Nonna’s Cucina food truck has quietly opened their first brick and mortar location on Hastings Street. Nonna’s Cucina is serving up Italian staples made with family recipes. For now they are serving up their signature sandwiches and pastas. However, they have plans to expand the menu a little later on. The store has very limited seating and the intent is for this spot to be a grab and go. Most of their pasta is made fresh in house including the gnocchi, pappardelle and orecchiette to name a few. Check out what I ate at the newest Nonna’s Cucina on Hastings Street below!
Nonna’s Cucina Sandwiches
If there is one thing you need to try at Nonna’s Cucina, it’s their stacked sandwiches. On this visit we had:
- Nonna’s Meatball Panino ($16.00)
- Nonna’s Speciale ($19.00)
Nonna’s Speciale is a signature at Nonna’s Cucina and it features nonna’s fig spread, soppressata, spicy capicollo, genoa salami, fior di latte, peperonata, eggplant, tomato, arugula, and dijon mayo. There is so much going on in this sandwich but they all work beautifully together. There is a generous amount of ingredients in this sandwich, and the star for me was surprisingly the fig spread! It complements all the ingredients so well.
Nonna’s Meatball Panino features meatballs slowly braised in nonna’s tomato sauce, topped with provolone and parmigiano cheese. You can also add arugula to this, which I recommend. The pepperiness of the arugula adds a nice freshness to a very rich and decadent sandwich. The meatballs are firm with a great texture and the combination of cheeses really puts this sandwich at the top.
Nonna’s Cucina – Pasta Dishes
Every morning, chef makes a variety of pasta to serve for the day. While, not all of their pastas are made fresh, the majority of them are. So just check with the staff on what they recommend for their daily fresh made pasta. On our visit we had:
- In House Made Ricotta and Herb Gnocchi ($18.00)
- Rigatoni ($17.00)
- Chitarra ($19.00)
- Baked Lasagna ($16.00)
The In House Made Ricotta and Herb Gnocchi features nonna’s pistachio pesto, zucchini, cherry tomato, fennel, and cream. The gnocchi is very light and airy and even though the dish is cream based, I didn’t find it heavy at all. This dish was very flavourful.
The Rigatoni features housemade Italian sausage and fennel ragu. Rigatoni is my favourite pasta shape and this one did not disappoint at all. The tomato sauce was very flavourful and the fennel ragu was a great complement to the dish.
The Chitarra features side stripe prawns, olives, crispy pancetta, and spicy tomato. This was a another favourite of mine. I like the spicy tomato sauce a lot and the prawns were light and springy. A very good dish and not one I’d expect to see from a grab and go spot.
The Baked Lasagna came highly recommended and it was fantastic as expected. Thin sheets of pasta with plenty of classic bolognese sauce and cheese – what is there not to like?
Nonna’s Cucina – Dessert
For dessert we had the house made Cornetti. Cornetti is buttery crescents, made with yeasted dough. Similar to a French croissant. The Cornetti is made fresh daily and is filled with Nutella or Lemon Ricotta. Both were absolutely divine. The Lemon Ricotta in particular was delicious. The light and creamy ricotta filling has bright lemon flavour that was perfect after a heavy pasta meal.
Worth a Try?
Yes! You can really taste the love and care that goes into each dish. It has definitely entered list of go to spots for pasta in Vancouver. There is something to suit everyone’s palette. Their newest location is easily accessible by transit and car and there’s plenty of street parking. They are having their grand opening this coming week, but they are already in soft open stages, so I recommend checking them out before they become too busy!
Nonna’s Cucina
Address: 2166 East Hastings Street
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nonnascucinayvr/