Rating / 5 out of 5 stars

Tosi & Company on Main Street in Chinatown is the last standing Italian business that was once part of little Italy in Chinatown. This shop is truly a hidden gem with all sorts of imported canned, bottled tomatoes, pastas, olives, olive oils, spices and a large selection of parmesan cheeses. One of my favorite blogs – everybody likes sandwiches mentioned Tosi & Company as the place to get pasta, so Tre and I went to check Tosi & Company for ourselves.

(Top to Bottom: 1. Boxes and boxes of pasta. 2. Conchiglie Rigate in cream sauce tossed with garlic, chili flakes, peas and chorizo.)

Tosi & Company is truly hidden. The windows are covered with boxes and paper and appears abandoned. Before entering, you have to be buzzed in (it’s the second door, on the right). The shop is much larger then I expected and feels like a warehouse with high ceilings and wall displays of oils, pasta, rice and variety of Italian goods, all scattered about.

Looking around, I was already conjuring up some tasty meals in my head. Bags upon bags of Pagani Italian pasta catches my eye in all sorts of various shapes I haven’t seen before. At only $1.45 a bag, I’m ready to stock up. They also carry Mutti, at the moment our favourite bottled Italian strained tomatoes at only $1.89 each (anywhere else it’s easily $3+). These strained tomatoes are delicious and have a pure smooth taste and texture with no additives. And if you’re paranoid about BPA, you’ll like that it comes in a bottle, not a can. Tre and I stock up. The owner tells us they also carry specially canned tomatoes that are non-acidic, imported from Italy. Apparently good for people, like himself, who have sensitive stomachs. After grabbing some spices and boxing up our goods, we were happily on our way.

(Top to bottom: 1. Mutti brand tomatoe sauce 2. Tagliatelle pasta tossed with bison meatballs, fresh basil, spices, and tomato sauce.)

At just under $20 bucks, we had a tremendous haul: 6 bottles of tomatoes, 4 bags of pasta, fresh cinnamon sticks and chili flakes. Our Italian shopping spree was a great deal and the service delivered with a pinch of dry sense of humour. So far, our pasta meals have been delicious. Hopefully, Tosi & Company will continue to stick around for years to come.

Perfect for: the best deal on Italian groceries around… if you happen to be in Chinatown.

The Details
624 Main Street, Vancouver
604.681.5740