Federico’s Supper Club

Dine out Spot #3
Nice atmosphere. The service was attentive but a bit rushed at the beginning and lagging at the end. The food was borderline 3 stars for me. The dine out menu had an option of 3 course for $ 40 which consists of appie, pasta/​main and dessert or 4 course for $ 50 (appie, mini pasta, main and dessert). Parties at the same table can go for different course options as it’s not mandatory to get the same amount of courses per person.
I had the 4 course menu of:
–Roasted parsnip, kale and pear soup, chili oil garnish (2.5÷5): Bonus points for still being hot. I didn’t really enjoy the pear and parsnip pairing. It tasted a bit odd to me. The chili oil didn’t really do much for soup. No spiciness for me.
–House made roasted Kabocha squash & potato gnocchi, fresh ricotta cream sauce, fried sage (⁵⁄₅): Best dish of the night. The gnocci was soft and pillowy and the ricotta cream sauce was absolutely amazing. It was cheesy. It was creamy and super delicious.
–Peppered lamb shoulder chop on potato purée, pine-​nut, dried cranberry & basil goat cheese dressing (²⁄₅): The lamb shoulder was mainly bones. I had such difficulty just trying to some meat. You do get a reasonable amount of potato purée to fill you up in case you couldn’t get any meat off at all. Do not recommend!
–Semifreddo al Panettone con Ricotta panettone in a grand marnier ricotta mousse, dark chocolate shavings (³⁄₅): I think it should just be called a mousse instead of a semifreddo. It was not frozen or cold at all. The taste was alright. Good for those that like things on the semi-​sweet side. The softness of the mousse and with the chocolate shavings on top and the cigar stick on the side and to top it off with a mint leaf reminded me of walking in the forest during autumn times when the soil is still wet and moist from the rain. Bonus points for portraying that (whether intentional or not).
My friend had the 3 course menu:
–Assagini — an assortment of small bites: saffron risotto ball, organic mushroom bruschetta, herbed eggplant meatball, smoked salmon & caramelized onion bruschetta (³⁄₅): Mushroom bruchetta was her favorite though we both agreed that it was way too salty. I liked the eggplant meatball the most. The flavor was there and you would have never guessed it was made with eggplant. Both the risotto ball and smoked salmon bruschetta was not bad. Compared to the soup, this would be the better choice.
–Cavatelli pasta with Dungeness crab, Parma prosciutto, peas, mascarpone (³⁄₅): Cavatelli was al dente. There was reasonable amount of prosciutto and some crab hidden in the pasta. Generous amount of pasta to fill you up. There wasn’t too much flavour. My friend enjoyed it but I thought it was ok.
–Tiramisu authentic style, espresso dipped lady fingers, mascarpone cheese mousse (³⁄₅): Compared to the semifreddo, the Tiramisu had a stronger flavour. Sweet mascarpone cheese on top with espresso soaked lady fingers. It was ok. Not the best tiramisu I’ve had.
Pros: We were allowed to share the extra course which I ordered.
Cons: Hidden cost of 17% gratuity automatically applied when you stay later than 7:30pm due to live entertainment. This was not mentioned in the Dine Out Menu online but it’s written on their actually menu. The bread was tough and chewy and the bean paste that came with it didn’t suite me and my friend’s taste buds.

I took my boyfriend here for his birthday. He’s a total Italian food junkie. I was a little nervous maybe it wouldn’t be up to his standards but oh man was I wrong!
The service was some of the best we’ve ever received. The food was some of best Italian we’ve ever had! I was completely blown away by this place.
We loved the live music, the old style class of the place. Everything was just perfect.
We will absolutely be back!

The first thing I noticed was the tantalizing nostalgic atmosphere. It brought me back to the old Jazz ages. They have all waiters. I would recommend this place for an entertaining dinner experience along with good old live oldies. Not so much the food it was average. I just don’t like bland Canadian food.
I highly recommend otherwise.

