Oca Pastificio

Holy smoke show! This place is legit the shit! I have been recommended this place by a few folks but I hate that they don't have a menu, don't take reservations, and seems pretty pretentious. But I will say this, if you want to live, you MUST come here!

I went with a gf who suggested the tasting menu. I got there at 4:17pm on a Wednesday (note: they are only open Wednesday to Saturday from 5 to 10) to ensure we got in. No joke, by 4:45, the line up was enough to fill the joint.

The staff are incredible! They make this experience truly an ordeal (in the best way). They have a board of their offerings, which changes daily. We went with the tasting menu and they are so diligent to ensure that they can accommodate you! I am a vegetarian and have a few annoying food allergies and they still nailed it!

To start, we got an antipasto plate filled with a variety of salami and homemade pickled veg/cucumbers and focaccia bread. That bread is a pillow of joy! Pickles were perfect. And since I couldn't have the salami - they gave me a beet salad on a bed of whipped ricotta with greens. Delicious and a great way to start!

Second course was a gorgonzola salad which looked lovely but I am not a blue cheese fan so I passed. At this point, I was getting so excited about what was coming.

Lets get to the best part - PASTA. Each course takes you through a unique taste experience. Each dish delicately made with the perfect accompaniments and sauce paired perfectly!

The first pasta was Rotolo with kabocha squash, smoked cheese, sage. This was my favourite dish as I have never had rotolo but the smoked cheese and butter sauce was incredible. I wish we had more bread to soak it up! I had a complete outer body experience.

Here is where it gets real sexy - Gnocchi in tomato sauce with burrata and basil. The pillows are perfectly soft and melted in your mouth. Paired with the rich tomatoes sauce and creamy burrata and perfectly torn basil, this dish was so basic but so excellently executed! I had gnocchi in Rome and it didn't compare to this dish!

Their Spaghetti cacio e pepe was perfection! The pile of pecorino cheese and the pepper flakes in their velvety sauce was so flavourful. The sauce wrapped itself around the spaghetti and I could have licked that plate clean!

Last course was my second fave - Shell pasta with black kale pesto, pine nuts, and pecorino. This was the vegetarian dish they made for us (the meat option was a Bolognese of some sort). The pasta is cooked perfectly al dante. That kale pesto is so good and fresh tasting. I would have bought a jar of it! The pine nuts were an added bonus and they did not skimp. So unique and absolutely nailed it!

I want to interject with a few facts:
I was full after the 2nd pasta dish! It is a lot of food and I would not waste a drop.
The servers are constantly checking in and filing your water - its very much a family experience. They were so attentive and friendly!
Their art pieces add so much to the feel of the place!
You can watch they chefs make their magic and it was amazing to witness!

Lastly, dessert was Almond semifreddo - the perfect ending to a phenomenal experience. It was light, creamy, and the chunks of almond pairs well with the shaved chocolate!

This meal cost $70 which is expensive but 1000% worth every penny! I appreciate this place and their attention to detail and experience. It was a real treat and look forward to coming again!

Phenomenal dishes!

It was our first time here so ordering the Tasting Menu ($70 per person) was a perfect way to try a little bit of everything

The chef prepares a different menu daily and showcases the freshest ingredients
Make sure the serving staff know your preferences and if there's any food allergies. They also don't have a written Tasting menu in the restaurant so you will know what dish you get when the server brings out your dish, so communication is key here

The daily menu is written on the wall close to the kitchen so all guests can see. On the evening I visited Oca Pastificio, they had 5 appetizers ($15-$30) & 5 pastas on their a la carte menu ($22 - 35).

Here's what we ate:

1. Antipasti platter with a variety of salumi, couple of olives & pickles
2. Salad with peas and saffron vinaigrette
3. Crown pasta stuffed with 4 cheese, sage butter
4. Homemade gnocchi with tomato, saffron and topped with burrata
5. Pappardelle with white rabbit and morel mushrooms
6. Lamb Tonnarelli
7. Semifreddo with almonds


Overall, all the pasta dishes were delicious and cooked perfectly. My favourite was the Crown pasta stuffed with 4 cheese. It was simple, and flavors were perfect and brought me back to my travels in Italy. The gnocchi was also very well made as well, it was light and fluffy.

Staff were so accommodating because there was a dish I couldn't eat, so they prepared a new dish for us

I would come back and wait 40 min for a table again, 100%!


Other things to consider:

There are no reservations, so come early to wait.
The menu changes daily
The entire table must order off the Tasting Menu or A La Carte

boy were we stuffed! I unfortunately cannot name or describe any of the dishes that we were served from this very filling meal but what I can tell you is to just go for the set menu! For $70/pp you are getting your moneys worth (2 appies, 4 pastas and a dessert). You basically get 2 full pastas each, but one thing is that you will leave her completely STUFFED. A handful of people left the restaurant with takeout boxes to bring some of the pasta home so that they would still be able to enjoy a little bit of everything. Even if you are starving walking in, there is no way you won't leave her satisfied with a happy stomach.
The pasta is freshly made with love right in front of you and the service was still good considering how busy they are!
We came on a Saturday at 4:45 and there were already about ~20-25 people ahead of us. We actually didn't get a seat until 8:45-9pm so come here extra early if you plan to dine right at opening (5pm). If you're trying to dine at prime time, you'll have to time it extremely wisely to get a table for the second seating. The good thing though is you could put your name down and they send you a text message an hour before the table is ready so you could technically go home if you're waiting for the 9pm seating.

