martini's

this is a long-standing joint located on broadway, not far from the city hall skytrain station with a pretty large menu of italian/greek/mediterranean dishes and pizzas. i've visited the place once many years ago when i was still in highschool, and have been quite impressed by their food (they had pretty big servings and i actually wasn't able to finish the veal parmesan that i had ordered on that occasion). i decided to revisit this place recently. in spite of all the years that passed, the menu appears to have remained largely the same. in addition to their main menu, they do also have lunch specials. i got their breaded veal cutlets from their lunch menu, and also their chicken tortellini alfredo from their regular menu. the dishes were served with a side of daily soup and salad respectively; these dishes came out right away while the main dishes themselves took a bit longer (probably 20+ minutes) to arrive. the food was quite tasty: i particularly enjoyed their garlic bread and the veal cutlets came in a very generous portion for a price for less than $11. the server i had, while attentive, was not the friendliest. in spite of the shortcomings however, i did really enjoy, i did still really enjoy my visit to martinis, and would highly recommend checking it out.

chicken tortellini alfredo ($17):
3.5/5
this consisted of spinach & cheese tortellini with chicken breast and red peppers, and is served with salad and garlic bread. the chicken was pretty tender for white meat and well seasoned, while the tortellini was well-cooked, being tender while still retaining some chew. i did find it to be a bit bland however, and the sauce, while creamy, was also a bit underseasoned for my taste. the salad was quite fresh and contained pieces of pineapple. i absolutely loved their garlic bread: they give you a thick slide that's nicely toasted and crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside.

lunch breaded veal cutlets ($10.75):
3.5/5
this was served with your choice of fries or salad (i had fries), and a daily soup. the portion for this was very impressive for the price: they give you two generous slices of veal. the meat itself had anicecrispy coating, although i did find it to be a tad underseasoned and slightly chewy/grisly in some parts. the fries were hot, fresh and crispy. the soup i had was some kind of curry vegetable with rice.

summary
food: 3.5/5
price: 4/5
service: 3/5
overall: 3.5/5
recommendations: lunch breaded veal cutlets

came into this place on a recommendation as a spot for good pasta but was not exactly pleasantly surprised. the menu would suggest they are primarily a pizza place but none of the pizza we ordered (large group, 4-5 different pies) was all that good. it resembles pizza from smaller brand delivery chains and certainly wasn't forno style which is kind of the pizza trend at the moment. toppings and cheese were generous but it was nothing special.
pasta was alright but again not all that different from any run of the mill joint that serves noodles and sauce. the place is really a bizarre mix of sort-of-italian restaurant and local pub with food that falls more on the side of pub fare. service was good and attentive but the kitchen did make 1 pizza wrong (which they let us keep) but sent us home with the right pie to go. 
the meal was a tad pricey for pub food but if that's what you crave this place isn't too bad.
small but well picked selection of beers was anicefeature - prices were pretty on-par for suds in van.
does what it does, i expected more based on the recommendation so my view may be slightly tainted by unmet expectations.

this place has been in buisness for years. it's also one of few restaurants that open late night as well. today my friends and i decided to meet here for a reunion. they have a ton of drink specials on their menu andnicestraight up comfort foods for a reasonable price. their pizzas in house are pretty good. we got the martini special, i added extra chili flakes and it was perfect. the poutine is any ordinary poutine done nicely. the herb chicken tomato pasta has good flavors, unfortunately the penne was overcooked slightly and not aldente, and comes with anicebig slice of garlic bread and house salad. the bbq wing delicious. the kalamari has a big portion, excuse the pic because it was so good i forgot to take the pic while devouring it. the count beer is dark in color and smooth rich in taste. the craft ale is refreshing.

all in all, dependable comfort food, reasonable prices. there was five of us and it came out to 18 bucks with 15 percent tip included already. not bad at all sharing these items. we were stuffed.

i forgot to mention, the service that night was incredible. water is always filled, couple check ups, friendly conversations. cudos to management on the service team as well.

great food! but, to the waitress, don't bring luke warm food and expect to get 15% tip! we are paying for hot meals. also, it would beniceto check on the table at least once or twice. sorry, it will be a while before we come back. xoxoxo

my buddy chris and i randomly decided to try the italian cuisine at martini's. it is a nice, small-sized italian eatery in the broadway area just before main street. we kicked back with a couple raven cream ales. i had the chorizo penne sauté and was delighted with its generous portion, flavour, and meaty content. the chorizo sausage bits were big and plentiful. the peppers and mushrooms were anicecompliment to penne pasta.

who knew that black olives and lamb burger would go so well together. it does! good prices,nicecharacter with the pub look, and winter ale. calamari was great. 10% batter and 90% squid. the way to do it!!

i didn't know how good black olives could be on an burger until i had the lamb here. great food,nicecharacter inside with the cabin feel.