The food is consistent and well made. I’ve come here for a Christmas party with a set meal and on Italian Day with a set menu. I can’t speak to the regular menu, but have heard the mussels dish is quite nice.
In regards to the food that I did have.
On Italian day, I had the saffron infused pasta. The pasta was cooked properly and they don’t overkill you on the sauce.
The lamb I had during the Christmas party was fell from the bone tender. Meat was not overly salted and they let the ingredients speak for themselves.
The entertainment is just classy. A live band/​singer and a dance floor. The venue itself has that classy Gatsby sorta feel and its not something you can easily find in Vancouver.
Pros
Solid Italian food
Its a good night out if you come here with friends and maybe a date
Wine and beer selection is decent
Con
Portion to cost ratio seems a tad off (I’d like to see a bit more pasta). So some may feel the cost is high.
They serve Peroni beer… I know its Italian… but egh… so bad…
I think its a 5 Unilocal star place for what it wants to do, but I can’t just because I haven’t been there on a regular night. But I recommend this place regardless.

Cozy happy warm family and group oriented, simply amazing, love live music at night. The food was amazing, service is excellent. The restaurant owner Federico is such an awesome entertainer ! Love this place

It’s been many years since I’ve visited Federico’s…and i’m not sure why it’s taken so long. The place is just plain fun. In a city of hipster restaurants and places that are too cool for good food, this place is really an anachronism… in the best way. The ambiance is ‘fifties art deco supper club with an almost New York feel. Wait staff are professional and not the usual teenagers in short skirts de rigueur at the ubiquitous chains in our town. We can say in fact that the service is truly top notch, from the manager, the servers and even the receptionist. We are not sure of some of the other negative reviews by others who have been here, but they seem odd to me.
Federico himself greets the customers and thanks them for their visit, how astute is that? And the guy can sing. The entertainment aspect is so refreshing in a town where most restaurants play irrelevant hip hop tunes. Federico’s creates the ambiance with older music in fitting with the atmosphere of the room. And where else can you go for dining AND dancing? Some may find it cheesy, but it’s charming to us.
The food is old style Italian, well presented and with generous portions. Chef Romy’s return is a great boon for these guys. If you are looking for a fun night out in the old style supper club vibe, come here. We’ll try to be more regular with our visits.

If there is one thing that can be said about Federico’s, it is that they know how to please their customers and correct the situation when something goes wrong. After our original experience at Federico’s, we were pleased that they had made the effort to contact us and invite us back to the restaurant for a better experience. We were so pleased at the result!
The waitstaff, as usual, were lovely. The food was excellent — between the six of us we had a perfect dinner (our vegan guest was properly accommodated this time and enjoyed her meal — one of the best ever!). The opening act for Federico was Mike, who has a voice reminiscent of Tony Bennett and was a pleasure to listen to. The music was not rushed, like it had been in our previous visit, and we enjoyed getting up and dancing as well as having Federico play a special request for my Dad’s birthday. He even did a make-​up announcement for the previous visit when it was my parents’ anniversary. We loved being serenaded by Federico the whole night!
There are not enough stars to give everyone at Federico’s for making sure we had such a great night. We are truly impressed with the level of professionalism from this establishment and we will definitely be back!
This is at the top of our list of recommendations for our friends and anyone looking for a classy, fun, and memorable place to celebrate all their special occasions.
Many thanks to everyone at Federico’s Supper Club — for proving that you care!
***Special thank to Brunella for reaching out to us and making this night happen***

Overpriced. Food is mediocre. Had to sit through terrible comedy. Comic harassed a single mother and told Holocaust jokes. I want my money back.

