We finally tried Ask for Luigi, newish Italian place in Railtown. Good word-of-mouth, online response varies though 😛

The guy behind Ask for Luigi also is the guy who started my favourite pizza place Pizzeria Farina. I had tempered high hopes.

Located in the corner house that used to be the home of Two Chefs and a Table (cough).

The colours and typeface bring to mind Art Deco and classic Italian American with a touch of Broadway.

Reservations are a bit…confused. Direct questions about making reservations for brunch and dinner resulted in varied and vague answers. But we only waited 10-15 minutes for a table for two for brunch…towards the later tail end of brunch.

Lots of wood paneling and b&w photography.

I can see where they were going with the decor. I like it. The room itself is quite small. Could probably fit 40 people max in the whole space?

Nice one.

The “Pizzeria Farina guy” was there making pasta. Not sure if he was making pasta for dinner service or if any of that pasta actually went into our brunch dishes.

Top anything with a fried egg and it’s brunch!

The bruch menu. I chose the Pork Belly with Fried Egg, Salsa Verde and Polenta. Wendy chose the Papparedelle with Bolognese and Fried Egg. Top anything with a fried egg and it’s brunch!

The Papparedelle with Bolognese. Flavourful without being salty. Meaty, tomatoey goodness. Noodles were a bit soft for my liking but Wendy loved it. Maybe Papparedelle is better served a bit softer?

Pork Belly with Polenta. I think they took a pork belly and rolled it up, roasted it, cut big slabs then fried it on both sides. Nice preparation. I loved the fluffly, creamy polenta. I could see the “grains” of the polenta but it was still smooth. Great match with the well-seasoned pork belly. Basil and salsa verde are a nice touch.

Egg/pork porn.

Both dishes were licked clean.

Here you can see the layers in the pork belly. This was a great dish. I almost felt light and dainty after eating it! The polenta really helped lighten up what might’ve otherwise have been a heavy brunch dish. Both dishes were licked clean.

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Ask for Luigi’s proximity to Alibi Room in Gastown is a big fat bonus. So of course I had to drag Wendy there.

Alibi Room’s food doesn’t get a fair shake. I’ve enjoyed some of their specials, like when they had meatballs.

I’ve only tried Persephone Brewing a couple times but I think they’re doing great beers. Their Citra American Pale Ale was fresh, bright and clean and much better than the Ninkasi Mosaic Single Hop Pale Ale that I had before it, which tasted a bit dull and unbalanced.

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We had a great time at Ask for Luigi and proximity to Alibi Room makes it an excellent way to spend a lazy weekend afternoon.