème brûlée for dessert but I'm a little disappointed as it wasn't as delicate as I hoped it to be. The lavender flavour is distinctive but the caramelized top was a little too thick. The custard was smooth but standard.

Overall I will definitely come back again. The seating inside could get pretty warm with all the cooking but the patio seats are nice and cool in the evening.