Pizzeria Barbarella (Vancouver, Canada)

In an essentially dead zone in terms of the night life/dining scene goes, Pizzeria Barbarella has opened its door bringing the neighbourhood authentic Italian Pizza. It seems these wood oven baked pizza shops are popping up all over the place and the competition is tough (competitors including Nicli Antica and Pizzeria Farina). 


We entered  at 8 pm on a Friday night to a half empty restaurant, the walls were dark with very limited decorations which I found to be a bit depressing. Lit candles at each table with light music in the background. I found it to be a really weird atmosphere. Perhaps its the fact that the restaurant has not yet received its liquor license but it was a really sombre setting.

The pizzas were good but pricey- the same as those found at downtown restaurants but assuming the rent is lower- shouldn't the food be less expensive? Pizzas ranged between 9-20 dollars. We ordered three pizzas: the Funghi, Margherita and the Amatriciana (see menu). The first two were good although I found the margherita lacked the necessary mozzarella cheese to make it really cheesy; however, it was a good solid pizza with the pizza dough perfectly chewy yet crispy. The Funghi pizza was the best of the three with a perfect amount of cheese and mushrooms.  My pizza (the Amatriciana) was awful to the point that I could only have a slice. It was covered with tomato sauce and onions which pretty much took over other flavours which were so desperately trying to reach out to my senses and also lacked in cheese. It tasted pretty much of bread and onions. I really wanted to love this restaurant as I love nothing more than pizza but I have to say I left unsatisfied. I do hope they step up their game as the area really needs more restaurants and the place has so much potential. The restaurant has received great reviews by other bloggers so perhaps its was just that particular evening and that particular pizza. However, it is worth a try for the pizza lovers amongst us.