Café Luxy

Use to go here all the time when I lived in the West End. For years I got the baked Tortellini dish. The dish started to taste bitter, cheap and different. Don’t know what was changed but when I told the manager she argued with me and said no one else had complained so it must be me. I explained that I had ordered the same dish for 5 – 6 years and it was definitely off now. She did not offer compensation. Just told me there is nothing wrong with it. Never went back.

Food is excellent! Handmade pasta is top drawer and the seafood in my pasta is cooked to perfection every time I have been there. Portions are huge and finishing one is challenging. Sauces are great, I’ve had more than one menu item over the last 5 years or so going back numerous times. I’ve encountered their notoriously bad service before, very recently a friend had a horrible wait for nearly every single item of dinner. Will he go back, yes. Will I? Yes. Its a quaint tiny local joint that has character in it’s flaws and the food is really great! Oh, most menu items are well under the $ 20 mark and include «salad», garlic bread/​toast. Their bar is hit and miss when ordering drinks, I think it’s a server dependent thing. Sometimes my drink is amazing (and on special) and sometimes it’s a watery mess. I’ve since started ordering just pop which is hard to screw up. My overall opinion is good despite having had more than one or two bad servers over the years. I’ve never had a bad meal but that’s just me. Lots of people on here seem to have had a horrible experience. I’ve been there more than 10 times and I am sure that there will be more visits, bad service or not.

Pasta is on par with what one would get out of a can or microwaved. $ 16 for what they called fettuccine alla vodka with chorizo. Looked like cafeteria spaghetti with hotdogs
I will not be going back here. Holy crap their food is shite.

I saw this reviewed on the front page of Unilocal on June 17, 2015 and decided to book mark it for future reference.

The service has improved considerably
The quality of the food is good and the portions are a decent size. Prices are on par with the food portions and quality:

One of the worst restaurants I’ve ever been to. I could overlook everything else, but the pasta we got was far worse than what we’d make at home even while feeling lazy, and mine tasted seriously old. I got it as takeout and gave it to a spare change person, hoping they have a hardy stomach. Go anywhere else, even a fast food chain, you will be better off.

I gave this place fours stars in the context of what this café is trying to be. It is NOT trying to be a super high end restaurant. They are, and are successful at being a good mid range café.
The owner is delightful, the room reminds me of small hole in the wall places in Europe.
A bit cramped, but you’re not here to linger, just eat.
The portions are large, so if you’re in the mood for pasta, and they have a huge selection, and are looking for pasta pit stop, then this place shouldn’t disappoint.
They are a neighbourhood café, with locals, who frequent it.
I like it.

We went for dinner here last night. Walking down Davie, this place caught my eye, as the interior looked well. The service was reasonably quick and friendly, and he checked on us about the right amount of times during our meal. Unfortunately, the food was a big let down. The other reviews seem to focus their praise on the Caesar salad, and to be fair, they did get this simple plate of cheesy lettuce right.
We were provided with one slice of garlic on toast each, which they were calling garlic bread. We were offered more and then charged for it, which would have been OK if they had given us a decent amount.
The main course was massive, but it was so oversalted that I couldn’t finish it, neither could my dining partner finish hers. I think they were compensating for the poor food with salt and quantity.
Disappointing.

Great portions for the price, I always bring some back home and the caesar salad is pretty good. Good Canadianized Italian!

Not good.
The food just isn’t good. Very very basic in terms of ingredients and execution. Yes it is fairly cheap but even then the markup on some pasta and sauce is huge.
Service was poor and the interior outdated. The space and location has a lot of potential with the right concept, ownership and management.

The owner and the staff that work here are really sweet. Very small restaurant, feels like a café (duh!). It is slightly cramped but I did go on a packed Saturday night on a date with my guy but it didn’t ruin the vibe of our evening. Fresh homemade pasta, sauces are made to order. The wait for your food is slow but it usually is when you’re waiting for fresh, quality food. They have specials for 10.98 for all pasta and daily drink specials which are nice. He had the spaghetti Bolognese which was good but not the most amazing, I had the penne Ricardo which was AMAZING! Just thinking about it makes me drool, oy, I’ll have to go back soon!

