Cucina da Vito — Restaurant in Ottawa

When I made the reservation I was asked if it was for an occasion and mentioned it was for a 70th birthday. When we arrived they had my name but not the correct phone number. We were seated in front of the bar in a high traffic area. Why when there were empty tables in a quieter room next to us? Took a while before we got some attention. We started with a glass of prosecco. While were enjoying it we placed our order with a, what seemed to us, an indifferent server. She took our order and returned with the selected wine for dinner. While still drinking our prosecco she wanted to pour our wine. I mentioned that we will wait for dinner to be served as were not finished our prosecco. She said she would come back to pour later. We never saw her again. When our starters arrived and served by other servers, I poured our wine myself. As a certified sommelier it was no problem. The food we ordered was very good. No doubt. But we both felt as if we were forgotten customers and simply afterthoughts. A real shame for this restaurant that serves high quality food. It's not always about the food but also about the service. Yes when it's busy, it's reactionary, but nobody should feel like that when it was to be a special dinner. Sure didn't feel that way for us. No warmth at all. Hate to say this but that's what was felt as we left the restaurant.

Follow-up: The restaurant reached out to us after this review. Apologies were made and we were invited back. A very classy move on their part which shows how much they care about making their customers feel satisfied. The quality of the food was never in doubt. We're glad we were able to enjoy the full experience of this fine eating establishment. The staff went out of their way to make it a memorable evening. Special...

Just amazing! First time here as we happened to be in the East end and had heard good things about this place. I think this may be my new favourite Italian Restaurant in Ottawa!! From the moment we walked in, we were greeted by very friendly staff (it was this past Tuesday night--August 13th) and the hostess was super friendly. Our server was really great too, and was patient with us as this was our first time here. My friend had a whisky cocktail drink and I had a glass of wine. Their cocktail list looked pretty fun and I appreciate the variety of wine offerings. We didn't get an app as we are both fairly light eaters, but in hindsight we wished we did as the portions for the meals weren't enormous. I had the chicken marsala and it was probably the best I've ever had!! Everything about it was exceptional. It was better than a lot of the Italian places that I'd be to on Preston. The chef here is top notch, we were wowed by our meals. My friend had the lasagna and said it was one of the best he's had as well. I had a bite of the sauce (I can't have gluten), and the meat sauce was exceptional. I may get the spaghetti and meat sauce next time I'm in (they can do GF pasta on any of their reg pasta dishes--not lasagna or gnocci/ravioli etc). MY friend got to enjoy the bread and apparently they make it themselves as well. Atmosphere is really nice, beautifully decorated and we didn't feel crowded at all even though it was a bit busy. Apparently it was their first day back as the owners closed it for 2 weeks so the staff could get a break which is really nice! They also have a side room for special dinners/parties and there was a 90th bday party going on the night we were there. Such a lovely spot and will be my go-to place anytime I find myself in...

This review is long overdue ! We celebrated my father in-law's 85th Surprise Birthday party in April 2017. We were a party of 26 which included one infant and out of town travellers. There were gifts, cakes and a slideshow which they accommodated us freely. The staff were spectacular and particularly patient and helpful during the planning process - Victorio, Vince, Vito you guys were amazing! My wife (out of town) and her sister (local) had made all the preparation and the restaurant team printed a personalized "birthday menu" for each guest which had my father in-law's name and celebration listed (a nice touch this restaurant offers). Upon our arrival we realized how busy the restaurant was becoming and with 26 of our guests to shortly arrive we recognized this could put the kitchen in a time crunch which we did not want to do. The ladies decided (on the spot) that a 3 main meal selection would be better overall and with the help of Vince a delectable meal which included antipasto, appetizers, 3 main choices, desert, coffee and tea was selected - he then re-printed ALL the menus (wow, did not expect that). The printed menu was really a keepsake menu for each guest as well as their meal's menu. We've been very blessed to have had the opportunity to travel as well as eat at many Michelin Star restaurants (5*) around the world. We were simply overjoyed with the menu, presentation, taste and the wine selection...oh the wine selection !! Cucina da Vito in Orleans is simply a gem which we will be visiting at each our visits back to this area. Thank you to this extraordinary team of professionals for making Gerry's 85th birthday one to remember ! - you must definitely experience for yourself and we cannot...