GRUB | Italian-American x Pepino's Spaghetti House x East Van

Grandview–Woodland—The highly touted, old school Italian-American themed Pepino's Spaghetti House opened deep on Commercial Drive earlier this summer and has already made waves in its tight-knit East Van neighbourhood.



From the team behind the wildly popular Savio Volpe—Paul Grunberg, Mark Perrier, and Craig Stanghetta, the new joint takes over the institution that was Nick's Spaghetti House. It shuttered its doors for good last Christmas after sixty-two years in business when restaurateur Nick Felicella decided to retire.

spicy rigatoni alla vodka

Stepping into Pepino's dimly lit, darkly coloured sixty-six seat dining room feels like walking right onto the set of a seminal Martin Scorsese film as the team has taken inheriting Nick's legacy rather seriously.

prime rib au jus (peppercorn-crusted Alberta AAA beef with olive oil, sea salt, and horseradish)

Full of Italian-American staples from half-a-dozen fresh pasta favourites to classic comfort dishes, everything feels familiar in good ways. The specially made, limited prime rib every day is a carefully cooked and substantial meal filled with the most flavourful of juices.

cannelloni (stuffed with spinach and ricotta)

On the other hand, the simple pastas were rich, hearty, and mostly satisfying. Other likely seafood and meat dishes fill out the simple menu with a trademark Caesar salad and calamari that are both as filling as they are pleasant.



Pepino's has quickly come into its own as a new but welcoming neighbourhood eatery pre-packaged with a storied past and built-in pedigree while inheriting an old "red sauce" joint mantle to live up to.


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