Hands down the best Italian restaurant in Ottawa that I've tried so far…read more You can tell the food is made from scratch and everything tastes fresh and homemade. The chef himself comes out to take your order, which really adds to the authentic Italian experience. The portions are generous, and if you ask for your pasta spicy, they actually use hot peppers instead of just sprinkling on chili flakes. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente. We also tried the pizza, which was excellent with huge slices. There are plenty of gelato flavours to choose from, and both the homemade tiramisu and panna cotta were absolutely delicious. It's a smaller restaurant with a patio, so I'd recommend making a reservation if you're going with a larger group. I'm still giving this place 5 stars because the food and the chef completely won us over. The only downside was the service from the servers. They weren't particularly welcoming when we arrived or throughout the meal, and at times it felt like the menus were just being dropped onto the table rather than any real interaction. It didn't take away from how incredible the food was, but it's worth mentioning because with service that matched the kitchen, this place would be absolutely unbeatable. We'll definitely be back.

We made a reservation for a Friday night and good thing we did, because they were very busy. I…read moreunderstand that they had almost a full house but the service was painstakingly slow. After we ordered, we waited at least 30 minutes for our water and drinks. The server was nice but to not even get water on the table until food is already coming is pretty bad. In terms of food, the calamari and fried shrimp were delicious. But unfortunately the pizzas were underwhelming. I was expecting an authentic Neapolitan pizza, but this isn't it. The pizza didn't taste bad but it just was not what I was prefer. The crust is thin-ish which I like, but too bready. The amount of cheese reminds me a bit of an Ottawa-style pizza, and the pizza is on the floppy/soggy side.

We went to Giovanni's for my partners birthday and decided to try a couple of different pizzas…read more Both of these were sauceless pizzas, not my first choice but it is what the group wanted. The pizza crust was crispy and chewy and delicious, the toppings were fresh and flavourful. The service was friendly and fast, overall an excellent experience. I prefer a sauce on my pizza but that's a preference thing. The food was genuinely delicious

TLDR: Legit Italian cafe with old Italian men sitting around chatting. Delicious Italian sandwiches…read morewith quality cheese and meats. This place is legit! Reminds me of the cafes in Corso Italia in Toronto when I was a kid. My best friend is Italian. We've known each other since grade school. As kids we hung out together a lot and she'd take me to Corso Italia where her older brother worked at various cafes and restaurants. This was times before cell phones, so she'd either have to relay a message to him from their mom, or give him something he forgot at home. Over the years we visited lots of cafes in Corso Italia and Giovanni's Snack Bar reminds me of those cafes. My visit there made me miss Toronto, and my friend, and our carefree youth, lol. While I was there, there were Italian men sitting around drinking coffee and chatting about random things. It doesn't get more authentic than that, lol. I ordered a turkey sandwich to go. It was $10 and came with deli turkey meat, provolone cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. The default condiments are mayo and mustard, but I just got mustard. The bread was a nice crispy Italian white bread. The sandwich was a good size. The meats and cheese were high quality and the vegetables were fresh. I would have liked some spicy eggplant or something else to jazz it up a little, but it was still a solid sandwich. Service was courteous and efficient. I heard their pizzas are amazing. I'll have to come back to try some. The ambiance is very cozy and welcoming. Seems very much like a neighbourhood joint. Street parking only, which may be a bit tricky to find, but I lucked out and found a spot on Willow, right beside the cafe. (10)

Very good (consistently), authentic Italian food. Good for a date or just dinner with friends. I…read moreknow most will find a house salad boring, but their dressing is sooo good! I'd recommend the chicken parm, calamari, and zucchini sticks. If you don't want anything friend there are plenty of great options (meat, veg, and pasta). The food sometimes takes a while to come out, but the food is made fresh and comes out hot. It's worth the wait. I'd suggest ordering an appetizer. You'll definitely leave this place full and happy!

Food homemade and fresh and superb taste. Service is great and the staff are friendly. Everyone…read moreworks together and there is no stress. They like working. Very relaxing.

I walked into a normal Italian restaurant with mints and toothpicks. I had a reservation, so we got…read moreseated immediately. I was seated on the covered outdoor patio, so it was a comfortable temperature. I was served bread and butter pretty fast, which I demolished because bread is good. I ordered the Calamari and a Caesar salad, which came out pretty quickly. The calamari was amazing; it had just the right amount of frying time and a pretty good sauce. After I ate the amazing salad, which had romaine lettuce, parmesan, and croutons. The salad was also pretty good, and I ate it pretty fast. I went with my mom, so she gave me some of her mussels, which were delicious. The waiter saw that I demolished the bread, so he gave me more. Did I say the bread was good yet cause it was GOOD. Overall, my experience at Vittoria Trattoria was amazing and if Im ever in the area again I'd go back.

I might be over-rating this fine Italian restaurant because my wife and I were treated by a friend…read morefor lunch, but it was great. We had smoked salmon on linguine with Alfredo sauce; our host had a dish that contained meat and veggies. The waitress was a lovely woman who took good care of us, although she forgot to bring us bread. The place was quite busy for Friday lunch but it was obviously due to the food. We didn't drink but the wine racks covered an entire wall, and the beer list was more than substantial. We had to park about 72 yards away, but no big deal. Dress is casual, at least for lunch, but don't dress like a road worker or you'll feel out of place. If you've never been here, it's a great place to try, and for a great first or hundreth date.