Came for a birthday party and since there was over 20ppl were required to have one of their set menus ($ 40).
We all started with the salad, which was a handful of mesclun greens in a plain white bowl, I got ½ a cherry tomato, my friends husband got 7 half tomatoes, but some got none. The salad had a drizzle of balsamic with a shaving or two of Parmesan. Disappointing.
Now the entrees…
Chicken leg roasted on the bone with mashed potatoes and fall veggies. It was okay, just plain chicken, with uninspiring mashed potatoes and a buttered baby carrot. Have had better at the Justice Insititure Campus Cafeteria in New Westminister.
White fish in a white wine cream sauce with the same mashed potatoes and baby artichokes, which tasted like a High liner fish dinner from the freezer… actually that’s an insult to High liner… the whole meal was a bland white, with no flavour.
Wild mushroom risotto, or as I like to call it undercooked Uncle Bens Side Kick. My friend ended up sending it back and the waiter told us that this was an authentic risotto and we probably hadn’t had one before… oh, except she is Italian and has had a risotto or 2 in her life.
Desert was tiramisu, which looked okay but just tasted like whipped cream instead of marscapone. Some of the guests were vegan and some allergic to dairy we had the privilege of having a scoop of lemon sorbet, which was the best part of the meal.
we all ordered bottles as the glasses were only 5oz and started at $ 13, which is pretty steep.
The meal was overall very disappointing, but I would have been given a 2 if the music wasn’t so bad. The owner was the performer that night and he played the opening song to Family Guy, who knew there were words? The music he played seemed so out of place and the décor so tacky with bright lights that I don’t you could pay me to go back.
My meal, plus ½ bottle of wine and one beer was $ 89! Now, if the food had been okay and the music better I probably wouldn’t have minded paying that, but come on that was crap from start to finish!

After a little bit of Unilocal digging, I discovered that Federico’s was hosting a dinner/​comedy/​dancing night while I was in town from Texas. As a spur of the moment decision, I showed up for a night out on my own. Everyone from Frederico’s was so polite. The wine was great. I had the arugula salad with Burrata cheese and tomatoes. Fabulous! Then, I had the halibut with gnocchi. Fantastic! And I had to have the tiramisu. Delicious! The comedians were very entertaining. Two great choices for talent! So at that point, my evening was already pretty great, but a few very sweet customers sitting at the table next to me invited me to join them when the dancing began. I was so thankful because I’m not sure I would’ve actually danced without their invitation. We danced the rest of the time, and then they invited me to join them for another bottle of wine. I felt like family the entire night! I learned they are friends of the restaurant and owner which led to Frederico serenading me to Carrie by Europe. Seriously?! That was such a sweet, personal touch. And we captured it on video. Everyone from top to bottom at Frederico’s, including the customers, made my evening so incredibly memorable! Thank you Frederico’s, D, M and E for such a fabulous evening of fun and new found friends!!!

Horrible service. Came from a birthday party with my wife and we were both full. We joined a party of 10 people and told the waiter that my wife and I would like to share a 3 course menu and were told: NO. Our rules are: if you come in, you have 2 options: 45 $ menu or 55 $ menu. Noone can share, noone can just join a group just for the company. I felt violated, and I just wanted to leave. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE, arrogant staff. Will never come back to this dump.

i came here when they were having dine-​out. they had a lot of variety in terms of menu options, but we were a party of 4 and during dine-​out you HAVE to order from the dine-​out menu, even if you don’t want the full appy, entrée and dessert. just in case anyone was wondering.
the food… it was excellent! the place was packed and the service was friendly and attentive.
however if you’re looking for an upscale and sophisticated fine dining restaurant on commercial drive, keep looking. the entertainment is good, if you like that «mediocre karaōke singer belting 70s and 80s tunes vibe». don’t get me wrong, it’s kind of fun to watch in all its cheesy glory. but if you’re not a mean and horrible person like I am, then you might not enjoy it. when we were there, many of the diners (at least 20 – 30) took to the dance floor to do the Macarena or whatever dance was the craze when they were young. when you’re in there you really can’t believe you’re on commercial drive.
I think older folks would really get a kick out of this place.

