By Sherman Chan,
Special to The Post

We were started off with the Formaggi with a selection from Quebec, crisp bread, walnuts and wild flower honey. The honey went well with the walnuts. The Ox Tongue Tonnato was my favourite. The thin slices of buttery ox tongue were accented by the tuna, lemony mayo. It had the pop of the capers.

Drenched with butter, the Garlic Bread was quite good. We had the Raviolini filled with veal, chicken and pork with roasting juices. This was our favourite. The meat was moist and well-seasoned. The best part was the sauce.

The pasta was overdone in the Linguine with spring salmon, capers and Calabrian. The sauce was starchy and had an off-putting finish. But, the heat from the chili was impactful. The pasta for the Tortiglioni with short rib braciola and Sunday sugo was al dente. The short rib braciola was a bit dry.

The Meatballs with neck bone gravy had large meatballs which were a little dry. I liked the little pops of currant and pine nuts inside. The sauce was acidic and fresh. The side of Green Beans with brown butter, almonds and Grana Padano had beans that were crunchy while cooked through. The nuttiness from the butter and almonds were quite nice with the beans.

The best non-appetizer dish was the Top Sirloin with horseradish and black pepper. The meat was buttery, tender and flavourful yet juicy. Lastly, we had the Suckling Pig with salsa verde, cracklings and radish, which we enjoyed. The pork was tender and not overly dry, but was missing something.

There were some hits and some misses (especially with the pasta). It is worth a try.

Osteria Savio Volpe

615 Kingsway Avenue, Vancouver, BC

The Good:

• Outstanding steak

• We got attentive service

• Nice vibe

The Bad:

• Hit and miss pasta

• Smallish portions

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