A pub like interior with lots of wood and green upholstery feels comfortable…read more Our waitress was very service oriented, which I appreciate. The brief wine / beer / cocktail list is solid. The pizza menu has about 8 options. I did the truffle oil / mushroom which was excellent. Hubs had the Italian Sausage pizza. Also excellent. Of note, this is thin crust pizza, hard to find in Ottawa and was really well done. All in all, I enjoyed our impromptu stop!

They have the kind of pizza that would eat the crust and love it as much as the pizza itselfread more

I called House of Pizza and ordered takeout this evening. When I asked about whether they have…read morepeanuts/treenuts in the kitchen (we have allergies in the family), the person taking my call said they don't but that she would note it on my order and talk to the kitchen staff about it. I was happy to hear they would take such care. When I picked up the pizza the young woman at the cash (likely the same person that took my phone order) was very personable and pleasant. It may not sound like much, but these days good service like that needs to be highlighted. And as always... The pizza was excellent!

House of Pizza is a casual eatery with a huge covered patio. It serves pizza, but also other items…read morelike shawarma, donair, pasta, and sandwiches. I had avoided this restaurant for a long time because I had heard that their pizza is "Ottawa style" (lol) which is very thick crust, overload of cheese, and toppings under the cheese. I personally am not a fan of such type of pizza, but I am happy to report that they also have a different type of pizza. They call it "wood oven" pizza and it's a lighter crust and a normal amount of cheese. It's not quite Neapolitan style, but close. I liked it. My husband and I shared a wood oven Margherita pizza ($15) and a beef donair combo ($14). He also got a local beer ($7.95). The pizza was great. I really liked the sauce, it was slightly sweet and definitely unique and sets it apart from other pizza joints. The cheese was tasty and not excessive in amount (and not too skimpy). The crust was light with some blistery parts, which I enjoyed. I would order this pizza again. The donair sandwich was good too. The garlic sauce was a bit sweet, but not like icing like out east, lol. The meat itself was well seasoned. The lettuce and tomatoes were fresh and the pickles added a nice sour note to it. The fries were a bit too crispy for my taste, like too well done (?) However, my husband liked them. The coleslaw was good considering it was mayo-based. I prefer vinegar-based coleslaw, but I didn't mind this one. We were served by Anuj (or at least that's what the bill said). He was great. Very friendly and attentive, but not overbearing. We ate on the patio which has a roof and is slightly raised, so we were a bit higher than the sidewalk and the road, which I liked. Street parking only.

This was probably one of my favourite restaurants I ate at while in Ottawa. The atmosphere was cozy…read moreand inviting and apparently it's can be loud at certain times. Luckily I didn't come in at a crazy time. The service was quick and friendly. I started off with the sourdough bread with cultured butter. I loved that it was the right size where you don't end up full on bread. The cultured butter was a nice touch but they didn't offer just a chunk where you feel you have to use all of it. (the difference is cultured butter has more flavour and a bit tangy). For the main I decided to go the red pie road and ordered the Sweet Tony. My oh my how delicious this was. That hot honey really added some fun flavour that cut through the Fior di Latte and the basil added that freshness it needed. The pie was the right size for two people however if your party is larger perhaps order two pies! I will definitely be stopping by and trying a new pie next time I'm in Ottawa.

We had come here on a Sunday evening after walking by it and noticing that there weren't too many…read moreguests. We were seated at a table in the inside of the restaurant, which was actually quite warm as the main doors were open, which minimized the coolness from the air conditioner. We were served by a nice middle-aged gentleman, whom provided us with menus upon arriving, giving us ample time to decide. Since we weren't too hungry, we settled on sliced bread with butter (which was $8.00), and a margarita pizza. The bread had a strange burnt taste to it however, with the butter, the burnt taste wasn't as apparent. Also, the amount of seeds on the bread's crust were overwhelming, which made us mostly taste the seeds as opposed to the bread itself. We also found the price much too high for sliced bread; many restaurants provide sliced bread for free however, this restaurant charged an exuberant amount for it. The margarita pizza looked appetizing upon viewing it for the first time however, once we had bitten into it, the cheese on the top was overwhelmingly salty. We were surprised, as margarita pizza usually doesn't have cheese that is that salty. As well, the price for this pizza was $20 +, which once again, we found much too expensive for what we were receiving. Overall, we wouldn't come back to this particular restaurant. Although the service was attentive and the atmosphere was inviting, the food wasn't very good, and it was overpriced. We certainly wouldn't recommend this restaurant to anyone that is looking for an authentic Italian meal.

OMG! What an awesome little treat my wife brought back to Newfoundland for me today! She ordered 2…read morelarge pizzas and ponce it cooled down in her otel room, she wrapped the individual slices in aluminum foil and flew home with it this evening. The taste and flavours were exactly as I remembered it from ages ago! 3 minutes in the Air Fryer did the trick!

Best deep dish pizza crust in town or maybe anywhere! Yeasty and mouth watering…read more Pick up server is more fun than a.barrel of monkeys Eat in is great too