What I want to highlight is the service and the hospitality it has to offer. Our server was possibly a very genius human being I have ever encounter and can remember all customized order from the 8 of us. I was a bit nervous because she didn't write it down, but she got it all correctly with pristine precision.
The food is marvelous. We're a bit of a picky eater group but we cleaned the plate so well. I ordered a plate of seafood linguine, with only olive oil, garlic, and tons of pepper flakes because I like it spicy. Big portion but I finished it off. It was THAT good.
The place is amazing, and at night the live music perfecting the mood. The place is romantic and family-friendly at the same time. Definitely will come back here when I visit Ottawa.
Excellent restaurant to take a date too. Very friendly staff and greeted nicely by the owner. Highly recommended. The seafood platter is to die for.
Great food, fantastic atmosphere, pleasant staff. The interior is very classy and romantic and their patio has grape vines creating a canopy over it.Their specials are always yummy and change often. The prices are a little high, but they've always got Groupons which makes it a bit better.
What an amazing night.The meal was outstanding as was the service.Our server Nino was so young yet had the experience of years.We were very impressed.Nick ,the owner, came by several times to chat with us.The soup, salad,canneloni,lasagna and desserts were top notch.Our thanks to the chef.My wife and I came home with big smiles on our faces.Perfect setting for a couples night out.Well done.
Came here with my girlfriend while visiting Ottawa. We ordered muscles and bruschetta which were both excellent. Service was great and the food came very quickly. Great experience
Seafood appetizer for two here is huge. It was very good. The pizza here was excellent. I have been wanting to return here for weeks now. I prefer the ambiance upstairs. The food here is fantastic. Can't wait to return.
Great food! Been here a few times! Small cozy place. Staff are super friendly, esp that one main guy, he's quite funny, never got his name unfortunately! Food is a tad pricey but definitely worth it!
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
We just got back from La Favorita on Preston St in Ottawa Ontario. My wife had bought a groupon for a seafood lovers meal for two a while back, and we chose to use it on the occasion of our anniversary. What an excellent experience! It began the moment we crossed the threshold when the staff welcomed us into the establishment as though we were visiting royalty. Nick the proprietor himself greeted us with enthusiasm and asked one of his staff to find us a nice table on the second level, as the first level was already very busy. My wife is an enthusiastic seafood lover, and when the food arrived it was everything she hoped for and more. Our daughter came in late to join us in a glass of wine, and ended up helping us to finish some of the meal. Two whole lobsters cooked to perfection and split to make eating easier, a bunch of Alaska king crab legs, mussels, fabulous shrimp, and scallops, with melted butter and a mouth watering rice side dish were all just wonderful. Top that off with a pleasant bottle of wine, and follow it with tasty desserts and a liqueur, and you have a meal worthy of the occasion. The servers were extremely busy, but efficient and gracious. All in all it was a lovely night out, and Nick and his staff made the whole experience more than simply a great meal. Oh, and we took a look at the menu and noticed a long list of wonderfully original pizza combinations that it could take a committed person a month to experience. Something tells me we will be back a number of times throughout the summer to sample these as well. Looking forward to it already.
This place was amazing! It is a small Italian restaurant and the service was fantastic. They waited on you the entire night and also the food was all around amazing. We had pastas, the chicken parm, and the carne wood oven pizza. This pizza was one of the best I have ever had and I was overly pleased with the entire experience.
Nice place. I got one of their wood even pizzas and my friend got their lunch special meat lasagna (a little too much cheese for her) it's a really nice setting, hopefully more livelier in the evening. Service was great, and you can see into the kitchen. Roughly $18-25 for a main.
Great seafood platter, enjoyed the wine, and great service.... My wife and I visited La Favorita restaurant on a Tuesday evening and had their Seafood Platter. You get to choose a whole lobster or just the tail and we both chose the tail. The entire meal was excellent, and the service was also terrific. The waiter was getting us laughing almost before we sat down, and I noticed throughout the evening he was getting almost every table laughing at various times. I could tell that everyone was enjoying their experience, and we were not in a rush to leave. They are also in no rush for you to leave. This restaurant has a very family feel, and we look forward to visiting it again and trying their Pizza, and also their Filet Mignon.