Late review, but needs to be said — Federico’s Supper Club is something everyone should experience… I was lucky enough to have my first time there as part of a birthday celebration with a great group of friends at the end of May. The restaurant was packed full of a nice mix of age groups… There was a (40^th?) anniversary, 3 different birthday parties, a younger bachelorette party and to be honest — not knowing what to expect — it kind of blew me away. BEST INTERACTIVE DINNER EXPERIENCE EVER.
We had the 4 course meal. Everything presented was fresh, beautiful and the perfect serving amount. By the end I was full, but not «oh my god, I can’t even» full…
Throughout dinner, a gentleman on guitar played a mix of easily recognizable, singable songs (including an acoustic version of Thunderstuck… Whaaaaa??? WICKED) — which got us all primed for the 10:30pm «event»… Federico himself! (accompanied by a lovely, talented woman whose name I unfortunately can’t remember) This man is absolutely a performer, and I’m assuming that most of the people in attendance were repeat patrons, because everyone seemed to know the drill. There was even a couple who (if I remember correctly) are also there nightly? a few times a week? dancing salsa-​style (ish) — which helps people get up on the floor and not have to worry about being the first ones out and having an audience.
As a bonus (especially for our birthday girl), more than once during Federico’s performance, he gave shout-​outs to all of the people celebrating whatever it was they were there for — totally just added to the night :)
Anyway. Federico’s is a trip. The excellent kind. It was a night to dress up, feel fancy, dance your face off and have some lovely, REAL Italian fare for not too much $$. I don’t usually order dishes with tomato based sauces because they never live up to my mom’s or my Nona’s, but this was a non-​issue. The sauce was beautiful.
And the SERVICE! The service was friendly, attentive, and informed. Can’t remember our servers name, but he was on point all evening. Knowledgable, totally professional but warm and friendly. Such a fabulous night!
LOVED IT :)

FEDERICO’S SUPPER CLUB, Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
BEST SERVICE I’VE EVAH HAD,.LAND, SEA OR AIR!
Federico’s personifies what service and hospitality should be.
No-​one restaurant even comes close,.so far.
Don’t w8 4 a special occasion, you deserve the best service one can get at any price.
You so NEED TO GO!
‘appy Noshin’
Brianm
Your FoodieatLarge.

