Fratelli Westboro — Restaurant in Ottawa

Update 1:

Editing my initial review based on the service we were offered yesterday, the 8th of August 2022. We walked in for dinner around 6pm and we were turned away by the lady in the front citing the reason that they’re really busy at the moment ( with plenty tables still free) and were asked to come back by 7:30 pm the earliest - not sure if it was because we were the only non- whites expecting to be seated or if that’s their general norm.

We came out and dialled the number for the reservations and magically they had a table available in the next 10 mins; she was clearly surprised when she realised our accents didn’t match our skin tone when we walked back in.

Anyway, we got seated and our server for the night came in and we placed an order for our regular pizza which we always ordered before; asked to substitute Zucchini with sun dried tomatoes - again something we’ve always asked for and have been granted despite the rush . He curtly told us that they don’t alter any requests on a busy night assuming this was our first time in there. When we request him to at-least check in with the chef he shrugged and went off.

We had some questions about the beer and he again curtly said “ oh that would be an extra “ as if assuming we won’t be able to “ afford “ the price difference. Another humiliating experience to add on to.

We had to request for breads thrice before a kind lady decided to bring them in for us - our server clearly didn’t bother to be attentive.

Having attended Fratelli’s plenty of times and recommending them to our friends and family - we were certainly appalled by the level of service last night. We don’t think we would want to return to an experience of this sort anytime again which is a shame. Leaving a single star on since the food has always been delicious.

Old Review:

Fratelli’s has always been such a delightful experience. The food is absolutely delicious and the service is so wonderful no matter how busy the restaurant might be. Their tiramisu and pastas are...

Had lunch here today during a snow storm. We arrived late, a little after 1. The place was packed except the back room had some space. The servers were so amazing and friendly allowing us to pre sample the wine and beer. With the kitchen behind us, we watched the dishes come by us and we kept changing our minds as to what to order. We ended up ordering the Calamari and Sambuca Shrimp as appetizers but before that arrived they brought us some amazing bread with balsamic and olive oil dip….so good. The Sambuca Shrimp was oh so good…subtle and with a creamy sauce that you just wanted more bread. The calamari were the best we’ve ever had and we’re huge fans of calamari and have them all over Greece, Europe and Canada…these were perfect! Light breading, not oily, great dip and oh so tasty…and they were not ‘sanitized’ so there were a few tentacles, any calamari lovers’ favourite part! It was snowing like crazy and the wine/beer, food and atmosphere were oh so perfect!

We had a lot of trouble deciding what next to have as we saw so many amazingly looking, and smelling pasta dishes pass by….but the pizzas also looked amazing. We decided to order the ‘Enzo’ pizza and it too took things out of the park….super thin crust with a beautiful edge, tasting smokey from the wood fire. The toppings were perfectly balanced and they didn’t overwhelm each other.

I wish that I’d gotten our server’s names as they were super helpful, fun and full of spirit! Didn’t mention the snow storm? The whole atmosphere was PERFECT! These days it so difficult to find places where all the dots connect…Westboro Fratelli is one! We will be back to try the pastas and so much more…..thanks for such a beautiful experience Fratelli!!!

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Edited Jan 10th, 2025-- more details later but suffice it to say the owner of fratellis Katie Valente continues to email me calling me names and asking me to amend or remove my review. The emails continued even when I kindly asked her to stop so now I have had to block her. Good 😔 grief!

Dec 2024--It's been a while since I've had a meal at Fratellis mostly because it's just average Italian food, and I'm pretty selective where I spend my money these days. Recently, I was looking to host a small birthday party of people who all live in that area and thought this might be an ideal location. I can honestly tell you that my interactions with Juliana were enough to abruptly change that decision. It seems this restaurant is " so busy " even in early January that they are not willing to make any accommodations even for a group of 10 to 12 people, one bill, open bar, a la carte menu. Please note that I am not saying they did not have space for us and rather that they were not willing to budge on any menu options when their set menu options are far too big for many appetites these days. Many of us are older and health conscious which means we are not necessarily interested in a five-course meal at lunch starting at $50 per person before alcohol tax and tip when most of the people are not going to have two appetizers and / or coffee and dessert. Not to mention that there would have been an additional charge of $2.50 per person had we wanted to bring in a bday cake. I understand those types of table d'hotes were a thing back in the day but not so much anymore. The good news is that we were able to find nearby Lexington's whose customer service and willingness to please goes...