Ciao Italia — Restaurant in Ottawa

I've walked by Ciao Italia on numerous occasions, however never gave it a second thought given it's location: the heart of Chinatown. It has to be said though, there has been significant creep into this part of Somerset St. by eateries from around the globe in recent years as the strips' Chinese offerings have shuttered.

Ciao came to the fore yesterday as it was determined to be Italian for dinner, and given the reviews and proximity, topped the short list.

Upon entering Ciao, the first thing on notice were the white table cloths: a rarity in eateries these days. What did this presumption portend? Who did this anymore? But I know one thing was for sure: I LIKED it. The atmosphere was cool, quietly decored in shades of grey and wood. There was something about it which Ottawa diners would recall from the Ritz group of the 1990's.... one immediately knew something good was coming. For me however, it didn't stop there. As I looked at every surface (as though in an episode of Four in a Bed), the pedestals under every table, the walls, the doors, the bar, the bathroom, anywhere I could see: SPOTLESS. This level of clean was breathtaking. Leona Helmsley who had a string of five star hotels in NYC used to run spectacular full sized ads titled: The Queen Stands Guard. She has nothing on Alessandro who runs Ciao.

We started with cocktails.... Negroni, paired. Not on the menu, however Alessandro put them together as though they were. Flawless. Eyebrow raised. Interesting cocktail menu insofar as trendier Manhattans, or Martinis did not appear. No doubt they would arrive sensationally if asked for.

Immediately thereafter, HOT dinner rolls arrived to the table with both butter and an oil/balsamic vinegar dip. A high value rarity which better restaurants continue, separating them from lower level establishments. Nice touch.

Margharita pizza served as the shared app. Ordered so, because it exposes the Italian kitchen like no other given it's simplicity of ingredients. While the flavours were on point, there is something more important to discuss: the crust. Thin, yet not dry. There was something of a brioche quality to it I could not rightly put my finger on which elevated that pizza to fine art. The Ritz could never manage this feat.

I determined to have the Manicotti to start: fresh pasta with a filling only found in Piedmont Italy, or known to those who know. It was a mic drop moment. End of. Step back. Sublime. My partner had the Salmon which came with the usual vegetables one expects.... I understand it was perfect in every manner. In the hands of Alessandro, one wonders what he would do with a Limoncello based butter for the salmon or other fish, or a Campari based gravy/reduction served on the side for the filet mignon. Italian culinary adventurism is rare, but Alessandro is borderline genius.

All told tip in, just under $150. A steal in my opinion. Populated by a crowd of a certain age who can afford, I look to go again soon to see what crowd is on offer...

When we arrived last night on a Monday evening , a little after 8 pm, our first impression was that it was a very charming little restaurant. The server approached us and I asked for a table for 2 and said, we’re here for dessert. Before I could finish he tells us that we were not allowed to dine there for only dessert and must have a meal. He repeated and continued to explain it’s the owner’s policy when we were shocked to hear this and said he could not do anything about it.

I slowly looked around the half empty restaurant and said you have MANY empty tables with a puzzled look on my face. He again said it’s not allowed and I guess with our shocked faces, he spoke at us with pity and in a condescending tone said you can sit at a table this one time and not next time and basically, saying you now know the rule. It was embarrassing being treated like this as the entire restaurant heard and looked at us. We decided to leave as we did not want our evening to be ruined with further poor and unwelcoming treatment. I had a beautiful dress on so it wasn’t because we looked out of place there to be turned away like that.

Drinks, desserts and cappuccinos for 2 would have been at least $60 as we wanted to sample a few offerings. I had planned to soon go back for a full meal with friends to try the dishes as I am deciding on an intimate venue for a family event for 25 + people ( hence reading the reviews lately). This poor interaction has ensured that this restaurant should not be considered.

It is absurd and finacially unsound that a restaurant that was half empty on a Monday night at 8 pm would turn away paying guests. When we walked by about 40 minutes later and glanced in the window, the restaurant had more empty tables than full.

I had read good reviews about this restaurant and was excited to try it to narrow down a restaurant for the event I’m putting on. My best friend from out of town was visiting and I suggested Italian or Greek. She wanted Greek food so we went out for that but decided to continue our evening with some cocktails, cappuccino, tiramisu, and other desserts at Ciao Italia afterwards as I love Italian desserts and wanted to taste as many as possible.

What an epic disappointment based on avaricious behaviour from the owner.

The poor customer service here is a pattern and not congruent with the PR responses of values...

I don't provide many reviews but wanted to provide some for this one. We found this place on Google and the 4.7 / 5 made us curious.

We were here on Saturday, 6:30pm reservation. (group of 4) We were welcomed appropriately and it gave us a sense that it would be a wonderful night! When we came in, the place was half full (or less).

The waiter was chatty and provided us with some great tips on what were the best sellers etc.. He was bragging that it was the best pasta in Ottawa. Again, it gave us a sense it would be a wonderful night!

We ordered our drinks and some appetizers. It came by pretty quickly, and again, we really thought we were in for a wonderful night!

Unfortunately, by that time, the place was full and the waiter was struggling. My glass of water wasn't getting refilled, we had to pour our own wine (not complaining, simply comparing service with other italian restaurants). We tried the calamari, bruschetta, sambuca shrimps and the sausage. Overall, it was good. Calamari are overrated, in my opinion. Felt like I was eating rubber. The rest was excellent.

I didn't time it but I'm sure we waited over an hour for our main dish to come by. We were not in a hurry but were getting hungry! Other guests in the restaurant were trying to get the waiter's attention, I honestly think that they needed 2 waiters plus a host (for water, wine etc..) Service is a very important part of a restaurant experience especially at these prices.

Once we got our plates, had to ask 4 times for one of our guest to get a fork. I had the chicken parmigiana with a side of carbonara, others had the gamberetto pasta and one had the veal saltimbocca. It was delicious, it was hot and the portion was good. My judgment is probably biased since I was in Rome a year ago and probably had the best carbonara ever. (it would have been a deception to order just the carbonara, happy I got the chicken parm).

At 4.7 stars, in my opinion, this place is overrated (at least when I went) but worth a try. They could be victim of their great reviews but service needs to be improved. I don't know if we'll go back but we...