After over 35 years of serving up pasta in a lively second-floor space on Robson Street, Italian restaurant is set to say arrivederci in May.
Zefferelli's launched just as 1989 was winding down. At the time, Zefferelli's downstairs neighbour at 1136 Robson St was an Earl's restaurant. In the early 2000s, the ground floor became a Cactus Club, which operated there until 2022.
At the time of the Cactus closure, whispers among customers and in the industry indicated Zefferelli's was also eying a potential exit. Earlier this year, online rumblings suggested the same, centred around unsuccessful lease renegotiations with the current landlord.
'Dignified spaghetti joint' the tagline from the start
Zefferelli's came onto the scene and swiftly captured attention for its reliably good dishes at reasonable prices. At the end of January 1990, when Zefferelli's was a "four-week-old bambino," 麻豆传媒映画Sun food critic Alex MacGillivray noted the new restaurant's prices were "within reach of almost all pocketbooks."
Since before it even opened, Zefferelli'st described itself as a "dignified spaghetti joint." You'll see that now on its website and from an October 1989 Province ad seeking chef applicants (aka a kitchen "don" or "mama" who "loves life. Who loves food! Who loves people!") for the soon-to-open Italian restaurant.
The chef they hired was Alberto Lemmo, who was lauded a few months after opening in The Province by reviewer Sharon Fuller, who said "Zefferelli's is much more than a 'dignified spaghetti joint.'"
Ultimately, Lemmo became the owner of Zefferelli's, cementing his connection to the restaurant and its menu of staples like chicken livers on crostini, Veal Saltimbocca, and, of course, pasta.
On Friday, April 11, Lemmo announced Zefferelli's was, indeed, saying goodbye.
Chef/owner grateful for many loyal customers
"ln 1989, I could not have imagined writing this goodbye letter," he writes in the announcement he shared with V.I.A.
"There are precious few independently owned restaurants that get a 35-year run. lt's humbling and astounding to me."
"After over three decades of being Vancouver's dignified spaghetti joint, we are honoured to have been part of your celebrations, anniversaries, and special occasions. I am grateful to our loyal diners and the hundreds of staff who helped make Zefferelli's a Robson Street institution over the years, and I am proud we did it our way. Never pretentious or stuffy, sometimes kind of loud and quirky, but we never wavered in our commitment to always provide fun, quality, and value in portion sizes that even Mama would be proud of."
Zefferelli's will close permanently at the end of the May long weekend (May 19, 2025), according to the closure letter.
馃嵔 Find more delicious Metro 麻豆传媒映画food and drink video stories by following V.I.A.'s Forking Awesome on and , and signing up for our Forking Awesome newsletter 馃摤 delivered fresh to your inbox every Thursday.
