Mezzanotte Bistro Italiano — Restaurant in Ottawa

Very nice private dining experience if you’re looking for a quiet romantic dinner. Decor of the interior was very nice. I’ve always wanted to dine here for the aesthetic so it was nice to try an expensive place for a special occasion.

We had reservations but the restaurant was basically empty so the employee did not bother to check and seated us by the window. We were confused when we first walked in because the restaurant was empty and there was no employee in sight.

We ordered the filet mignon and lobster papardelle. I wasn’t a fan of the sauce of my pasta as I found it more oily/buttery than creamy for my tastebuds and the lobster was too dry for my liking. The filet mignon was cooked very well. I’ve never seen an orchid served with food before. Not sure if we were supposed to eat it. They also provide bread and an interesting garlic oil dip that tastes very familiar but we couldn’t place it. They also had nice dessert options. Overall left with our stomachs full. I’m just giving 4 stars though because I didn’t really love my lobster pasta as much as I thought I would and it was pricy.

There was only one person working that night so that might have been why service was a bit slower than what we would expect from such a restaurant.

Definitely expect to spend $100 per person if you’re getting drinks, apps, and dessert or ordering one of the pricier plates. Their card machine doesn’t have the automatic tipping grid like other places so you manually input the amount or...

The food was very good and as a vegetarian I was able to find a item with no issues. The oil mixture they gave for the bread was also very good, I’ll definitely try recreating it at home.

However, the three stars is given because of the seating and what the waitress called ‘Ambiance’.

We were seated on a sofa like booth and it was extremely uncomfortable to eat at. We were sinking into the seats while eating, and because the sofa went so far under the table we pressed up against the table. It was extremely hard for us to get up and out of the booth to go to the bathroom.

Speaking of the bathrooms, they are in now way handicap accessible. The door opened into the tiny bathroom that was littered with paper towel and water.

The ambiance meant that we had to use the flashlight to see our menu. I usually don’t have this issue, but I couldn’t see the menu without the light. Looking around the room I noticed almost every party doing this. One table was light up with phones.

Lastly, the tables were tiny! They make eating difficult because they have so many objects on the table, three each of bread baskets, oil plates along with wine glasses, water glasses and our drinks. Then the plates with our food were huge!

Like I said yeh food was good, I’d go back for it. But the issues with everything else made for a...

I was recently there for a work function. There were about 70 of us and we had the entire restaurant. You walk in and it feels like you’re in a upscale lounge in Miami. Soft dim lighting and modern decor. We had hor d’oeuvres. I only ate one as I wanted to save myself for dinner. It was decent. There was bread on the table with an incredible olive oil dip. Then came an amazing salad which had a variety of mixed greens and also had avocado, artichoke and I can’t remember what else. For the entree we had a choice of chicken breast, salmon or a vegetarian pasta. They all sounded boring but I hesitantly chose the salmon. For large parties I usually find the chicken and salmon dry and over cooked. I was pleasantly surprised. The salmon was cooked perfectly and was in this delicious sauce and the veggie sides were all good. Others I spoke to who had the chicken or pasta also gave glowing reviews. Dessert was tiramisu which I polished off even though I was full. And the service? It was amazing. Don’t know how they were able to find me with the drink I ordered at the beginning of the night when we are all mingling and walking around the room. Definitely go there if you can. Or have a...