Cinara

The service was attentive and friendly but one thing you shouldn’t do is go in absolutely starving because you’ll leave still hungry. I had the halibut and there were 2 small pieces of fish and one piece of fingerling potatoe cut in 2 and a few pieces of leaks and other green stuff and nothing else. The food was good and cooked right but be aware that you might need to make dinner at your house afterwards.

Went in for dinner tonight. It was bit busy there. We were greeted at the door and were seated down immediately. The server didn’t take long enough to pour us water and handed us the menu, which was nice. The sever came back after awhile, described the menu top to bottom perfectly. He was passionate, enthusiast, descriptive and a very top notch who knows what he is doing. We ordered bread and butter, smoked hock, veal tongue, 2 pasta. Every dishes were seasoned nicely, very subtle. My only complain would be it was very warm and hot. An air condition would be a nice.
3 – 3.5 star.

Stayed the the Victorian hotel right above.
What a delight!
Super tasty food.
Great wine pairs.

Cinara is located on the corner of Pender and Homer (across from Finch’s) and there is plenty of street parking nearby. I came in on a Tuesday night and found the crowd to be a bit older.
We were greeted warmly when we stepped in and the service throughout the night was quite good. Our server actually walked us though the entire menu and gave us a description of all the dishes (this alone deserves an extra star). He was friendly and was very enthusiastic when describing the food there.
We decided on the savoury crêpe appetizer, artichoke risotto, and the pork chops for dinner.
The pork chops were a real winner — the meat was so tender and flavourful. This might be one of the best pork chops I have ever had. The risotto was quite good too. The texture was just right — it was creamy and rich, but not mushy at all.
For dessert we picked the chocolate tart with bergamot ice cream. This was delicious as well. The flavours were very complex — the ice cream had a nice hint of earl grey flavor and the chocolate tart had bits of something that resembled grapefruit in it. This dessert was nice and light and I think I almost licked the plate clean.
I enjoyed my night at Cinara and would not hesitate to come back.

What a wonderful little gem, a chef friend brought me here on a Tuesday night, it had a good crowd for a rainy Tuesday! We were warmly greeted by our server who was friendly and joked with us throughout.
He made some recommendations on our menu that evening and was pleasantly surprised by the first dish, which is the bread and chicken liver. I highly highly recommend this, I could lick that plate clean… If only I wasn’t in public.
Then came the beetroot salad, beetroot was well cooked, I would prefer a bit more flavour to the seasoning but that’s subjective.
We had heir rigatoni arraciani, al dente but wasn’t surprising. And finally ended with the duck. We really liked this, as it was flavoured well, and was oh so tender, my only comment is that if they put a crisp to the skin, it would have been perfect. It needed something to cut the duck fat.
Overall, a great experience, great wine recommendation by the server, excellent service and would love to be back!
Ps, chicken liver is delish! Trust me

Everything that comes out of this kitchen is good. I don’t even look at the menu anymore I just ask them to send out what ever. Definitely worth checking out.

Came here with a friend and was looking forward to what I saw on the menu. Reading up on the reviews I noticed the chefs speciality was Italian at previous locations, so figured the risotto was a no brainer. Sadly it wasn’t anywhere near as good as I’d hoped. Not a whole lot of flavor and a pretty small portion for the price. We shared a baccala appy and that was surprisingly good. It’s a warm fish dip with toasted crostinis. Place is cute, service was great. I’m sure some of the other mains are good, but between my risotto and my friends spaghetti and meatballs, which also didn’t appear outstanding, I may not go out of my way next time. Seems popular though, so if you do give it a go, make sure to book first.

Great food and atmosphere. Small and intimate. Great date spot. Service was excellent. Everything was delicious. Risotto, pork rack, beet salad, chicken pâté, all perfect

The wait staff were so rude, I don’t usually complain, but it was just such a negative experience. Food was ok, but I won’t go back. There are too many places to eat and drink in this city. I think their days are numbered.

Mostly ok. I have a problem with places that push a set menu on you when you have a larger group. As someone who doesn’t enjoy shellfish or raw meat/​fish I am wary of this.
I doubt I would return.

Unfortunately, this place hasn’t lived up to its initial promise. I’ve been there 5 times now. The first several times it was great. But now they have a dramatically reduced menu and it was very difficult for the four of us to find dishes that we liked and/​or wanted. In addition, we were served by a very unhelpful server with an unpleasant attitude.

