Review La Favorita - Ottawa

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).

The restaurant has a good vibe in terms of the ambiance. It’s got a good Italian touch. The beer was quite nice. It was my first time when I tried an Italian beer (Moretti). The pizzas were also delicious. The dough was definitely freshly baked (one could make out the difference) and the pizzas were definitely well made. The reason for my three stars is because of the slow service. They took quite a while to bring out the pizzas. So my only comment would be if they could better their service time, it would be perfect.

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.

The pizza was disappointing (world famous..?). Tastes like $5 frozen pizza from walmart but it costs $20. Also not sure why we were seated in a side room when the main dining area with better decor had no patrons. Definitely would not recommend, extremely disappointed.

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.

If you order from skip the dishes, your food will be on time and probably amazingly fresh judging from the previous reviews. However, if you eat in the restaurant it is a whole different experience. Skip takes priority and tables are waiting for hours before receiving their meal. The servers can’t even be bothered to ask if you want refills on your drinks while you mindlessly wait. The owner sits around and chit chats with his staff instead of going to the kitchen to help his cooks since he says he’s so short on staff. Food is served to the same table at all different times. My meal came 45 minutes before the last one was served. All tables were like this. They make all the spaghetti for the whole dining room the serve, all linguine for the whole dining room and all tables and serve. You get the idea. The laughable part is that one person at our table ordered buttered noodles, and theirs was the last to be served….. like butter + noodles and it takes 4 hours to make 😂 Salmon was served raw in our party, chicken is over done, nothing was consistent except for long wait times for subpar food. My Greek salad was literally a whole bell pepper and some cucumber with italien dressing. Wouldn’t recommend unless you order through skip.

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.

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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.

We ordered chicken parmesan and pasta carbonara to share. The chicken parmesan was completely raw! It was disgusting, not to mention dangerous health-wise. We had both taken a bite, and felt ill afterwards and couldn't eat. (My husband had actually swallowed his, I spit mine out). The worst part though, has been dealing with the owner. He offered a $25 gift card to make up for it, and said he wouldn't offer more or else he "would be losing money." Wouldn't even cover the full cost of our meals. So unprofessional. Will post a picture of the chicken as well.

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.

For the love of God, do not order take out or delivery from this place. Ordered on Skip the Dishes and they ignored special instructions, chicken on the salad was like leather, and their brusseta... that is not brusseta. Soggy af garlic bread with tomato on top. Terrible. Did I mention the bacon carbonara had like... the crappy left over pieces from bacon? Total waste of time and money.

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

Veal scalloping was raw! Crab pizza had shells and was tasteless! Absolutely terrible! Veal tortellini was definitely frozen and steamed.. Do not recommend at all!

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.

Simply put, bad! Although others at my table liked their food I did not. Took a long time to get served and then my pizza was dry with no flavour and to me it had the appearance of being sloppily put together. I really did not like it at all. There are better options in Little Italy. Will not return. Wine was ok.

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!

Had only heard good things about this Italian restaurant in little Italy and was looking forward to having good traditional Italian food at a reasonable price. What a disappointment! Had the calamari to start which was turned out to be like frozen prepackaged food served with shrimp cocktail sauce. Very disappointing. For the main, I selected a pasta that was over cooked and tasteless. Only ate half and sent the rest to the garbage where it belonged. Heard the tiramisu was great but with such disappointments with the first two courses, I opted out. We were a table of 8 and no one enjoyed their food with the exception of one. Most of the food was from frozen and in some cases you could taste that "frozen for too long" taste" that accompanies food that is prepared then frozen and then thawed again. The meatballs were a prime example of this. They tasted metallic if not bad. The waiter was attentive but knew that many of us were not pleased with this food which made for an awkward evening. The restaurant did remove a dish from the bill however. Usually I would always give a restaurant another chance but don't think so in this case. It was that bad. If you do go, stick to the pizzas or perhaps the calzones. I heard that this restaurant had changed ownership which may be the cause for this restaurant having good to great reviews from patrons from some time ago. Too bad!

