It is rare to experience the good life over lunch, but at Dolce Vita that is exactly what you will find. Hidden in the far corner of the West Shore Centre, it is perfect for a quick lunchtime getaway.

A special ambiance
The decor in the recently renovated restaurant immediately transports you to Italy, with the smells emanating from the kitchen adding to the experience.

Chef Ercole Musso and his staff dish up a wide variety of quintessentially Italian dishes and the recently added pizza oven, situated right at the entrance of the restaurant, allows the creation of real Italian pizzas.

Over lunch, Dolce Vita has a great buzz, and Chef Ercole adds to it while making his rounds in the restaurant. The service is quick and friendly and the most time-consuming part of lunch may well be deciding what to order, as the menu presents an excellent range of choices, from soups and salads through lighter meals, pasta, meat and fish to the aforementioned pizzas. There are ample vegetarian options on the menu as well.

The food
For starters we tried the Genova salad, which combines crispy pancetta and shaved parmesan on a bed of baby spinach drizzled with a balsamic vinegar reduction. The salad was an excellent starter, with the dressing a definite highlight.

The antipasto ‘Dolce Vita’ combines marinated olives, cheese, cold cuts and mixed peppers, with each element well worth lingering over.

For main course, we sampled the Panino matador, which combines crispy bread, pork loin, mustard and tomato for a great light lunch. The dish has a rustic simplicity and exemplifies the idea that if good ingredients are used, a dish does not have to be complicated to be perfectly rewarding.

The portion is more than enough and even the salad served with it (there is also an option of fries) can be highly recommended. The prices are also very reasonable.

The pizza
The one must-try on the menu is the pizza. Chef Ercole takes pride in the care taken to make a Dolce Vita pizza the right way. The dough is made the day before and the pizzas are hand tossed and cooked in a very hot wood-fired oven. These are true Italian pizzas from the dough up, and whether you choose one of the many menu options or elect to design your own, it is bound to be a taste experience. The only drawback of pizza at Dolce Vita is that any other pizza seems rather lacking on comparison.    WH

For a reservation or more information, call 946-7678.