With so many new restaurants popping up with their trendy food and snooty attitude, it was very refreshing to return to Federico’s Supper Club again.
We were invited back from Brunella — the GM after she read my previous review. They really want us to have a GREAT TIME here and go above and beyond to provide it for you.
We came back on a Thursday night for 8pm sitting. The restaurant was 70% full.
We were offer several tables and we chose the corner booth by the kitchen.
Food — ⁴⁄₅ Stars
We ordered:
Beef Tenderloin Tartar Crostini with Black Truffle Zabaglione — this time around, the crostini was crunchy as it should be. Very nicely flavor tartar, we really enjoyed the crunchy bite.
Pappardelle in Ragu’ Antico
house-​made fresh flat ribbon pasta, beef ragu, parmiggiano reggiano — I really enjoyed this dish, the beef was so full of flavor and very tender, the pappardelle was al dente, and the sauce was flavorful with a touch of sweetness and not acidic at all.
Risotto di Mare
Italian Carnaroli rice served with calamari, clams, mussels, shrimps, white wine
Brasato Di Manzo con Polenta Soffice Al Gorgonzola
braised beef short ribs served with soft gorgonzola polenta and red wine sauce — very well braised short ribs with nice flavor and very tender beef, the red wine sauce complimented the beef nicely.
Timballo Di Spigola Al Forno in Salsa Mediterranea
baked Mediterranean seabass timbale served with crushed tomato, capers, and olive sauce, basil olive oil — the fish was cooked perfectly and taste delicate and well seasoned, the sauce resembles something you would have eaten while travelling around the Mediterranean
Tiramisu All’arancia
layered orange dipped lady fingers, mascarpone cheese mousse finished with crumbled pistacchios — HUGE serving and so good!!!
Fried sweet dough shell filled with fresh local ricotta cheese, pistachio, and candy orange peel — Crunchy creamy goodness inside the sweet dough shell
Entertainment — ⁵⁄₅ Stars
We walked in at 8pm with the sounds of fabulous harmony by the McQuades — cousins Oliver and Curtis are new to the roster at Federico’s and they are a welcome addition. As we were having our dinner, they entertained us with well harmonized tunes from the ages. Very talented duo, hope to see them again next time we come.
Palma D’Andrea is the vocalist for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday — she has a lovely clear voice and reminisces of the singers from the Supper Club of yesteryears you see in the movies. We were so entranced with her singing, we didn’t dance as much as we wanted as we wanted to watch her performance.
Federico is in top form! I really admire his talent and was surprised to hear he not only sing in English and Italian, but also in Cantonese, Mandarin and Spanish. And the pronunciation for the Cantonese and Mandarin was top notch, better than some native singers I heard at other places.
The music was great, they played a variety of dancing music for all different dancers, songs of Dean Martin, Elvis, Ned King Cole, and music that you can danced to like Bachata, Salsa, Cumbia, Cha Cha, Rumba, Tango were played, Federico also take requests. There were plenty of space for dancing.
The staff were courteous and friendly and take the time to make sure we have everything we need.
We had a wonderful time, great food, great entertainment, and great dancing from the other patrons,
If you are looking for an intimate date setting with great food and dancing — go to Federico’s on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday!
If you are looking for high energy crowded party atmosphere, that keeps you jumping on the dance floor, go to Federico’s on Friday and Saturday night.
Once again, I really appreciate a business that puts the Customer Experience first and really go out of their way to make it better. We will definitely return.
Kudos to everyone from Federico’s Supper Club.

My girlfriend and I had an amazing time here. We had the privilege of sitting at a VIP table right on the dance floor.
Our server was incredible. He was always checking on us and making sure everything was tasting great. Food was out of this world good. Real Italian food.
The entertainment was awesome. Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, and Dean Martin serenaded us during our final courses.
Then a beautiful walk home. What more could one ask for?

This is an updated review after my boyfriend and I returned to Federico’s recently to give it another shot.
Our reservation was for 6:30pm so it was relatively quiet in the dining room. It got busier around 7:30pmish though as other guests started being seated.
We tried the 6 course tasting menu with wine pairings. The first course was a cured meat with a vinaigrette style dressing, a dollop of cheese and a bit of greens on top. I’m not an expert with wines, but we got a sparkline white wine which went very well for the first course.
The second course was a cauliflower cream based soup with a white truffle oil drizzle on top. This was also delicious! It was very creamy and smooth and you could definitely taste the cauliflower. We also got a a type of white wine with this dish.
The third course was pasta (yay!). We got 2 types served on a large platter and these were huge portions. One was a pasta with a light sauce and lots of mushrooms (my favourite out of the two) and the second was a pasta with tomato sauce and beef (also very good). I think we got red wine with this one but I don’t quite remember.
The fourth course was a fish course — seared scallops on sea bass skin with beans. The scallops were very tender and cooked perfectly and the sea bass skin was very crispy. It was a really nice contrast.
At this point I should mention that both of us felt a bit tipsy from all the wine we’d been having so we decided to cut back on it and only take sips.
Beef shank with veggies and potatoes was the fifth course. The beef was so tender it was almost falling apart :). This was really good but we both couldn’t finish it due to all the food before.
Lastly, dessert was a canoli on top of a chocolate mousse. The wine pairing for this was a very sweet wine with honey.
Service over all has really improved from last time! It was timely and we got checked up on every course.
It was also jazz night and Federico was performing some classic jazz songs and classic Italian songs. Very nice entertainment.
Overall it was a very pleasant experience.

