Joe's Italian Kitchen - Preston — Restaurant in Ottawa

Sadly, I have to update my review to a 2-star. This experience was a 1 star but To be fair and transparent, I’m going to leave the 5 star review I wrote from last week below because that night they had earned it and perhaps this atrocious service was an anomaly so that’s why I’ve made it 2 stars. We were excited to come back a week later with more friends to show them the place and holy was it an awful experience. We arrive to our reso for 8 at 8:15 and they tell us “oh sorry your table isn’t ready yet shouldn’t be long, we’ll seat you here for now maybe a drink then move you”. The issue is, that table they sat us at was a table for 6, so 8 of us were crammed in like the kiddy table at thanksgiving. After leaving water on the table, we sat for 30 minutes without being asked our drink order once. We asked the manager how long our table would be and he shrugged his shoulders and couldn’t tell us. After 40 minutes, still without service, we were fed up and left down the street to La Dolce Vita and had an incredible time, will definitely go back there and recommend it!

Honestly wouldn’t have even updated my original review if not for the server with curly black hair chirping my friend who made the reso on the way out, while simultaneously taking no accountability. Definitely one of the most unprofessional things I’ve ever seen from a restaurant hospitality staff. Ironically, this is the same guy who walked by us 10+ times in the 40 minutes without serving us. So kudos to that guy!

——————- original review from a week prior:

We started with the salumi board, which was an absolute dream. A perfect selection of cured meats, cheeses, and house-made accompaniments that set the tone for the rest of the meal. Every bite was fresh and bursting with flavor.

The espresso martini was easily one of the best I’ve ever had — rich, smooth, and perfectly balanced, with just the right amount of sweetness and kick to it.

The meatballs were tender, juicy, and served in a rich tomato sauce that tasted like it had been simmering for hours. Absolute comfort food at its finest. We also had the arancini, and they were fantastic — crispy on the outside, creamy and cheesy on the inside. You could taste the care and tradition that went into every dish.

For the main event, we shared the meat lovers pizza, and it was incredible. The crust was perfectly thin and crispy, loaded with a generous amount of quality meats and melted cheese without being overly greasy. Every bite was pure satisfaction.

Joe’s Italian Kitchen captures everything you want in an Italian dining experience: amazing food, cozy atmosphere, and service that makes you feel like family. I can’t recommend this spot enough. We can’t wait to come back and try more from their menu! A true gem in...

My friend and I were excited to try Joe’s, a new restaurant in town that we'd heard great things about. The food itself lived up to the hype — we shared a goat cheese and beet salad, which was delicious, and ordered a hot honey, onion, and poached pear Pinsa without bacon, as we’re both vegetarian. For dessert, we pre-ordered a tiramisu so it could be made fresh.

While the meal started out promising, the service left a lot to be desired. We were mistakenly served the wrong pizza — with bacon — and unfortunately, we only noticed after taking a quick bite. It took several minutes to get a server’s attention. They apologized and promised a corrected order, which arrived about 20 minutes later — except it was again incorrect, with bacon again on the Pinsa and extra served on the side. After more waiting and confusion, we realized we’d been given someone else’s pizza. Only on the third attempt — another 15-20 minutes later, did we finally receive the right one.

Throughout the meal, no one checked in to ask if everything was okay, even after the repeated issues. As for the tiramisu, although requested in advance, the waiter had forgotten to add it to the order, despite us having requested it in advance.

While the food was genuinely excellent, the service was extremely disappointing. Beyond a verbal apology, nothing was offered — no complimentary dessert, no small discount — which was surprising, especially for a new restaurant trying to build its reputation. When we asked about this, we were told that we “didn’t wait that long,” which simply wasn’t true.

I truly hope their service improves, because despite how good the food was, I wouldn’t feel comfortable returning based on...

I normally don’t like to put up negative reviews but our experience made me to. We are new to the town and we were recommended this place for best Italian food. We visited with our friends and we were very much disappointed with the services we received. We were made to sit on the table immediately and were starving so we ordered the food and drinks altogether. We were served drinks first and we had to wait for like 30-45 mins for the food to come. The food was amazing as recommended. But the services were very slow and we were not attended promptly. The folks arrived after us were served before us and they left. We felt that we were treated differently than other people coming in and who were already present. We were not asked/attended in between of the meals for anything needed. We had to call the waiter/waitress for us. They did not provide the dessert menu separately as it was not mentioned on the original one. We felt highly disappointed for being overlooked.

I wanted to give just one star but the other one is for the food as it did not disappoint. I humbly request to take this into...