Oca Pastificio is hard to get a seat at, for good reason.

You walk in, and time slows down. You're suddenly in Italy, in a small, friend-and-family run haunt, where everyone knows everyone and you sit for hours after dinner is done to catch up, to laugh, to listen to music and savor how wonderful life is.

The restaurant only seats 22 people and doesn't take reservations. Opening at 5 pm every night, the line of people that show up well before the restaurant opens never ceases to amaze me. I have been turned away before, and it is always disappointing - arrive early, prepare to wait! I aim for at least 30-45 minutes before opening, maybe earlier if it's Friday, Saturday or Sunday. It may seem like a lot of effort, especially when there are Italian restaurants up and down Commercial, but trust me - it's worth it.

If you're in a rush, or looking for something with less hassle, skip this stop. Save it for a night when you're okay with killing a bit of time waiting outside with someone really special, unsure of whether you will get a table or not, and then being delighted when you're seated, enjoying some of the best pasta and ambiance in the city.

The service is warm, welcoming, and familiar. Everyone in the restaurant treats you like they set the table just for you, like the menu was curated for your preferences, as if they have cooked only with you in mind. Our server treated us like we were in his home, making recommendations, joking, checking in, and genuinely caring about our experience.

We ordered the Cacio e Pepe and Brown Butter Spinach Tortellini. Both dishes were some of the best pasta I've eaten in a while. Light, flavorful, decadent - each plate a warm hug.

We finished with panna cotta, which was the right decision. The whole meal and experience was perfect. I go back again and again, each time bringing someone I love who delights in it just as much as I do. Go, and enjoy every moment in this beautiful restaurant!

Wow. Delicious. If you are a pasta fan, you have to check out this spot on commercial drive!

They don't take reservations, so show up early and leave your name! Open Wednesday to Sunday from 5-10pm.

Get the pasta tasting menu, you won't regret it! Each dish was beautifully presented and the flavors were on point. The pasta was cooked perfectly in each dish. They have a nice patio in the summer but their indoor dining is nice and cozy.

This is my second time here but dinner was cut short for the first time due to a power outage. So, we were glad that we were able to enjoy the dinner this time. We ordered the tasting menu for $70pp which includes antipasti, salad, some fresh pasta dishes and dessert. Everything with the exception of gnocchi were excellent. My favorite was the sausage and morel mushroom stuffed ravioli. We thought the gnocchi was okay. The sorbet was really refreshing.

Service was top notch and attentive. Servers topped up water frequently and changed our plates and cutlery often.


Tip: I recommend that you arrive 30 mins before opening for first seating.


Rating:
1 - Poor, 2 - OK, 3 - Good, 4 - Very Good, 5 - Excellent

UNREAL.

Well worth the wait outside in the rain.
There were 3 of us and we each ordered a different dish and a different drink.
There was no way we would have made it through the taster multi-course as we were immediately full but at least we got to share with each other and try a few different options.
the food tasted amazing and you can really tell the care they put into creating the dishes.
We finished with a rhubarb panna cotta and I'm still thinking about it weeks later.

The service was amazing and it must be a prerequisite to be good looking to work here because we spent the whole meal giggling about how attractive everyone was.

I have already recommended this place to others and I look forward to coming back to try more dishes as I know they are rotated regularly.

Small and quaint restaurant that's warm and inviting. It was difficult to get a reservation here as they didn't respond back to our emails and it was hard to get through via phone. My husband and I took our chances and walked in, luckily we only waited for around 15 mins.

We opted for the set menu $60/person with approximately 2 appies, 4 pastas and a dessert. Terrine was surprisingly delicious and it was nice that they brought us more croutons seeing that we had plenty of terrine left. Didn't care so much for the other "egg salad" appy. Pastas were all expertly cooked. Our favorites were the giant ravioli and the lamb spaghetti. The semifreddo for dessert was also tasty. I love boulevardiers, gotta say they make a mean one here!

The only thing I thought was strange was that despite almost every table doing the set menu, I noticed that we received the terrine while every other table received an antipasto. Maybe we got the last terrine!?

Service was good but not great. They changed our plates for some courses but not all, maybe because they they got busy!? If they added a little bit more warmth and genuine care to their service this place could be invincible.

Absolutely wonderful. We have seen the line ups but have never been in before. It is our new favorite Commercial Drive restaurant.

The restaurant is small and does not take reservations. They open at 5 so we got to the line up at 4.45 and had no issue (not a weekend). For the second sitting, appararently you can pop in and leave your name.

It is a small chalkboard menu that apparently changes regularly. There is a tasting menu - five courses for $70. Then the regular menu had about five salads and 7 or 8 pastas and three desserts.

The food was absolutely amazing. We shared the insalata with fennel and grapes. Fresh tasting. Then one of us had the tagliatelle bolognese and the other person had the cheese tortelli (like tortelini). Then we had the semi freddo and the panna cotta. Everything was delicious.

Our server was attentive. Atmosphere good.

We would highly recommend.

Wow.
Just wow.
The flavors in each of these dishes are unique and beautiful. I am not a huge pasta person, and this blew me away. Every dish, a completely different experience and sensation. Despite being so full, I couldn't help but continue to eat as the food was THAT good. If there's a food where you can taste the chef's passion, it's here.
Go, run don't walk.