Mon Bella Bistoria is on its way to 1809 West 1st in Kitsilano. It’s the space that housed Vintropolis for several years, and when it shut down last year it became a boorish sports bar called Industry (which may take the record as the shortest lived restaurant in recent memory).
Mon Bella is the first restaurant from Brad Roark, a former server at Araxi, CinCin, and Tapastree. The food concept will see French and Italian-themed small plates for sharing, as well as charcuterie and cheese. Wines will be from France, Italy, and BC. “The idea is to combine what I love form Bistros and Trattorias – a place that provides the best ingredients in a straight forward fashion with a local feel to them,” Roark tells us. “If I can combine the lessons I have learned from Jack [Top Table], Nicole, and Mike [Tapastree], I feel that I have a pretty good shot at creating a place that could be very special.”
I took a tour of the spot yesterday. If you were wondering who took the lion’s share of Feenie’s tables when it shut down, this is it. The place was in a state of near-total demolition, so I imagine opening day is still a while away.
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Congrats Brad, can’t wait till it opens!
I worked with Brad, back in the day at the ol’ double-Cin along with Neil Ingram, Dré, Pablo, etc. All of us know he’s the goods and will knock this one out of the park!
Well Done Brad, I know you will kick ass in this spot. Good Luck Mate.
We ate there last night… It was wonderful and Brad was a fantastic host. We did drink way too much for a school night…but the wine went so well with the great shares of mole, pear/tarragon compote and hand made ravioli. Even the cauliflower was tasty!
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