La Quercia

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

La Quercia opened on West 4th Avenue in 2008 with a straightforward idea: an honest, unpretentious approach to traditional Italian food. More than fifteen years later, that founding conviction remains the clearest thing about the place — and the reason it keeps earning recognition from guides like Gambero Rosso alongside a long string of gold medals at the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards.

The People Behind It

Chef Adam Pegg's path to northern Italian cuisine was unusually rigorous. After graduating from Camosun College in 1991 and working at Victoria's Herald Street Caffe and Il Terrazzo, he was encouraged by his mentor, Chef Daniele Mereu, to stage in Italy. There he attended the Italian Slow Food School, becoming the first person in Canada to earn the Master of Italian Gastronomy. He went on to work alongside prominent Italian chefs including Ugo Alciati in Piedmont and Fiorenzo Varesco and Gianni Chiocchetti in Trentino — experiences that directly shaped how pasta is made at La Quercia today, using century-old techniques.

Running the front of house and wine program is Karin Lazzaris, who grew up in a family with decades in the hotel and restaurant business and brought that deep-rooted hospitality expertise with her to Vancouver.

How the Kitchen Works

The menu is seasonally focused and grounded in the slow-cooking tradition of northern Italian cuisine. Alongside a full à la carte selection, Chef Pegg offers a family-style format — "alla famiglia" — designed to bring the whole table into the meal together. The kitchen takes pride in making bread, fruit preserves, pickled vegetables, desserts, and butchery in-house, while sourcing locally and organically through selected farmers and suppliers. Italian DOP, DOCG, and IGP products round out what the season can't provide.

The current featured tasting menu centres on the Veneto, reflecting the regional focus that runs through everything here. A made-to-order risotto, prepared nightly from Carnaroli rice, stands as one of the kitchen's reliable anchors — and its only gluten-free pasta alternative, offered without compromise.

The Wine List and the Deli

The wine list leans heavily into northern Italy — Trentino, Alto Adige, Piedmont, Veneto — with producers like Eugenio Rosi, Abbazia di Novacella, and Quintarelli appearing alongside selections from central and southern Italy. A Coravin preservation system allows several premium bottles to be offered by the glass.

Beyond the restaurant itself, La Quercia runs a Deli offering prepared meals to take home and warm up — an extension of the same kitchen philosophy into everyday life.