La Dolce Vita Preston — Restaurant in Ottawa

First and foremost, as a Celiac, thank you SO much for your dedication to having quality and deliciouse gluten free food. I was diagnosed over 7 years ago and can honestly say that I have not found another restaurant that offers the variety of food that you do in all areas (antipasti, mains and desserts). While many restaurants these days offer something that can be considered  "gluten free/friendly" most would not even consider a GFFP certification simply because of the responsibility that it entails. Your dedication is very much appreciated.

My husband and I have visited your restaurant many times since moving to Gatineau (we both work in Ottawa) but tonight's experience in particular is what has led me to write this review.

I had placed an order earlier this afternoon for dinner that my husband, Eric, was to pick up after he was finished work. Unfortunately, when Eric arrived to pick up our dinner, we was told that one of the items that I had ordered from the gluten free menu for myself was not available. For some reason I had not even thought of leaving my phone number when placing the order, so there was no way for the staff to call me back to change my order. This was certainly not a major inconvenience by any means as Eric simply called me and I had just asked him me order me something else instead. There was an additional wait of only about 12 minutes to have something else prepared, no big deal! We were honestly just happy to be supporting a local small business! Without any complaint on our part, the chef himself came out and insisted on providing us with one of our antipasti at no charge because of the the mix-up. Again, we had absolutely no issue with paying for everything we ordered (again- wanting to support a local small business!) but he insisted. We very must appreciated this kind gesture.

Upon unpacking the food when Eric got home, we realized that we were missing the one item that I (a Celiac) was looking forward to the most...the GF calamari!!! As I mentioned before, the variety of GF food available at La Dolce Vita is unmatched. I have not found GF battered and fried calamari at any other restaurant anywhere (even in Italy!). It's so good that I was willing to go back to the restaurant (from our home in Gatineau) to pick it up. Again, while it may have been another minor inconvenience, I was mostly just upset that I'd had to wait even longer to eat them! As someone who has worked in the food industry many years ago, I completely understand that these things happen! When Eric called to let them know that we'd be coming back, they insisted on sending someone from their staff to bring the calamari to us. We absolutely did not want them to do this especially because we live in Gatineau and that would be a heck of a far delivery for them, but once again they insisted. This allowed by husband and I to enjoy the food we did have together and while it was still hot and fresh. This is undoubtedly what the restaurant industry should be like! Despite the fact that we completely understand that bad days happen, we were truly met with the best service we have ever received. The chef and staff went above and beyond to fix the situation even without being asked to. Eric and I are completely blown away. Thank you, Grazie!!

PS; while I really miss the GF cannoli that you used to have on your menu, the GF tiramisu is...

Myself and my three friends had a terrible experience here. Though they were busy and seemed to be understaffed, our service was terrible and extremely slow. We ordered garlic bread as an appetizer which we were looking forward to. Almost an hour passed by since we ordered and still no garlic bread, no meals, and no update as to what was taking our food so long. Our server then came to our table and told us that the kitchen was backed up and that our food would be out in a few minutes. She did offer complimentary bread and butter while we waited, however, this was after we had already been waiting for an hour. This complimentary bread and butter eventually came after we had already had our meals, and it was just bread with no butter. When we asked our server for an update on our garlic bread she had no idea what we were talking about, but said she would go check on it. She never came back with an update, and also never offered an apology or compensation. When our food finally arrived, we were given no cutlery or napkins. So, we then had to wait again for someone to come around (not even our server) and ask for cutlery. He returned with four forks in hand, not wrapped so no napkin and no knives. In addition, I ordered the spicy rigatoni. I got a meal on the menu called ‘Al Funghi’, a completely different meal and name. I know I did not order this pasta because I do not like mushrooms or spinach so I would not have ordered a meal with both of these things in it. I also know I made sure to specify that I wanted the spicy rigatoni when I ordered as both of these meals included rigatoni. I’m not sure if this was an issue with the server or with the kitchen. This was extremely disappointing as I had already waited an hour for my food. I didn’t say anything only because I was so hungry and did not want to wait for another meal to be made. The head chef then came around and asked how our meal was, which is when we asked again for an update on our garlic bread, he said he would check but never came back to provide an update. We eventually told our server that we wanted to cancel our garlic bread order and she nor anyone else provided an apology for the fact that we never got it, or that we never got an update on why it didn’t come. Overall a terrible experience and the food we received was not worth the wait. We do not recommend...

I say this without hesitation: La Dolce Vita provided our group with the best service I've ever experienced!!

The scenario: Our social group planned a night out to see a play at the Gladstone. I must have mentioned this when making the reservation (though I don't remember doing so) because the staff were aware of our timing from the moment we stepped inside the door.

How they went above and beyond:

Managed to accommodate an ever increasing group size (initially a reservation for 12 people, then 15, then 18). They made it work seamlessly even though I added a few people to the list upon arrival.

The staff watched the clock so we didn't have to! They were ever mindful of our need to be out the door at a specific time. The wait staff were so organized with taking orders and getting food on the table. Not all our group arrived at the same time (some came an hour into dinner) but everyone got fed with plenty of time to spare.

The food was amazing!! Let me repeat, the food was amazing!!! I had the Butter Sage Gnocchi and my partner had the thin crust version of the Medito pizza (shrimp + ham + hot peppers + dried apricots). Both were incredible! One member of our group has a gluten allergy and this restaurant has the best gluten free selection of any other place around. Everyone raved about their dishes and not one of our group of 18 had anything bad to say.

*The chef came out to say hi and to thank us for coming. It was a thoughtful touch and much appreciated by everyone.

A very special mention about our head server. I wish I would have gotten her name. She was friendly, efficient, knowledgeable, and made our evening so enjoyable. Ever mindful of our time limitations, she kept things moving without making us feel even the least bit rushed. She worked her behind off and she deserves more praise than I can put into words.

I organize group outings on a regular basis so I've had occasion to witness the whole spectrum of the worst to the best places to eat and La Dolce Vita definitely rises above the rest. I chose it because of its location and never imagined that it would become one of my favourite Ottawa restaurants.

La Dolce Vita will be at the top of my list the next time I plan an outing in Little...