A friend and I visited Doppio Zero Pizza last night. The restaurant was absolutely packed, and even though we did not have a table reserved, they made room for us at the bar.
My kids were not with me so I wanted to try something they would not like. And that was – a big plate of calamari.
Honestly, my pictures do not do this plate justice. The calamari starter is actually quite a large serving and really should be shared by four people.
Unfortunately or maybe fortunately for me, my dinner companion doesn’t like calamari so I ate it all. My reasoning was that the pasta I ordered as a main dish would be okay warmed up at home but the calamari wouldn’t be as nice a day later. Solid reasoning.
The calamari had a pleasant crispy coating with perfectly tender little rings of squid meat inside. They were yummy so I ate the whole dish.
My main dish was the spaghetti carbonara which I very much enjoyed. I loved the rich, salty, amazing bites of guanciale (pork cheek) that hit the taste buds so beautifully. Loved it.
I also love the way that they cook the pasta al dente; firm to the bite and never mushy. To the untrained palate it may seem like the pasta is “undercooked” but this is the way good quality pasta tastes best.
And yes, I brought most of it home.
Again, my food photography skills were obviously not working on this visit. The picture does not show the real size of the dish of spaghetti.
Granted, this is not the “Anton-sized” plate of pasta but it certainly is more than enough for me – even if I had not just gorged myself on a plate of calamari.
My buddy had the “award winning boschetti” pizza. When ordering pizza at Doppio or Spacca Napoli you really need to be aware that Neapolitan pizza is not like typical North American pizza.
Basically, do not plan on picking up your slice of pizza. It is created with the understanding that you will be eating it with a knife and fork. It’s almost impossible to pick it up.
But about the pizza, while I love truffles, the truffle cream on this one was almost overpowering. One of those things where a little goes a long way.
My dinner companion said he would not order that again. But I have had any number of other pizzas from Doppio Zero and they have all been very good. As long as you know it’ll be served on a very soft crust that you can’t pick up.
I had planned to not over eat so that I could try their desserts. I have heard very good things about the tiramisu as well as their Italian cheesecake – but that big plate of calamari kept me from opening the dessert menu.
Overall, dinner was a great experience. At times it was a little slow to get our server’s attention – funny enough this was most evident when we wanted to pay and leave! I always appreciate the old-world charm of Doppio Zero and look forward to our next visit when I can hopefully try the dessert!
Doppio Zero can be found at 1655 Como Lake Avenue in Coquitlam, near Doughnut Love, my favourite doughnut shop. Call Doppio Zero at 778-355-5333 to make a dinner reservation so that you do not end up sitting at the bar like we did.