Front to back-​top to bottom, this is a stupendous place!
Our server Neil was fabulous. So much zeal and creative passion in the way he presents the menu and wine selection. He created a unique and entertaining experience for us that was both genuine and fun.
The food was beyond delicious. Neil helped us pair wines spectacularly.
In a city where many new places are opening up in the same vein, Cinara offers a space and menu that is almost incomparable to anything elsewhere in Vancouver.
The simplicity and authenticity of what the owners have done with this eatery is exceptional.
I love it here and would recommend everyone give it a go.
Being a celiac and person with MANY allergies, I have two times now successfully ate meals at Cinara with NO reactions and have been exceptionally accommodated.
If it sounds like I’m gushing, it’s because I am. We had an amazing time and cannot wait to go back!

We were a group of eight tonight an made a reservation at Cinara. When we got there they told us we can only do the $ 60/​person tasting menu due to the size of the group and it would be served family style. Fine. The food was really good. What we did not expect was the small size of the individual courses. Salami, two little portions each salat, risotto, pasta, and sirloin. But for 8! People. Seriously, the courses were ok for four people (and then still on the small side) but way too small for eight. We left the restaurant and were all still hungry…
Beer and wine prices were pretty high. After two rounds they had no peroni left (please stock more than a12 pack next time) and were pretty pricy… Bottled beer around $ 8 or more.
Service was friendly but not very attentive. Still ok. But for $ 840! We would have been way better of in a top steak house or fancy restaurant. I ate now a yogurt :-(
Never again would we go there.

Sublime.

I have to say I came here expecting to be blown away and by my rating you can tell that I wasn’t!
I called to make a reservation for 8pm and was told that the only spot they had available was at 8:30pm…we arrived on time and found the place only 40% full with lots of space! It couldn’t be that everyone left just before we got there. Also even though almost every other table was empty, the server said she’d have to check the computer to figure out where to sit us!
The space is very open but it is missing the coziness of a romantic place. I appreciate the space between the tables as it gives your party more privacy but the furniture was also very bland and lacked any type of ambiance.
The wine list was quite good, specially if you are a fan of French Syrah or red blends.
We shared three tapas, which was enough food but none of them left a great impression. We shared the risotto, mixed plate of Salumi and Vitello tonnato, which had an amazing sauce, but other than that everything was just ok.
Needless to say I didn’t like the attitude of this place, without the talent to back it up!

Outstanding. Really one of the best new restaurant experiences I’ve had in quite some time.
We ordered the «Carte Blanche» menu (several courses, the contents of which are unknown until they come out).
I can honestly say that all of them were either «very good» or «excellent». Even items that I don’t normally like, were excellent (e.g., scallops).
Also, because my wife is a vegetarian, I tend to judge places by how seriously they take their «vegetarian/​vegan». options. My wife’s carte blanche menu was as distinctive as mine without any of the usual vegetarian filler items.

Everything was very tasty, but the dishes were overpriced for the portion sizes.
Rabbit ravioli, mussels with chantrelles, and black truffle risotto.

Cinara Vancouver is a modern European restaurant that sits corner lot under the historic Victorian Hotel on Homer and 350 West Pender. We had been meaning to visit Cinara awhile now since it opened. There had been plenty of raving reviews and frankly we had high hopes. You will recognize Chefs Lucais Syme from Cioppino, La Quercia and La Pentola. Flavors are adapted onto the menu with pastas and preserves. Cinara menu is focused on sharing small plates and appetizers. Entrée mains are not exceptionally large portioned either.
Cinara is casual with wood floors, round tables, mismatched tableware. Service is prompt and friendly. Ingredients are fresh and locally sourced. Our expectations for a magical five star dinner was underwhelming. Overall, we found the flavors underseasoned and struggled with complexity.
Bread and Butter 2: simple bread service
Salmon alla Piedmont butter lettuce, egg, cornichon 14: marinated salmon filet with buttery butter lettuce and egg salad. A nicely pickled garnished and fresh fish.
Beef Shoulder cauliflower, capers, raisins, anchovy 27: tender beef shoulder Sous-​vide. Underseasoned with a slight chew. Served with polenta and drizzled with salsa verde.
Branzino glenn valley artichoke, fennel pollen, orange 28: a nice pan seared thinly sliced European sea bass with a crispy skin exterior. Served with beans and light broth sweetened with fennel pollen.