One out of ten for the one basil leaf I got on my pizza. But in all seriousness wth? <br/>This restaurant should not advertise themselves as authentic Italian because the only part about this restaurant that was authentic were the carnations on the table. If you want authentic pizza do not rely on this place to get it. I ordered a margarita pizza that sadly came with shredded mozzarella and no fresh tomatoes. There was maybe 5 slivers of basil on it which is not an expensive ingredient. The crust itself was advertised as being cooked in a woodfire oven but was hard as crostini and felt like a frozen pizza was thrown into the oven on a low temp not to mention the fake Parmesan that was dusted overtop for I guess presentation? <br/>This is the first review I've ever written but I felt so compelled to write one as I was extremely disappointed in something that is so simple to make. In Italy this pizza wild be a disgrace and I recommend the owners to visit Italy to see how real pizza is made.

This restaurant is nestled in little Italy. The environment is good, the food unfortunately has gone down hill. The Greek salad was weak for the price point. I ordered gluten free pasta with chicken, the chicken was awful... Spitting out pieces of over cooked processed chicken fat was not acceptable. <br/><br/>On a positive note, the service was fantastic. <br/><br/>La Favorita needs to bring up the food standards to match the environment.

If you look at my previous reviews, you'll notice that I'm not a picky eater at restaurants. We went to La Favorita on a Wednesday for dinner. The decor and ambiance were nice. Everything you'd expect from an Italian restaurant in Little Italy. For apps, we had the Ceasar and Greek salads. The ceasar had no prociutto and the Greek had no oil & vinegar... Very bland salads. For dinner, we had the manicotti plate and the Pope pizza. I could've eaten the manicotti plate in 4 bites. That's $5 per bite... It was good though, but not great. The pizza was also disappointing. It lacked flavour yet was overly salty. For dessert we had the Tiramisu and it was awesome! I still can't recommend this restaurant... Simply too bland. Service was great though!!

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.

Great Food. Had a dinner with friends there. We ordered seafood platter and pizza. The seafood were fresh and the thin crush pizza was great. The waitress was very friendly too. Highly recommended.

Middle-of-the-road at best.. We ordered a combination pizza from one of their glitzy flyer we received in the mail. We thought it would be above average because this is after all an Italian eatery on Preston which is known for its Italian food. I was a little hesitant though after reading lukewarm reviews, but what the hell.<br/><br/>A large was more expensive than other places, but we thought, hey, we are paying for quality. We were wrong. The pizza came promptly and upon opening the box we noticed that some topping were falling off because they did not meld with the rest of the pizza. Green peppers had flown all over the box and were cold and hard as if the pizza had been thrown together in a hurry. The crust was ok and the rest of the pizza was basically average. Long story short, it did not live up to the hype.

BEST PLACE TO EAT. Just had dinner, and everything tasted amazing, the Bella Pizza was delicious, best cappuccino i have ever tasted, light and smooth, cherry cheesecake to die for, follow it up with friendly and helpful staff and beautiful atmosphere, A+++++++

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.

Fantastic From Beginning to End. We celebrated our 40th wedding Anniversary with all our wedding attendants. Nick prepared a meal for a King and it was served by a beautiful and cheerful waitress Diana. Nick made our whole evening special by sending over complimentary drinks after the meal. This is a place I would recommend to our friends and family and will return in the future. Nick Thank you to you and your staff. Rate 5 out of 5.

Still delicious!. We have been to this restaurant many times and are never disappointed. Pizzas are great, seafood platter is incredible, and we love the fun atmosphere. The servers hit the right mix of efficient and friendly. The owner Nick visits with patrons to make sure all is well. You can tell there are many "regulars" which makes for a good vibe and is an indication of quality of food and service. Two thumbs up.

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

Least favorita. The food was good but the owner Nick was screaming and pacing to and fro. First and last visit.