Terrific restaurant. Good was excellent service was great owner came to the table. Great value for a quality meal in a relaxed and comfortable environment. Will return often
Always a good call!. La Favorita accommodated a birthday reservation of 20 with ease, professionalism and style. Most of us enjoyed the signature seafood platters with generous servings of crab legs, mussels, shrimp and some well-fed lobster. The food is outstanding, the staff are polished and attentive and the owner goes out of his way to greet everyone and personally check on the quality of the experience. The house was packed until after 11 and even at that, service time was reasonable and the food quality was impeccable.
We had the seafood platter me and my brother. We had the most beautiful meal ever. The owner came to make sure that everything was perfect with our order. The atmosphere is great and te wood burning oven makes me want to come back for the pizza. Great times I highly recommend it.
Family favorite. Our family has been regulars at La Favorita for years. we recently celebrated a birthday there and it was amazing as usual. We each ordered a different pizza: seafood, Ferrari, Bella and Verona - all fresh, hot and and delicious. We often take the Vegetable Pizza to go- love the heart of palm, zucchini, asparagus etc. Our server was very professional, courteous, attentive and knowledgeable of the menu and the specials.
Another Great Meal!. We went there on Friday (for about the sixth time). My wife ordered her favourite cannelloni and thoroughly enjoyed it as usual. I debated between two specials, Chicken Cacciatori and braised lamb; I chose the lamb and was glad I did! It was delicious - three slices of lamb, with a dark, tasty sauce, grilled potatoes, a variety of grilled vegetables. I highly recommend it!
Outstanding Restaurant. The delicious seafood platters, wood oven Calzones and specialty pizza's are a few of my favorites but the Chicken parmesan with a Caesar salad is impossible to not consider.
Affordable Fine dining that is a Preston Street favorite. Don't forget to have a home made Tiramisu to end your evening.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Unforgettable Experience - Great Place to Celebrate a Special Occasion. Last night my wife and sister treated me to supper at La Favorita to celebrate my birthday, and the entire experience was superb!
We decided to share a plate of calamari followed by a seafood pizza with caesar salad as appetizers.
We chose the seafood platter for two as a main course. The portion size was so generous that it was more than ample for three diners to share.
We concluded our wonderful meal with carrot cake and coffee.
Each selected menu item, without exception, was delicious. Chef/Owner Nick Shallal obviously takes pride in his
work and devotes a remarkable degree of TLC in the preparation and presentation of all menu offerings.
We all agreed that our server Fiona treated us to the most efficient and accommodating service we have ever received in a dining establishment. At the end of our meal she even gave us a take-out container of fresh grapes
picked from vines on the premises as a little gift to mark the occasion.
My wife used her cell phone to take some photos and unfortunately left it on the table when we left. Today, before she even noticed it was missing, Nick went to extraordinary lengths to identify the phone's owner and get a message to my wife that it had been recovered and was being held for pick-up. The "icing on the cake" as it were, to what was undoubtedly one of our most positive experiences in over 45 years international dining.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
A new favourite in La Favorita. We stumbled across La Favorita a couple of weeks ago in a coupon book and decided to give it a try for an early dinner one evening after work. We were very pleasantly surprised by this quaint and charming restaurant in the heart of Little Italy. I am very picky about customer service and I can honesty say that I had absolutely no complaints or concerns; the service we received from Michael was superb! Attentive and knowledgeable without being overbearing. My boyfriend had the Ferrari pizza and I had the cannelloni; both were excellent. The presentation is simple but elegant and the temperature for both was perfect. To complete the meal, we shared the Tiramisu....made in house and heaven on a plate...and a wonderful cup of coffee.
