Must-Try Vancouver Classic: Italian Kitchen’s Truffle Spaghetti and Meatballs

Truffle can be a divisive ingredient, so I’m going to get in right off the hop and address Italian Kitchen’s choice to include the umami suckerpunch ingredient in its Vancouver-classic spaghetti and meatballs.

First off, this ain’t your mama’s truffle oil (and by that I mean it tastes and smells nothing like the cheap stuff poured on a basket of soggy fries you paid $23 for). The truffle here is part of a not-too-heavy cream sauce, so its flavour is subdued and subtle enough to add intrigue into each bite while still remaining a supporting character. And we all know the supporting characters often become our faves precisely because of the lack of saturation.

The big dawgs though: they too, came to play. The spaghetti itself is cooked to a perfect al dente and arrives shaped like a little nest with a hearty dollop of herbed ricotta on top. You do not want to skip mixing in the ricotta (I get it! I also wanted to just eat the ricotta straight off the top!). Though the truffle cream sauce is on the lighter side, this herby, fresh cheese makes it taste that much more vibrant: the smooth, almost bouncy cheese clings to each piece of pasta, depositing bright herbaceous notes of basil throughout.

It should go without saying that the meatballs themselves are truly the star of the show. The dish comes with three, and they’re all about the size of my fist. Somehow despite their size, they remain tender as heck (minimal handling, I assume) and when paired with the tomato fondue they’re lacquered with, they become the platonic ideal of a meatball. The kind you assume both Tony Soprano and Massimo Batturo would devour in T-minus-two.

While the Italian Kitchen has a bunch of dishes that are worth stopping in for (including a do-not-miss aperitivo hour featuring bonkers-good suppli di carbonara and $9 Aperol spritz), it’s the truffle spaghetti and meatballs I return for. I first had it when I moved to the city and the world shut down in 2020, and it has remained a comfort classic for me since then. Though now I enjoy it in the softly lit, but always bustling, dining room with friends rather than alone in my apartment.

Italian Kitchen 

860 Burrard St.