Ottavio Gatineau - Restaurant Apportez Votre Vin — Restaurant in Gatineau

Cross contamination! We went to Ottavio's to celebrate two birthdays in our families. The no. 1 reason for going there is that it is mentioned on there website: "Ottavio can accommodate you with many allergies and intolerances. Experience why Ottavio is the premier choice by the celiacs and people suffering from food allergies. Our reputation is irrefutable." The restaurant was 3/4 full. They were also serving many group tables. In our group we had one person with severe peanut allergies, and also severe intolerance to egg products (my son). The waitress was advised of this. They say they do have an EpiPen at there restaurant and we always have one with us. The waiter was notified of his allergies. His choice on the menu were, Arancini Balls as an entree, and those are served with some kind of tomato sauce. Then his main meal was sea food linguine. There was cross contamination that occurred with egg product . As soon as my son had one "Arancini" ball. The symptoms started and usually those symptoms are cramps, nausea and vomiting. My husband had to leave and take my son home.I stayed on with the group at the restaurant. My son was sick on the way home which is a 20 minutes drive and I arrived home about one hour later he was being sick again. The restaurant told me that they could not verify the ingredients in the Arancini Balls as they were not made there. They could not really say what could have caused this but that they are cooked in a deep fryer which also deep fries other items that do have egg in them. The restaurant knowing of my son's allergies should have advised us of this before this happened. An "anaphylactic reaction COULD have occured! I did pay for his complete meal and we were not offered any kind of compensation (not that I expected it) (Would have been polite to have the manager come and explain the situation). Many many restaurants are very sensitive and careful with people who have allergies. I was very surprised by the reactions of the restaurant, as they had every excuse possible that it was not there fault. Service was slow but tolerable, food not bad but more on the expensive side as it is a restaurant where you can bring your own wine. We definately will never go back to Ottavio's again and never recommend it to anyone...

I was hesitant to try this place because I'm English and my french is terrible at best, however, the waiter spoke English with me. I didn't ask him to but there is no hiding how terrible my french is and I did appreciate it even though I was prepared to power through. I've had some bad experiences in restaurants in Quebec but this guy was kind and didn't make me feel stupid for trying.

I was also nervous because I'm a newly diagnosed celiac and hate feeling like I'm being a bother about my food,however, i get so sick if I eat wrong that I truly cant risk it. I have had many bad experiences eating out as a celiac, either with hidden gluten in my food or snotty waiters who clearly think I'm lying. This place was not like that at all. This place was higly rated as celiac friendly and boy are they ever! They have a special section in their main menu for gluten free options. The waiter was very kind and took me seriously. They changed out the cutlery and use different everything for celiacs to avoid cross contamination. I was immediately put at ease. Between myself and my two kids we all had different dishes and we all loved what we had. The gluten free garlic bread was so incredibly good i wish I had more! If I'm ever in the area again this place would be on my must visit list...

Great restaurant. Perfect for Saturday nights or Friday nights. Gets really busy on those nights around 7 pm so I suggest you call them and reserve a table. It’s also bring your wine. So you can bring a bottle or two of wine and they will serve it for you. Their pasta is the best thing they serve in my opinion, the smoked duck pasta, duck confit, mostly all their pasta sauces. The portion is great too so you might have some left overs to take back home. They offer fresh black pepper and parmigiana cheese on top at no charge, unlike some other restaurants that’s as you to pay extra for that. They usually have Soap of the day or a speciality on weekends. Things that I tried and I didn’t like was the chicken parmigiana plate and the lasagne plate was ok wasn’t so impressed by it. Their salmon tartare is great! I prefer the one with the yogurt option and not the sesame oil one. It comes with bread, arugula and figs. Appetizers are great. The am ambience of the place is great, well decorated, staff is very friendly. Expect to spend around 35-40$ there...