We liked our experience so much that just last night we returned again, driving all the way from Orleans to enjoy our new favorite place. We were not disappointed. The service was just as excellent; Dijana was very helpful, answering all my questions and taking the time to ask the chef directly if she wasn't sure of something. I had a few special requests for my meal due to some dietary restrictions and they were very accommodating. The Chicken Marsala was delicious and a very generous portion, and the Eggplant Parmesan was cheesy, comforting goodness. I love their ceasar salad as well and enjoyed this for the second time. At La Favorita they want you to enjoy your experience and they will go out of their way to ensure that you do. I don't understand the bad reviews that I see on here. Maybe, like all of us, they have the odd bad day, but I my two experiences so far have been exceptional and we will definitely be back again soon!
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
A Perfect Evening at La Favorita.. My husband and I recently celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary with a lovely meal at La Favorita Italian restaurant at 356 Preston Street in Ottawa. We had purchased a Groupon for a Romeo and Juliet 3-course dinner that included a bottle of wine. This was an amazing offer for $69, plus taxes and gratuity. We selected Greek salads for starters and the portions were very generous with fresh ingredients and a light balsamic vinaigrette. We opted for seafood pizza and pasta selections to share between the two of us: a “Deep Ocean” wood-fired thin crust pizza with Alaskan king crab, shrimp, scallops, lobster, and mussels and a “Favorita Seafood Linguine” with shrimp, mussels, scallops, and crab. The seafood was fresh and perfectly cooked. Our bottle of Pino Grigio white wine was crisp and nicely chilled and kept on ice for us at our table. Our meal ended with a light and tasty Taramisu dessert served with coffee for me and a pot of brewed green tea for my husband. We even got to meet the owner, Nick Shallal, who wanted to be sure that we were happy with our meal and the service. He treated us to after-dinner drinks: a refreshing Limoncello lemon liqueur served on crushed ice for me with a slice of lemon, and a warm cognac for my husband; the end to a perfect evening. We really felt like we received the red carpet treatment while dining at La Favorita, and we had a very special night. It brought back fabulous memories of a trip we had taken to Southern Italy where we visited Praiano and the Amalfi Coast. We had a wonderful, relaxed, unhurried evening at La Favorita. We came back to try La Favorita because of the excellent Groupon offer, but we will return because of the wonderful welcoming, friendly, and attentive staff, the lovely cozy atmosphere of the restaurant, and the food. We had dined at this restaurant more than 20 years ago at its original location on Preston Street and sampled one of their gourmet pizzas, the “Mediterana”, with shrimp, capicolla, hot peppers, and apricots ... it won me over then, and I can’t wait to return to try it once more!
What a great experience!!. Thanks La Favorita for a wonderful evening tonight! Celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary, sitting at home on a rainy August Saturday, we were looking for a place we knew would provide, good Italian food, wine and very important, athmosphere and ambiance. Having eaten twice before at La Favorita, it came to us as a flash. Excellent greetings, bilingual service by a wonderful waitress, excellent entrées and great plats de resistance (leek soup, minestrone soup, Ferrari Pizza and the Chef's surprize pastas ( linguini carbonara). Crisp, dry pinot grigio to complement our meal, we had a wonderful evening and are looking forward to our next visit! Will certainly won't wait 30 years!!
Thanks La Favorita!!
Great experience. Just returned from a lovely dinner at La Favorita a restaurant that I probably would have never discovered were it not for the Groupon deal. My friend and I enjoyed every course of our meal. Michael our server made it even more enjoyable my being friendly and patiently sharing his knowledge. Every mouthful was a delight and we plan on returning to experience their pizza. Thank you for a great evening.
A Special Place!. My husband and I had lunch at La Favorita on Canada Day and were delighted with both the food and the service. Our waitress recommended the Seafood platter paired with a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The ambiance was cool and lovely, and the food absolutely delicious. At 40$ per person for a huge platter of seafood, the price was more than reasonable. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we wanted to let people know about this gem in the Heart of Little Italy. Thank you for a wonderful dining experience, we look forward to being regulars at La Favorita, our favorite new date place.
