Apero Kitchen - West Vancouver

We enjoyed our first visit to Apero but it wasn't "Oh my God this is fantastic" sort of experience. The aubergine appetiser was good, but the mahi mahi was rather dry. The service needs a bit of finessing: for example the wine bottle was opened and poured without an offer to taste it first! Good but not memorable.

We passed by Apero during our walk on Friday June 09. A group of customers was coming out of the restaurant. A couple, in particular, started sharing/'showing off' their dinning experience there. The lady insisted that we 'must have' the Chocolate Almond Torte. We wondered if whether it was a new kind of live ad :) However, we were impressed by their joyful enthusiasm. The next evening around 9:30PM, we dropped by Apero for a late snack. From the food to the atmosphere, the welcoming pleasantness of the owner/chef and the staffs at Apero (they weren't overly friendly; but, they are earnest and real,) it's easy for one to claim and make Apero, 'their go-to restaurant' and drop by nightly as if it were a regular upscale neighbourhood hangout Cheer. All in all, we had a memorable experience and understood that couple's Apero dinning enthusisam. I wished we had ordered their award winning spaghetti rucola. Well, next time. And, Yes, we shared the Chocolate Almond Tarte.

Excellent dinner spot. Family run, proper linen, great service, impeccable food. The concept is clearly to keep the menu manageable so that everything that hits the table is fresh and delicious. A few featured wines off the list make it interesting. Classic Osso Bucco special was perfectly executed. The best I have had. The award winning Spaghetti Rucola is a pure treat. Nice to have properly cooked pasta for a change.

Wonderful choices of Italian food, great wines and well presented. Specials are well thought through, and the top quality of the fresh ingredients is noticeable. The cooking is really Italian, unlike other mainstream (not so) 'Italian kitchens' -;)For those who understand that Italian food has much more to offer than pizza and pasta, this is a great place to visit.Plus, Haymo the owner is always warm and welcoming, and available for a personal chat with his guests whenever he has a minute.

The layout of the space that currently houses Apero is never conducive to a reliable dining experience. A big pillar in the main space makes for odd seating options. The uneven floor by the door is charming, but means tables are tippy. And don't even get me started in the draughts from outside. Luckily there is a cosy nook at the back of the restaurant for the more gregarious. All that done with, I'm happy to say the food we had at Apero when we last visited was excellent. While the menu is quite short, everything we ordered was terrific: from the salmon starters and salads, to the lamb shanks and the piccata. Everyone loved their meals and nothing was left behind. The wine list is well considered and our picks turned out to be a perfect complement to our meals.Unfortunately the service was not very reliable. Our server must have been having a distracting night. While we got everything we asked for, a little more attention would have filled out our evening experience and perhaps even have coaxed us to order more. As it was, we ended up hunting for our server so we could settle up and finish at home. A missed opportunity.