By Sherman Chan,
Special to The Post

We had Anchovy on Toast which featured white anchovy, radish, pickled cucumber and herb butter on somewhat toasted bread. Despite that, I still enjoyed it. Also loved the crunch that kept things from being one texture. Next up, we had the Vittolo Tonnato with shaved veal, tuna sauce and capers. The thin veal was super tender, almost buttery. The tuna mayo on top was texturally on point being creamy and had the meatiness of tuna. The capers amped up the saltiness.

Onto the pastas, the Spaghetti with duck & anchovy ragu featured firmly al dente pasta that had a great mouth-feel and was nicely salted. The generous amount of tender duck tasted mild. We expected more anchovy impact. However, the dish was still hearty and cheesy from the pecorino. We couldn’t find clams in the Linguine with clams and mussels. Without the clams, the sauce was merely tangy and spicy. We loved the flavours, but it was definitely missing the clams.

Lastly, we had the Bucatini with black pepper, butter and pecorino. Although a very simple pasta, it was my favourite. The bucatini (in place of the lumache) was a perfect al dente and was nicely salted. A bit nutty and slightly peppery wasn't overly greasy. We could've used a bit more black pepper though. The portions were on the smaller side. While quality over quantity does apply here, but when you spend $100 for two people before tip, you want to walk away full too.

Osteria Autostrada

4811 Main Street, Vancouver, BC

The Good:

• Properly prepared and tasty pastas

• Great service

• Reliable small plates

The Bad:

• Small portions

• A few execution issues (limp toast and missing clams) but forgivable due to being only the second week of operation

Sherman Chan is the #1 ranked food blogger on the Vancouver portal of Urbanspoon.com. Read more of his reviews at www.shermansfoodadventures.com.