Cantina Gia — Restaurant in Ottawa

New revised review Oct. 2022:

Disappointed in management and restaurant communication. Main reason for overall 1 start. (3 stars for in restaurant experience):

We have been trying to reserve a group of 8 at Cantina Gia for over 2 months. Countless phone calls (at non-peak hours) and emails...we never got any answer. Let me point out that we followed the procedure as suggested both on the website and via voicemail. - Strike 1

We were finally able to book a table of 5 (not for supper but for lunch) through the website. Our waitress was super nice and genuine. Our experience started out great. Two of us ordered the pasta but they were cold. They were kind enough to take the plate back and make a new one. The new plate was the same temperature as the first one which we were told was the proper way of eating this dish. - Strike 2

We asked to speak to the manager regarding the reservation and communication issue. After we were done with our main course. They told us they were aware of the problem and that if they can't accommodate a reservation the email falls through the cracks. Bottom line, they are truly aware of the problem but aren't addressing it. We were very clear and said that such behaviour made us feel like we weren't valued, clients. - Strike 3

After this encounter we waited a good 15 minutes, we wanted to order dessert and coffee. We had previously written in our reservation note that it was my fiancé's bday and I made sure to tell our waitress as well. I went to the counter to speak to the waitress and she told me that our food and drinks were on the house and that we could leave when we wanted. So they had made the decision for us that we were done. I could have asked for dessert didn't want to take advantage of the free food they were already giving us.

What is strange in this situation is that the manager didn't come to our table to tell us about the resolution or even asked if we wanted something else. It was so confusing and we left even more frustrated. - Strike 4

It was so awkward, and we had to go to another spot to properly celebrate my fiancé.

Original 5-star review with pictures (Oct. 2021):

Had an amazing evening here at Cantina Gia. Service was friendly and quick. Food was absolutely delightful (peach and tomato 🍅 salad was new to me and amazing!), the classic meat and pasta was fresh and soo tasty! I was so excited for the pasta, I forgot to take a picture (so I took a picture of my sharing plate)...😁🍝

Tart was the better option for desert over the tiramisu for me 🙂

Regardless, well recommended!

Thank you...

Went as a group of 5 for a milestone birthday dinner. Atmosphere was nice. Waitress was excellent and very knowledgeable and pleasant. Music was way too loud to have any conversation other than those directly beside you. Everyone in the restaurant was leaning in to hear their guest...take this hint Gia. As for the food, it was sorry to say mediocre at best. We had for appetizers, 2 arancini, 2 bruschetta, 1 calamari, and 1 zucchini fritti and caesar salad. Arancinis were excellent, the calamari was just ok, the zucchini was burnt and so were the two orders of the bruschetta. Had to send the both bruschettas back as well as the zucchini. When we received our replacement order of bruschetta, the guy (different than our waitress) who brought to our table was rude and unprofessional, he said "two bruschettas medium rare" like we were asking for something out of the ordinary. We did not appreciate this comment in the least. Tell me who wants to eat burnt black bread? Bruschetta here by the way is made and prepared in advance (saw them sitting in an open cabinet in their bottle shop next door, and is grilled on an open flame and hence why they were black. Bruschetta is best made by making crostini's first and then putting the toppings on the toasted bread. Caesar salad was very good. For dinner we had: spaghetti carbonara which was boring and lacked flavour, spaghetti pomodoro (tomato sauce) which was ok but again boring, a pasta with sausage and rapini with butter sauce, which my dining partner switched to olive oil, which was so boring I can't even describe how so, and a pasta with pesto which was good but again just boring pesto on pasta. The menu is very simple to the point of boring, not much effort in this kitchen when all your pastas have one ingredient, pesto, tomato sauce, olive oil etc. I was asked by friends if we would go back...I might go sit at the bar and have a glass of wine and arancini but for dinner I would not bother to return. Sorry Gia...the food could be so much better and the comment from the bruschetta delivery guy was totally...

First time at Cantina Gia in the Glebe. Be sure to make a reservation ahead of time!

Drinks - delicious. Got the negroni on tap and the house red. The negroni was a little smaller than expected but tasted great. House red had great flavor.

Starters - 9/10 amazing. Started with the focaccia with balsamic and olive oil. Liked it so much we ordered the focaccia with burrata. The burrata was great and I loved the pesto sauce. The beef carpaccio was excellent but the grilled bread was too charred and burnt.

Mains - 10/10 we all ordered a different pasta and we loved the texture of the noodles. I really enjoyed the spaghetti and meatballs. Well portioned and filling.

Dessert - we each ordered a dessert. I got the panna cotta and it was heavier than I expected. It wasn’t as bouncy as I am used to - it was heavy like Greek yoghurt. Still tasted fine.

Service - service was fine throughout until the end of our meal. We got the bills and I was charged $14 for the panna cotta. On the printed menu and online menu, it’s priced at $12. When we pointed out the mistake on our bill, the server stated they changed the prices in the system but not the menu. She did not apologize and said it’s only $2 and whether it’s ok. We said it’s not okay. It’s the principle of things! A restaurant should honour the printed menu price, otherwise we could be up charged for everything. We did not appreciate the attitude and felt like we were being scammed even if it’s $2. The server ended changing our bills but this experience left a bad taste in our mouths after a delightful culinary experience. I advise you to review your bills...