Who needs a time machine? Fredrico’s will transport you right back to the 1970’s! Okay, maybe the 80’s. Whatever. This is the kind of place I expect to see old mafia members sitting the back corner, with unbuttoned shirts complete with gold medallions hanging in their hairy chests. Expect to spend some good money to get serenaded by cheesy lounge singers while you eat some Italian food at a dimly lit table. If you’re a pretentious foodie, skip this place. But if you’ve got a sense of humor and an appreciation for retro dining, you’ll have a lot of fun here. Fredrico’s is definitely an experience.

So I recently came here for a staff party, and overall I had a pretty good time and enjoyed the food.
Our group was probably about 140 people so a pretty large group to cater to.
These were the items that my boyfriend and I tried:
1. Insalata Verde
Baby frisee salad,
candied walnuts, grape tomatoes, lemon garlic vinaigrette,
served with capriny goat cheese crostini
— This salad was pretty tasty, it had a stronger citrus flavour to it which was different and the crostini with cheese added quite the taste too!
2. Penne Pomodoro
penne in a tomato basil sauce
— this was pretty basic, I prefer my pasta softer and this was more al dente (which I’ve been told is more authentic italian) — served with parmesan so it was alright for me.
3. Salmerino
arctic char,
oven roasted potatoes, sauteed rapini with garlic and chilies, saffron cream
— My boyfriend selected this and he was pretty pleased with it.
4. Petto di Pollo Impanato
herb crusted chicken breast,
smoked mozzarella bread pudding, asparagus, demi-​glacé
— this Chicken option was lightly breaded, chicken was nice and tender — light seasoning to it I was happy with my choice
5. Tiramisu
layered espresso dipped lady fingers
mascarpone cheese mousse
— I didn’t particularly enjoy this tiramisu, it was very bland and didn’t stand up very well (not sure if Tiramisu is meant to be super fluffy and light weight) I wouldn’t recommend this to any Tiramisu connoisseurs out there lol
The live entertainment was pretty good, Federico enjoys singing and putting on a show and the music for the most part was upbeat so it was fitting for a work party.

Is this place so cheesy that it is good? No, just plain cheesy.
This place is a cross between Chucky Cheese’s birthday party room and the banquet hall of a moderately priced hotel. Don’t let the linen tablecloths and formally dressed waitstaff fool you. What fine dining establishment plays the «Theme From Shaft» as dinner music?
Who is the black private dick that’s a sex machine to all the chicks? Shaft, ya, damn right.
Our party of twelve arrived at 7:30 to a full restaurant filled with about 4 or 5 other very large parties. First observation was that the place was so loud that ordinary conversation would be impossible. The staff was pretty quick to ply the alcohol but didn’t take our food order until 8:30. On Fridays and Saturdays the Supper Club is the only option for $ 45 for 3 courses and $ 55 for 4 courses.
To summarize our entire food experience. The appetizers were pedestrian and mediocre. The pasta and primi courses were again quite pedestrian and it was hit or miss as to how well they had been prepared. My own vegetables were very undercooked and the meat was overcooked. We didn’t receive our entrees until around 10 pm when the band started and by this time we were all so starved we would have eaten anything. All of the desserts were pretty run of the mill but not too bad.
For live entertainment we were subjected to the musical stylings of a «wedding band» type trio whose zenith must have been somewhere in the late ’70’s or early 80’s because that is the only music that they played. Kudos to the lone dancer who hit the dance floor in the first set with his Elaine Benes moves.
Bottom line. Federico’s Supper Club is faux fine dining. The food is overpriced and subpar for what is was purported to be. Service is adequate but below what it should be for about $ 100/​person. The 17% mandatory gratuity doesn’t encourage superior performance. The entertainment, what can I say, if the ’70’s songs «You make me Feel Like Dancing» and the like makes you feel like dancing then go for it. I kind of felt like I was stuck at a bad wedding with my fun friends.
.