We took my mom out to dinner for her birthday last weekend.
I’ve been meaning to go to Il Nido for a while now; I haven’t been since the summer of 2005.
I remember this because the cast of a new Fox show (Reunion) were also there that night, and by winter Fox had cancelled the show.
I wrote about it here.
I remember my dinning experiences there fondly; the food was consistently good and I always had an amazing time there.
So why has it taken me so long to go back? It’s just a silly case of ‘out with the old’

This restaurant is truly a hidden gem, tucked away in a quiet plaza just a few steps away from the hustle and bustle of Robson Street.
I knew my mom would enjoy the food, and the quiet, cozy and simple ambience.
I ordered the soup of the day; a fresh and delicious minestrone to start, it was loaded with hearty vegetables, and quite comforting – I pretended my mom made it!
My mom asked the owner (Franco) for the recipe and he gracefully gave her his card and asked her to call him, when she’s ready to make it.
For the main, I chose a simple penne with artichoke hearts tossed in broccoli pesto, and it was perfect.
The pesto was so good… I used the foccacia from the table to sop up the sauce at the bottom.
My mom had ossobuco with risotto and greens – she loved it!
She said the meat (lamb) was succulent and divine! and she loved the wine sauce.
Dessert was a trio of tiramisu, panna cotta and blood orange gelato which we shared, our waiter called the gelato ‘revitalizing’ and I agree, it was quite refreshing.
The tiramisu was wonderful and my favourite was the panna cotta.

The best part though, was spending time with my mom.
I don’t always have time to do things with my mom, so having moments like this with her is nice.