I’ve gone to Café Luxy at least a dozen times (probably closer to 2 dozen times) since I first discovered the place 10 years ago.
The first several times, service was fantastic. All of the wait staff were friendly and personable. They seemed happy that you were there supporting their business.
The last few years has been very hit and miss. When we get one of the younger waitresses, we get awesome service. Fun, friendly, and eager to please and make our stay enjoyable. If we get one of the «veteran» wait staff, we get attitude and a generally poor vibe.
The food is excellent. Large portions, good flavours. Keep in mind, not every flavour combination they offer is a winner. Find what you like and stick with it. They’re pretty consistent in their preparation of food. The caesar salad you get with the meal has always been good. Tastes fresh and not overly dressed.
I love their tiramisu. They make it fresh and give it a splash of kahlua when they serve it. Mmmmm…

Pasta is really, really good (had the Fettucine al Frutti di Mare) — only thing I would change is the pasta… Little too overcooked for me, but otherwise really nice — the shrimp and the scallops were both cooked nicely. Meal came with a side Caesar salad and garlic bread — both of which I’d skip in future. Bread was less garlic bread than it was bread sopped with oil and some garlic flavor. Salad was swimming in dressing. I’d still go back, though — absolutely :)

This is more like a 3.75, but hey, I’m generous.
My complaints, firstly:
A huge menu that has a ton of fancy fancy, but not many options for people who just want something simple. No option to «build your own». I had to modify the shit out of an existing dish, which I’m sure was more trouble.
The food itself was pretty good, but truthfully Basil down the road is better at $ 7.95. The sauce was more watery than creamy. The garlic bread was great, and so was the cesar salad. Service was a-​okay. I paid for myself and my friend and it was about $ 40, which is nothing to complain about. I’d go back if he wanted to.

The worst, sullen lady with dark hair and mediocre food made this one of the worst meals meals I’ve ever had! A truly bad experience!

something about davie
Davie is nothing like Toronto’s Church Street. The sooner I accept that, the sooner I will stop expecting culinary delight.
Café Luxy is the Italian version of Stephos: Diverse menu with many choices, big portions, good price point, and neighborhood service.
I can spell it out for those that aren’t following. The food is substandard, but it’s not bad. The portions are huge, and service is friendly but not great. Our male server was fantastic, the other woman who brought our food was not. That’s neighborhood service for you — it’s always a coin toss.
I was really disappointed overall, because my sister had heard great things about Luxy, but that was about a decade ago. Back then, the world is a different place — different budget, different expectations. Just like Stephos, Luxy is perfect for uni students.
My guests and I enjoyed our dinner. I liked the garlic bread the best. I did not enjoy the mussels. I didn’t expect the mussels to come out in cookie cutter rose sauce. Nor did I expect EIGHT MUSSELS for a pricetag of $ 9.50. I say cookie cutter, because that sauce appeared ten minutes later on my pasta.
Nothing wrong with that. Just not what this decades older woman wanted.

Surprised not higher ratings, where else can you get good pasta at good prices in this part of West End?! Nice décor, friendly service, a bit dimmed so it’s date-​worthy in my books. Won’t break the bank either compared to Ciao Bella, which obviously is a tad nicer, with its live music.
But in the summer, it’s cool when Café opens up their front ‘garage door’ to get all the sunlight, breeze, & the action.
Usually find it bustlin’ in here with a good vibe.
Plus they deliver too.

