Enjoy fine Italian cuisine at The Trattoria Caffe Italia. The Carrozza family has been entertaining Ottawa locals and tourists for over 35 years, since 1981. Affectionately referred to as "Pat & Dom", they have created a restaurant experience that is truly original, with an award-winning wine list and extensive menu. Boasting over 700 wines, a private dining room, and a large event space, you are sure to find something you like at Trattoria Caffe Italia. Located in Ottawa's Little Italy at Preston and Gladstone. Call now to reserve. more...See more text
Basil pesto, mozzarella, chicken, black olives and sun dried tomatoes
$18.00
Pasta
LINGUINI PESCATORE
$26.00
FETTUCCINE al SALMONE
Smoked salmon, spinach, green onion and capers in a cream sauce
$19.00
RIGATONI GIULIANA
Sauteed mushrooms, onions and chicken in a rose sauce
$19.00
CANNELLONI della CASA
Homemade pasta sheets rolled with minced veal, spinach and parmigiano cheese filling, baked in a tomato sauce and topped with mozzarella
$20.00
LASAGNA al FORNO
Homemade lasagna layered with Bolognese sauce, Grana Padano mozzarella cheeses, baked
$20.00
JUMBO SHRIMP al PESTO
Jumbo shrimp with fettuccine in a basil pesto cream sauce
$28.00
FUSILLI NERE
Whole-wheat fusilli pasta, sun dried tomatoes, black olives, pine nuts and chillies tossed in extra virgin olive oil and garlic with grilled Italian zucchini
$18.00
SPAGHETTI alla CARBONARA
Sauteed onions, pancetta and cracked black pepper in an egg yolk enriched cream sauce
$18.00
GNOCCHI alla NAPOLETANA
Homemade potato dumplings served in our light tomato sauce
$20.00
MANICOTTI
Homemade spinach pasta sheets rolled around a house-made ricotta, baked in tomato sauce and topped with mozzarella cheese
$20.00
SPAGHETTI e POLPETTE
Spaghetti and meatballs in a rich bolognese sauce
$18.00
RAVIOLI BOLOGNESE
Homemade ravioli stuffed with ground veal in a tomato sauce
$20.00
Pesce e Frutta di Mare
SOGLIOLA al LIMONE
Pan roasted sole with fresh lemon, white wine and herbs served with potatoes and vegetables
$23.00
SALMONE alla GRIGLIA
Grilled Atlantic salmon filet drizzled with olive oil, garlic, fresh parsley and served with potatoes and vegetables
$26.00
FRUTTI di MARE PER DUE
Lobster Tails, King Crab legs, Scampi and Mussels served atop riso pescatore in a rose sauce
Pollo
POLLO PIEMONTESE
Chicken breast sauteed with pancetta, mushrooms and onions in a red wine demi-glaze
$24.00
POLLO PRINCIPESSA
Chicken breast layered with asparagus and mozzarella cheese with a demi-glaze sauce
$23.00
POLLO PAVESE
Chicken breast sauateed with sun dried tomatoes asparagus in a cream sauce
$24.00
POLLO PARMIGIANA
Breaded chicken breast layered with tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmigiano cheeses served with spaghetti bolognese
$24.00
Vitello
BOCCONCINI alla TRATTORIA
Breaded veal filled with shrimp, mozzarella cheese and spinach, finished in a white wine demi-glaze sauce
$28.00
SALTIMBOCCA alla ROMANA
Veal scaloppine with prosciutto in a demi-glaze sauce
$25.00
VITELLO MARSALA
Veal scaloppini in a marsala wine and mushroom demi glaze served with fettuccine in a cream sauce
$25.00
VITELLO PICCATA
Pan-seared veal scaloppine with lemon in a white wine sauce
$24.00
VITELLO PARMIGIANA
Breaded veal scaloppine baked with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, served with spaghetti Bolognese
$26.00
Salsicce
SALSICCE CACCIATORE
Grilled Italian sausage with onions, sweet bell peppers and mushrooms in a tomato sauce served with spaghetti bolognese
$22.00
Specialità Della Casa
BISTECCA TRATTORIA
Certified Angus Beef Rib 12 oz Steak with sauteed mushrooms
$34.00
CARRE D'AGNELLO
Pan-seared full rack of New Zealand lamb with a rosemary, red wine reduction
$39.00
COSTOLLETA di VITELLO
Grilled 12 oz veal chop topped with sauteed mushrooms
Came here with a special lady friend of mine and I can truly say that it was a memorable experience.