I had a wonderful dinner at La Favorita with my friends. It is my first time here. Candle lights, giant screen projecting World Cup 2014 and lovely company. We started with greek salad, focaccia and the main dish was Braised Lamb. It was delicious, tender and juicy. The Crème Caramel presentation was exceptional and tasty. We ended our dinner with a hot Capuccino while cheering our Brazilian team!!! Goal!!!
Awesome service, food, atmosphere and management.. Can't say enough about this place! We went there with a toddler (9 1/2 months old) and not a problem. Stayed over 3 hours enjoying ourselves with laughs and food. Our waiter Micheal took great care of us and Nick the owner finished off the night with complimentary drinks for everyone. I thought this had something to do with us running up a huge bill but no, the bill was pretty good for 6 adults. I highly recommend the seafood tray.
William & Kristine.
The food was a 10, service a 10 atmosphere a 10. We went with a table of 6 for my bday and it was excellent, the tiramisu melts in your mouth and the osso bucco was to die for. If you want to get a fill on seafood the platter is beyond what I could hope for. An our server Michael made our stay even more enjoyable!
Great meal.... At a great price
Always ask what is home-made...and then order that (some is made from scratch ... Some isn't) all the meals we had that were homemade were great.... They even make there own pasta!
Excellent food & service. We went to this place last night for the first time. We had a 5-course meal and it was delicious and authentic. We loved the lobster tail and the dessert - tiramisu.
Friendly service. Nick the owner is friendly and cares about his customer. He came by few times and asked about the food. We will definitely recommend to our friends and we will go again to try their Pizza.
Interesting and delicious variety of pizza, fantastic house wine, friendly service, nice atmosphere, decent prices. Definitely one of my favourites!
Excellent. Excellent. Excellent. The staff is polite/knowledgable. The food is very tasty and served within a reasonable time with appropriate prices. Definitely will go back/recommend! Thanks Nick'
Always good / Sempre buono. We have been to La Favorita many times over the years and have always been very satisfied. Whether it's pizza, pasta or meat dishes, you are never disappointed. Tonight we had the seafood linguine and linguine Al Antonio (which was alla carbonara). The seafood in my dish was exquisite, perfectly cooked and plentiful. The pasta was cooked al dente (I chose the white sauce) and was very generous. I tasted the carbonara and it was also amazing. Nick, the owner is always pleasant and cares a lot about his customers. Our waiter was very efficient, polite and pleasant. La Favorita has a great chef, pleasant decor and I would not hesitate to recommend this restaurant. Lilianne and Claudette
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Thank you for a lovely evening, Michael. We usually order La Favorita pizza and take it home. Tonight however, my girlfriend and I decided we'd eat out and use a Groupon I'd forgotten about. We were greeted by the most delightful waiter, Michael. Service was perfect, and the food was splendid. He'd described the evening's specials, his recommendations and added a touch of humor throughout the evening.
