Joe's Italian Kitchen — Restaurant in Ottawa

Short version: Best Pizza Bread ever! Eclectic Pizza options, cool vibe, indoor/outdoor dining areas, intimate setting, cold draft beer, tasty mixed drinks, friendly & accommodating staff, open kitchen, clean bathrooms (not recommended for physically restricted individuals), easy digital payments. Not a full pub fare dining menu. Attend if you want a familiar but extraordinary dining experience.

Long version: My wife and I were looking for a different dining experience so we Googled a few top rated restaurants while we were in Hintonburg and settled on Joe’s Italian Kitchen. Walking through the first set of doors presented a fully enclosed outdoor dining experience equipped with heater towers and blankets, which had a cool vibe to it (and cooler temperatures). We were curious about the rest of the restaurant so we pushed through a second set of doors to the indoor dining area which welcomed us immediately with a waft of fresh baked bread over a wood fired stove like aroma. Bingo, I’m home baby! We ordered a few adult beverages and listened to the cool-chic Italian pop-rock-opera-mix music playing in the background while we determined which menu items to order. My wife has food allergies and the staff were extremely accommodating and suggested alternatives to the regular menu items and double-checked with the kitchen staff which was reassuring. We shared an order of lasagna and the Joe Dimaggio Pizza (topped with a fried egg) .. why not. This is the first time we experienced Pinsa Bread for both the pizza and side dish, OMG it was great! Everything we ate/shared was great! Coincidentally, there was another patron who felt the same way and was very vocal about how pleased he was with his Pizza especially the bread. Afterwards we ordered cannoli and a cappuccino, both very good. All the while we were enjoying our dinner we couldn’t help notice the pizza boxes piling up near the open kitchen.. I can assume the take-out side of their business is booming. At payment time, I was presented with the bill to which the waitress asked if I needed the (old-school) payment machine. Before saying “of course I do” (like most of us Gen-X'ers do), I looked at the bill which had a QR code printed on it. I curiously scanned it and was immediately presented with a full bill of my meal, which I paid with a simple double tap on my smartphone. Fastest most convenient payment method ever! We left with full intentions of returning in the near future with friends...

My friend introduced me to this place long time ago and I went there many times with different people (I took there my mom, husband and different friends) and every time the same thing happened so I finally have to raise it. The worst thing is this restaurant could be great, the food is amazing and the ambiance is really great but I’m extremely disappointed with the service as every time no matter weekend or not we felt rushed out of the place. This seems to be the place where you are expected to have s quick dinner in max hour and a half and get out, no matter if you are still eating or drinking. Last time I made a reservation for my three friends at 7pm on Thursday and the server basically kicked us out at 8:30 because we were only ones there and they wanted to go home while the restaurant should be open at least untill 9 pm according to their official hours. We were still eating and drinking but she told us we have to go as they need to get out. No respect at all, but has the courage to hand me the machine with min 18% for a tip. I had to apologize to my friends for taking them here. Also few times I had the same server and she comes to the table constantly, no patience, stopping your conversation each time. I truly hope the manager will adress this as this should be the place where you come to enjoy your dinner, drinks, ambiance and conversation with your party as right now they are behaving as it is a fast food restaurant. Im really disappointed and Im not taking anyone...

This was my fist visit, and I was very impressed with the quality and flavor of the food.. We started with Beat and Goat cheese salad, which my dinner guest and I have had at a few other places this summer.. this one was very different, as it was more "Greens" with beets and cheese etc.. but oh my.. flavor was there.. absolute greatness.. Well mains we both had SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA, and while again, have tried same at other places in Ottawa, very well known Italian places.. I was extremely impressed in the bursting flavor from this one.. and now understand why my dinner mate said she liked this one better than others.. well earned.. She had dessert Lemon Sorbet, they had Pineapple and Orange as well.. all come served in the fruit they are made from, she loved it.. I not being a lemon fan skipped having a taste I wanted to keep my Carbonara flavor long as I could.. lol This is not a giant place with tons of seating.. and while it was a rainy day our 330 meal start wasn't to busy, the place was by the time left near full.. on a nice sunny day I'm sure its a fight to get in.. they do have a decent amount of outdoor seating and heaters.. but yesterday no walls up and I wasn't dressed for sitting in the cold.. definitely need to try.. PS: the Pinsa's look fantastic.. and the bread served with my meal I suspect is the dough from the Pinsa, it...