Food was excellent, our server was prompt and punctual, and were on top of things.
Food was excellent, quick to my table, and very very tasty.
The only reason why the 4/5 stars for atmosphere is because it was really noisy at the time. I believe it was around 6:00PM on a Saturday (which is understandable), but everything else made up for it.
Excellent Italian restaurant, highly recommend.
Im real veteran to this restaurant. I have visited a few times a month for 10 years and counting. I have not one time waited at the front door for my table to be made ready. Maybe im just lucky, but i always make sure i have reservation. Even when I come a half hour early they have my table ready for me! I've never felt rushed or that Im being pushed out. Or gotten the impression that another booking is waiting at the front for my table. Sometimes ive stayed hours enjoying wine and cheese after the meal. Such a good way to spend a night with friends.
The food is fresh, authentic, and presentation is clean and well done.
Im NOT going to claim that everything has been perfect every single time, however they always make right when i let them know. And you can always tell they truely care about the entire experiance.
Personal suggestion to anyone who visits. Make sure you book a reservation! And if the rare occasion arises that there is a problem let them know, they have never let me down.
~morte di fame
We were visiting Ottawa on Feb 19 and decided to go eat at Caffe Italia. It was recommended. It was 5h30pm with no reservations. We were a party of four. We walked in and there was hardly anyone but they told us they had no room ! We opted to sit at the bar. We ordered fried calamari and pizza for each. The pizza was small and pricey. The fried calamari was tasteless.
I kept an eye on the empty tables and they were still empty by the time we left.
I was very disappointed. I will not return and do not recommend it to anyone.
Come to Montreal if you want to eat well !
PS: It looks like if you know the owner, whom greets you when you come in, you get better service.
PS: Caffé is spelled incorrectly. It should be Caffè in Italian.
Hi. A short disclaimer: I'm Italian, and I love my country's cuisine. After growing up with my nonna's amazing cooking, and visiting Italy to sample the cuisine there, I find myself very critical of Italian food joints.
My review:
Visited here last year for gnocchi, the food itself was pretty good, though overpriced.
Tried again this year, got the margherita pizza. Overpriced, nothing spectacular at all. Firstly, the pizza was served lukewarm. The cheese was greasy, most likely a packaged, processed blend. Basil was dried, not fresh. I needed a saw to cut through the crust, which I didn't have, so instead spent a good 20 minutes trying to eat it.
The service was disappointing. I could tell our waitress was having a bad day, but still managed to keep a smile on her face - totally appreciated! We were friendly in return and tipped well. However, plates were not cleared after appetizers, and the worst part was waiting nearly an hour for our food.
I just feel like this restaurant thinks they're a lot better than they are. It's a decent place to eat but they try way too hard to be authentic, but they fall short. Authentic Italian restaurants emphasize freshness, and they definitely are lacking in that department. How hard is it to put a few leaves of fresh basil on your pizza rather than a sprinkle of dried? Its not like your prices are reasonable... $16 should merit some fresh basil and mozzarella di bufala instead of Kraft pizza blend.
My favorite place to relax with great drinks a warm atmosphere complete with live music, friendly service, and mouth watering dishes.
The personal greetings by the owner at the door added a nice touch thats not found in the modern service industry.
When it absolutly has to be perfect, i cannot recommend an experiance better than that to be had at the caffe.
This place's menu is highly overpriced for what...
This place's menu is highly overpriced for what you get. The staff is far too nonchalant and does not give much concern to their patrons. It is a real disappointment to go there. There is too much 'familiarity' toward customers and despite that some staff there may think this is appropriate to them it brings this place a few notches down in my view. This attitude perhaps is their way of thinking they make customers 'feel at home' but it is a huge 'hit and miss' as it leave you with a sense that this place lacks class - it just does not justify the price list on their wine list or their menu - and - NO, I would not go back there again. . . Sorry.
This is my place, my home, my love for Italian Food is quenched here!
