LunchPronto
Pronto is a Cambie Village café that features an assortment of simple, home cooked, Italian dishes like Pesto Gnocchi, meatballs and classic Italian sandwiches. But the Porchetta — that indulgent amalgam of roasted pork, cracklings and herbs between two buns — is what started it all.
Inside, Pronto has a decidedly vintage, wooden vibe, offset by some modern adornments. There is seating for a dozen or so patrons at the booths and tables scattered throughout, while a few seats remain at the bar for solo diners.
Pronto’s foundation is built on the Porchetta ($8.50), a slow roasted Italian pork with crackling and lemon mayo.
Pronto’s take on the Porchetta is as basic as it gets: slow roasted pork generously seasoned with a mix of fragrant herbs, roughly chopped and topped with crispy cracklings and a drizzling of lemon mayo between two Italian buns. The flavour and texture were certainly well done, but the dish felt rather lonely arriving completely undressed without sides of any sort.
The Sopressato ($8) is a spicy Italian salami with marinated artichokes, provolone cheese, lettuce, and red pepper mayo.
Case’s Sopressato was serviceable: mildly spicy Italian salami with provolone cheese, lettuce and marinated artichokes, whose flavour felt absent.
Well poured Americano ($2.75) is always the perfect sandwich companion.
Pronto’s lunch menu features most items under $9, which initially feels inexpensive, until you realize the need to accompany the otherwise lonely sandwiches with an antipasto ($4-$8) or soup ($4+) or salad ($4-$12), which could quickly add up.
Although the Porchetta was certainly tasty, we’d have to return for their dinner menu (their pastas sound intriguing) to see if they’ve got more than one trick up their sleeve.
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