Beautifully designed restaurants are harder to find in Vancouver, and when you do stumble into one, its menu items usually come with a steep price tag.

Cue Sprezzatura, a new casual Italian dining establishment in the heart of Mount Pleasant (265 Kingsway) that doesn’t fit the mould of high-end eateries.

For starters, the spacious restaurant was designed by Sophie Burke, an award-winning Vancouver-based designer (TurF and Our Town Café). She’s turned the space into a laid-back joint with London gastropub vibes, complete with faded checkered flooring, mixed lighting fixtures, white-tile backsplash, and industrial elements like wood and metal.

A custom 900-degree oven prepares the eatery’s Neapolitan-style pizzas, with flavours like a classic margherita, prosciutto and arugula, roasted pork belly, Italian sausage and rapini, and shrimp cocktail.

The rest of the no-fuss menu includes starters (roasted mussels, bruschetta, roasted garlic flatbread, and antipasti), salads (arugula and romaine), and roasts (mushroom lasagna, sablefish, chicken, and braised wagyu).

End your meal with desserts like tiramisu, lemon mousse, panna cotta, and gingerbread pear cake. Its libations list features local craft beers, cider, wines, and Italian cocktails.

Sprezzatura is the brainchild of Michael Parker, a restaurateur who had worked stints at Il Giardino, as well as in London and Positano, Italy.

“That trip [to Positano] was where I fell in love with Italian food,” said Parker in a press statement. “It was a family-run restaurant with no frills, just great locally sourced food. And the room was beautifully put together without calling attention to itself. That’s the experience we want to recreate here in Vancouver.”

Scroll through the photos below for a peek inside the new spot.