When I was a West End gal, I frequented Café Luxy. Having moved this past spring, I found myself craving it. What do they put in the sauce that’s so alluring? My guess is the gorgonzola and cream. Oh. The. Cream.
Okay, so I caved. I ate the wheat as they don’t offer gluten-​free options, but they do make all of their pastas by hand. I opted for cannelloni for the sauce to pasta ratio and ate every single last bite. The best part? Bottles of awesome wine for under $ 40 or maybe the Thursday night pasta specials for $ 9.95. Tough call, it’s all pretty bomb.

We just got back from a very nice dinner at Café Luxy. We shared the garlic prawns appetizer, followed by the Penne Ricardo for hubby and Fettucine alla Vodka for me. We ended the meal with tiramisu. Maybe we just got lucky with the dishes we ordered, but we enjoyed everything.
Garlic prawns: Must’ve been at least 15 shrimp on that plate. Well seasoned and cooked perfectly (neither underdone, nor overdone) but we were a little disappointed in the lack of garlic. Maybe Canadians don’t like garlic as much as Californians?
Caesar salad: Love that salad comes with the meal. This was quite basic, but tasty. Lettuce was fresh and crispy. Can’t say much else.
Garlic toast: Appreciate that this is included with the meal, but it was dry and again low on garlic. I’m assuming this is a regional thing; not sure.
Penne Ricardo: This was penne with a gorgonzola rose sauce. I hate blue cheese, but took a bite of this and found that the sauce was mild but had a pleasant tangy flavor.
Fettucine alla Vodka; This was fettucine with prawns in a spicy tomato cream sauce. It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed a shrimp pasta where the shrimp were not overcooked. This dish made me very happy. I do think it could have used something to brighten in up a little – some fresh basil or spinach or feta or something else to break up the texture a little. But I’m not complaining – this dish really hit the spot.
Tiramisu: Good portion for sharing; tasted fresh and well balanced. This is the only dessert they make in-​house.
Service: Very attentive and friendly. Our waiter, Mitchell, made excellent recommendations and I’m certain he’s the reason we enjoyed our meal so much.
Atmosphere: Cute neighborhood joint that offers great value and a casual, friendly environment. Our only complaint is that it was very hot inside. Apparently, one of the servers tried to open windows, but other patrons complained. Those of us in the back would’ve appreciated some air.
We leave Vancouver tomorrow, so I won’t be able to try any other dishes, but we both thoroughly enjoyed tonight’s dining experience. We were tired from a day of sightseeing and wanted a good meal without having to get dressed up and spend a fortune – Café Luxy delivered exactly what we needed. Thank goodness for the hotel employee who steered us there (Dominic @ Worldmark, you rock!).

One of my favourite pasta places in Vancouver. We like to hit this spot for dinner because you always get so much food that you can take a doggie bag home and have the rest for lunch the next day. Dinner comes with a cesar salad and garlic bread, and the cesar salad is pretty much perfect, it’s not too oily or too creamy, and has just the right amount of garlic to lemon ratio. My favourite dish is the Fettucine ai Fruite di Mare, the tomato cream sauce is divine and compliments the little sea-​foodies so delightfully.
I usually treat myself to one martini while I am there, but I find them to be pretty pricey considering how the price of the food. The martinis are usually really good, unfortunately once you blink they are gone.
I have never had outstanding service, or memorable service for that matter, just average service from people just doing their job. I do like the dim lights and the candles on the tables, it makes the dining experience a little more personal and intimate, and gives the restaurant more of a feel to it.

I totally enjoy this little Westend gem.
When I’m in the mood for a good old pasta fill I come here. I warn you — the list of choices is incredible. Having to decide can become quite a challenge.
The portions are heaping! Enough for you to bring home for lunch the next day. I agree with Crystal the caesar salad was tasty but the garlic toast you could pass on. Mind you, I still ate it!!! I was hungry!
I had the Penna alla Luxy. I can’t tell you how good it was. Chicken, sundried tomatoes, red peppers in a creamy rose sauce.
They offer the same dinner menu at lunch but it’s offered at a cheaper price with a smaller portion.