There's a new contender for the best place for brunch in Vancouver, and it happens to be at one of the city's most exciting restaurant debuts (so far) of 2024.
Osteria Elio Volpe launched its brunch service in the spring, a few weeks after opening, serving an impressive menu of sweet and savoury Italian-influenced daytime on weekends and holidays.
As soon as you enter the light, bright, and airy former auto shop that is now the relaxed but elegant Elio Volpe, you'll see plates of beautiful golden pastries at the bar. These are the apollini, or "lobster tail" pastries, flaky cone-shaped treats filled with cream with different flavour options, like strawberry-banana or coffee almond.
Our server wisely suggested if we were eyeing one of the pastries to put it on our order right off the bat, as they tend to sell out quickly. Beautifully buttery, light, and creamy, the strawberry-banana apollini went nicely with an Americano.
The Elio Volpe bar also has brunch cocktails on offer, including a Blood Orange Bellini and the Lambrusco Spritz, the latter of which I had enjoyed when visiting at dinnertime.
Brunch at Elio Volpe: What's on the menu
The food menu ranges from small plates - brunch appies, if you will - to larger dishes as well as pizzas from Elio Volpe's wood-burning oven.
While the small plates section has fried chicken and Liege waffles separately, the two join forces on the other side of the menu for a chicken-and-waffles dish that comes with sliced pickled jalapeños and Elio Volpe's brilliant amaro syrup. The chicken is fried to crunchy perfection and the waffles are thick and chewy and hold up nicely against the chicken and syrup.
That syrup, made with the bittersweet herbal liqueur, proves a worthy foil for the dish and also plays a role in another sweet big plate, the brioche French Toast. The French Toast is a thick square of griddled bread topped with fresh fruit preserves, crunchy almonds, and stracciatella gelato. Like with the chicken and waffles, the amaro syrup balances the innate sweetness of the dish with its herby notes but doesn't overpower the other flavours, like the fresh berries in the preserves.
For those who prefer egg breakfasts and savoury plates, Elio Volpe's menu runs the gamut from a breakfast sandwich and a couple of Eggs Benedict options to thick potato pancakes topped with steelhead trout paired with a soft-boiled egg.
One other standout is Elio Volpe's brunch Carbonara, which is beautiful al dente strands of spaghetti with pieces of guanciale in a creamy egg-and-cheese sauce, topped with a perfectly poached egg and plenty of fresh ground black pepper.
I enjoyed every dish I tried at Elio Volpe (and it's not often everything at any restaurant is a hit) and regrettably had to relegate the rest of the brunch menu to try "next time." Those include the breakfast pizza with bacon and mushrooms, the Lobster Benedict, the baked ricotta with fresh sourdough, and the short rib bowl, if I had to choose frontrunners.
Small plates and sweets range from $8 to $22 and large plates and pizzas from $24 to $38.
Osteria Elio Volpe is located at 540 W 17th Ave in Vancouver. Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday (and holidays) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and reservations are strongly recommended.
Video: Brunch at Elio Volpe
@forkingawesomevia One of Vancouver’s hottest new restaurants is Elio Volpe. They are now doing weekend brunch and it immediately has become my favourite in Vancouver. Breakfast pasta, chicken and waffles, pastry and french toast in an aesthetic space? Say less! #forkingawesome #vancouverbc #brunch ♬ Espresso - On Vacation Version - Sabrina Carpenter
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