I have been coming here for 20+ yrs and have gotten to know Mario and Dom well. Nicest ppl in the business.
Food is always fanastic - got to try the Calamari, I have tried others and never again will I doubt theirs to be substandard. The tiramasu dessert is sooo good with the cappucino. I tried buying their beens but no good, the bums lol!
Go and bring your walet but it is well worth the price, better yet you cheap bum order the half portions :-)
Thank you Dom for a great Wedding reception, everyone loved the food.
I have not been recently, but have always really liked this place. They have amazing fried zucchini, just a generous squeeze of lemon and you're set. I never use the dipping sauce they're so tasty. The calamari is almost as good but its pretty hard to be as good as that zucchini. My pasta dishes have always been as expected.. very good. Good bread good service and very nice management. This place did my dad's second marriage (50 people) and such attention was payed to the quality of the food that we couldn't have asked for better from any large highly ranked banquet hall. The servers range from sweet older ladies to very prompt and attentive young men and women. Terrific atmosphere and I've always been happy with this place no matter how long in between my visits. Will be back there soon.
Bad service, tasteless fettuccine, overpriced wine list. Trttoria caffe' Italia is the worst restaurant in Ottawa. I don't recommend this place. Owners are rude!
The food is awful and greasy and the service was...
The food is awful and greasy and the service was marginal at best. We felt they were waiting for us to finish to plunk another party down. Will not go back and cetainly not recommend it to anyone :(
I have been to this restaurant 3 times now, twice...
I have been to this restaurant 3 times now, twice for dinner and the last time was for lunch with colleagues. The menu is large and varied. The food is OK, not spectacular and not even really really good, but OK. During our most recent lunch, we all ordered apps and they were average, the smelts had to be returned because they were cold, rubbery and very fishy. The antipasta was so average that it could have been served in any place, let alone Italian. The main courses were also not memorable but just standard Italian fare. The cappuccino was one of the worst I have had and even complained, to no recourse.
My dinner experiences echo the lunch experience. The food is not outstanding and the servce is OK. I don't dislike this place but I feel it is just an average Italian eatery. Like so many things Italian, it is the atmosphere and the company that makes the meal and perhaps the kudos have been more attributed to that than the food.
Sorry to hear about the other experiences. We went mid-afternoon on Sunday, had plenty of attention and the food was superb. I'd go again in a minute (though maybe not on Friday night from what I've read here).
What a great experience! We came here for a quick...
What a great experience! We came here for a quick lunch, although we could have stayed all day. We had the eggplant parmigiana and the pizza (both homemade and both fabulous). We'll definitely be back for dinner sometime, there wine list is award-winning and they have 2 or 3 in house sommelier's so we'll have them recommend something for us. There menu is so big you could spend and hour deciding what to get. Our waitress was very experienced and knowledgeable about the cuisine. Can't wait to check them out for dinner.
As mentioned elsewhere, the resturant tries very...
As mentioned elsewhere, the resturant tries very hard to please everyone therefore allowing more people in than they have room for, making things tight and uncomfortable but, the wait staff tried their very best and did an admnirable job.
I was though, disappointed in the food. One of our party got the veal and shriomp dish, the veal was outstanding but the shrimp was so overcooked that it was uneaten and surprisingly, the pasta was a big clump of something. Another one ordered the gnoccia nd although they are supposed to be renowned for it, it too was overcooked to the point the sauce did not stick. The other two members of our party had great dishes and thank goodness there was a lot of food on the plate so all of us could eat.
Sorry, I don't have anything great to say about...
Sorry, I don't have anything great to say about this restaurant. After spending so much money there last weekend, we were left like we had just wasted our hard-earned money. So crowded, so busy and our table was very tight with the seating. Waitress was surly and unapologestic for mistakes she made that night. Never to return again, sorry.
Owner was rude and down right mean. Will never go...
Owner was rude and down right mean. Will never go back. I feel bad for the people who must work for this man. Place was way over booked, and staff were overrun. The place talks of taking extra care to make all there guests happy. I don't think so! Went 2 times and both times I left feeling ripped off and mistreated!
What a waist of money.....The service was terrible and the management was rude. With a table of 6, everyone was discusted with the whole experience. Don"t worry, we will spread the word on how horrible "this so called restuarnt" is.