I would easily give La Favorita two thumbs up and our evening would have been perfect if only we would not have been abruptly interrupted when came the time to settle the bill by whom I can only assume is the owner, Nick Shallal. It is quite a disappointing scene to be subjected to when such a graceful employee, who was encouraging us to promote the restaurant just minutes before, is being scolded by the owner in front of patrons for a simple mistake with regard to the Groupon fine print. Equally as sad is when a $20 difference comes before the dignity of an enthusiastic server and becomes the sore point of an otherwise perfect evening. To some, what comes naturally is to offer top notch service and a great dining experience, to others it is nothing more than collecting money for the cash register. Again, thank you for a great dinner. It was entertaining from start to finish to say the least! We will be back; just no Groupon this time ;-)
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
FINEST IN LITTLE ITALY. My wife and I have been coming to LaFavorita for more than 25 years. We have followed Nick to all his locations and would only wish him the best and consider him a friend. In all our years of dining at his fine establishment, we have never once heard him raise his voice, only in welcome. When I arrive at the airport my next stop is to LaFavorita to relax in his warm welcoming cozy clean restaurant. We have never found Nick or his staff overbearing or inefficient only professional and personable. Nick, as a small owner knows the importance of his customers and makes sure your dinning experience is everything you expect it to be. Nick works so hard at assuring your dining experience is everything you expect, my plane was late landing in Montreal. I called for a reservation at LaFavorita and they said they were closing at a certain time, but Nick went out of his way to keep the doors open until we arrive. And our focaccia and Mediterranean Pizza was awaiting us. That’s customer service. We had another experience were Nick made us a beautiful delicious Mediterranean pizza. Our first slice into the pan and I accident knocked the whole pizza onto the floor. Nick and his staff immediately attended to us and made us another one without any extra charge. I highly recommend LaFavorita and we will continue returning to Nicks and telling and taking all our friends and family to his restaurant. I urge you to give this hard working business owner restaurant a chance. For those who think that the service is slow and shoddy, and want your food fast, go to a fast food joint, keep your negative, totally unwarranted opinions to yourself. You are quite obviously coming from a competing restaurant.
This restaurant is lovely. I wanted to impress a girl and brought her here. Two years later, this where I chose to propose to her. The food is excellent and the staff very friendly.
Superb Food and Atmosphere. A colleague and I went to La Favorita for lunch at La Favorita and the entire experience put a smile on our faces. From the warm and personable greeting at the door by Nick the owner, the friendly and attentive service by our waitress to the fabulous meal and warm cozy ambience we could not have asked for anything better. We ordered one of their specialty pizzas and asked if we could add some lamb to it. No problem. The pizza was amazing and my colleague commented on it having the best crust he had ever tasted. The owner gave us a friendly smile and wave goodbye on our way out and we both agreed we needed to return with our spouses for dinner in the very near future. I would highly recommend La Favorita to anyone.
Excellent food and service. The veal scallopini was superb!
My wife and I went for dinner last night around 8 pm, we have been there 4 times, every time the food was delicious. What we also love is the atmosphere, candles and soft music. Very relaxing and quiet. Seafood pizza and tiramisu excellent! Nick the owner is very nice and friendly
Superb tiramisu. My husband and I had a lovely dinner and nice evening overall. Everything was perfect. Seafood pasta so good. Special and unique tiramisu. In my opinion the best in Ottawa. Love it!!!
The restaurant decoration is elegant and lovely. Our server was truly nice and helpful. He constantly check in with us to see if we need anything and he was very polite as well but we did not get to know his name. The food is absolutely amazing. I personally love the fettuccine carbonara which came with just enough sauce and cream in it not over. Caesar salad and the calamari is fresh. If we ever return to Ottawa, La Favorita will be a place we definitely visit again.
The dishes were amazing - coming from someone who is picky about “authentic italian food”. Their calamari was super crispy and all the pasta sauces were so fresh+perfectly seasoned. The place feels really welcoming, probably partly because the owner treats his customers like family. Excited to come back when we can dine-in, it’s so pretty (especially for dates and such).
Nice place for Italian food. We ordered Bella pizza. It was good but I was expected it would be more delicious. One most important thing, they really care about the cleaning and safety. People are really nice there. Will visit there again.
Visited for lunch while visiting Ottawa and its Little Italy. Service was helpful and attentive. We were seated in a fairly cozy spot on their patio outside which helped with the experience.
Tried one of their pizzas which was the Seafood Pizza (Frutta Di Mare) which came in a thin crust but was a crispy golden brown. There was a good mix of seafood on the pizza and was able to feed three with a large size. Recommended to get a larger size if looking to share or feed multiple.
The food was delicious, the atmosphere was really warm and inviting and the service was very attentive without being overbearing. The perfect spot for a lovely dinner with family, friends or a date.
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes