There are a few restaurant patios on Robson Street, but unless you are in the know you would probably miss that of Cafe Il Nido, tucked just off the main drag at 780 Thurlow Street, and that would be a shame. Opened in 1988 and still very relevant, this Italian gem serves up dishes based on Northern Italian cooking using many locally sourced ingredients and a few accents not usually found in the boot-shaped country.

Open from lunch Monday to Friday from 11:30-2:30 pm and dinner Monday to Saturday at 5:30 pm, Cafe Il Nido can seat up to seventy and can easily whip up a specific menu for your dining needs, whether they be gluten-free or vegetarian.  Sauces and desserts are all house made and the kitchen crafts dishes to showcase the fresh ingredients they are using rather than smothering items in rich sauces (although they do make a wicked tarragon cream sauce).

Stopping in this summer you could happily start with some ceviche, calamari, grilled prawn and scallop skewers or the house-made lamb sausages in romesco sauce.

Dinner could be pasta, but there’s also amazing pork medallions with smoked provolone and a tender lamb ossobuco.  I’m awfully fond of the  Lobster stuffed agnolotti served with red pepper, almonds in tarragon cream sauce and the spaghetti with prawns and just the right amount of spice.

Don’t miss the tiramisu.  I dined there recently and excused myself at the precise wrong time.  When I returned to the table my companion had all by inhaled the decadent dessert.

Attentive service and a BC and Italian-centric wine list add to the appeal of this place.