I came here to catch up with a girlfriend who works nearby. We came here for dinner. I open tabled for a reservation for two at 5:45PM on a Wednesday and when I arrived the restaurant was practically empty. The restaurant had us and another couple.
I was hoping to order the Burrata as a starter but the menu changes regularly and it wasn’t available on the night we went so we took the suggestion of our server and settled on Venison Bresaola arugula, squash, parmesan ($ 15). Our server explained that they cured all their meats (for the starters) in-​house such as the venison and duck prosciutto. She suggested venison because it’s seasonable. My girlfriend and I enjoyed the salad very much. The bresaola was thinly shaved, served on a (small) bed of dressed arugula, garnished with small cubed squash, and shaved parmesan. The flavors came together cohesively. The salad had the slight bitterness of the arugula, the saltiness of the cured meat, the sweetness of the squash, and the umami-​ness of the parmesan. This simple salad was the highlight of the meal. The portion unfortunately was REALLY small.
I ordered Taglierini rabbit ragu, parmesan ($ 17) and my friend ordered clams corned veal tongue, fregola, saffron ($ 17). I was a little disappointed that they didn’t make the Taglierini in house, but I went for it anyway. They had me at «rabbit ragu». My dish was a tad salty but not to the point I had to send it back to the kitchen. I was expecting a dish full of bold flavors but that wasn’t the case. I got deep flavors from the protein, but not so much anything else like the vegetables, and herbs I was expecting. The pasta was simple and clean. A very different version of ragu indeed. I had my food with a glass of Red Leone Castris Salice Salentino ($ 10), very good suggestion from our server.
My friend’s clam with corned veal tongue with fregola was again, a tad salty. The clams were fresh. I didn’t try the veal tongue because her food portion looked so pathetically small I felt bad taking anything more than a clam. The broth was deep, and full of flavor. If I were her I would have ordered a side of bread and soak up any available liquid.
We shared a quince tart ($ 6) which was served with I believe house-​made ricotta (please correct me if I was wrong) and honey. The quince tart was small. It wasn’t too sweet but it was egg-​y. It felt like I was eating over-​cooked (sweet) quiche.
I had an espresso ($ 3.25) with the dessert. My portion of the bill with taxes without tips came to a little under $ 50.
I really appreciate the simplicity and pureness of the food. The kitchen staff made it look so «easy» to prepare and cook food of this caliber. There were a bit of a hit and miss. The portion again, is consistently small. Even the flavors were there, I felt I didn’t get the value. The salad was insanely small. I understand both of us ordered «mids» and not «mains» but charging $ 17 for a plate for «mids» I personally find it steep.
Other than that the ambiance was dim and intimate. The use of wood reminds me cozy cottages tucked away in the wilderness. The décor is rustic yet sophisticated. There is a small bar seat area, a booth, and the rest, tables. The open concept allows you have full view of the kitchen.
I don’t see myself being a frequent patron of this restaurant again due to the small food portion and the high price points. Having said that I would suggest this place for first timers who are on the look out for trying something new.

I first heard about Cinara from Scout Magazine, and having dined at La Pentola della Quercia, another of chef Lucais Syme’s restaurants, I had high expectations.
The food was delicious. Two dishes were particularly amazing: prosciutto & figs with marsala vinaigrette and the paccheri with burrata and sungold tomatoes. I was there as part of a group of 6 and we ordered 3 – 4 of each of those dishes. It’s too bad that they’re seasonal!
Their sliced NY striploin was also delicious, and the server provided a disclaimer to expect warm, thinly sliced pieces (sort of like carpaccio) rather than a hot steak. This was also pretty good.
The dishes that I wasn’t a huge fan of included the clams with veal tongue and fregola as well as the baccalà and polenta. Baccalà is supposed to be salty, but I found the one at Cinara to be a bit saltier and fishier tasting than the baccalà I’ve had in Italy and Croatia.
Drinks looked tempting and innovative. I ended up ordering their elderflower pressé (non-​alcoholic), which was nice but was very heavily ice cubed.
I would say that Cinara is a great place to go with a friend or significant other so that you can both share a few dishes. Portions are a bit small (and thus a bit pricey for the quantity), but the flavours are great and if you choose your dishes wisely, you will be happy you went. It’s also a nice place to take your time eating as dishes come out staggered, allowing you to chat and digest, as well as feel like you’re having a meal somewhere in the Mediterranean.
I would rate the service as 7.5÷10. We had organized a surprise party and given special instructions to one server, but I am guessing this wasn’t communicated to the other servers. When our friend came, we tried very hard to flag any server to let them know she arrived, waving our hands wildly from our window seats and trying to get somebody’s attention, but it took a good 3 minutes before anyone came. By the time a server did come, our friend had discovered us. Oh well. Other than that hiccup, we were generally well looked after.