La Favorita, Preston Street, Ottawa. We have resided in Ottawa for over 35 years and without doubt this Restaurant offers the BEST pizza of all the places in town!<br/>We usually order the thin crust combination and it is fantastic. The brick oven also adds to the atmosphere.<br/>Great friendly service and very pleasant ambiance..<br/>The eggplant parmesan is also great. The seafood platters are amazing. Good wine list.<br/><br/>Try it, you will not be disappoionted.<br/><br/>G&A B

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.

A Birthday Feast from Winnipeg Girl. Had a fantastic evening, food, drinks and atmosphere amazing and inclusive. If anyone is looking for a great time and good people you can look no further. Go down and enjoy yourself 5 stars!

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!

Mothballs with your pizza?. The first time I went to this restaurant was about 7 years ago and it was, hands down, the best pizza I'd had in all of Ottawa. That was 7 years ago, and it would seem that things have changed dramatically. I brought my partner there last November and it was nothing but embarrassing. Upon reading the reviews on here, I'm beginning to wonder what explains the inconsistency. perhaps it's the Groupons, or the restaurant itself, but whether it's the chicken or the egg, this restaurant has taken a hard dive.<br/> firstly, the restaurant smelled terribly of mothballs. It was overpowering so much that it became difficult to concentrate on the food. And sadly, the food was terrible at best. we ordered the pizza given this is the item they're known for, and it was terribly undercooked, and lacking in flavor. The restaurant was completely empty except for us so I don't understand why the mishap. To boot, they were really slow serving us. the restaurant itself is cute to look at, but the lighting need some work. It's dim, but so dim that it's difficult to make anything out then becomes a strain on the eyes. The whole experience was quite puzzling and was a mournful loss for a restaurant that I used to adore.

La Fav has been a home away from home for us for 25 years, and counting. The menu (especially the pizza!!!) is the ultimate comfort food, delicious and hits the spot. Our go-to place for those evenings we just don't want to cook, hosting out of town guests, and for special celebrations. Nik and his staff have always made us feel so comfortable and welcome, and go out of their way when doing special orders and catering. We go to other places from time to time, but La Fav is definitely a staple for us.

Diner. This was our first time at La Favorita. We had salad, the seafood platter, and dessert. <br/>We were not disappointed at all. This meal was great and the service was amazing.<br/>Nick, the owner, introduced himself. Michael, our waiter was great. Above average service.<br/>Will definitely return.

An evening to remember. A close friend suggested we have dinner at La Favorita and the choice of restaurant was perfect. The ambiance of dimmed lights and Christmas decor was warm and inviting; being greeted by the owner added to the feel good and feel welcomed atmosphere; the service was fast and courteous and the food and wine delectable. A place to return to definitively.

3 course seafood lovers meal groupon. Absolutely amazing! The seafood platter was out of this world! It was my moms birthday and they gave her a giangantic lobster in the platter!! Best seafood hands down, the pinot grigio was great, the Caesar salads had a nice peice of cured ham on it! The decor was fantastic! The owner came by a couple of times to make sure everything was okay! Honestly live seafood and this platter was one of the best! Scallops and shrimp cooked to perfection! Giant king crab legs, 2 per person! And mussels were simply delicious! Best Groupon deal ever! Plus it comes with 2 desserts if you're still hungry! Honestlt, first time dining here but will not be the last! Fantastic food!!!

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. <br/><br/>Affordable Fine dining that is a Preston Street favorite. Don't forget to have a home made Tiramisu to end your evening.

Great food and amazing service. One of our favourite restaurants in Ottawa.....great service from Fiona-efficient, funny and knowledgeable and made our lunch meal a special treat The chicken cacciatore was wonderful and my friend's eggplant parmesan delicious too. We have eaten here many times in the last 25 years...always dependable, always good, always friendly....an institution on Preston!!

Great food!. One of my most favorite restaurants. Great service, the Owner is in the restaurant. He checks on you during your meal and makes sure you like everything. Great service. Warm and charming restaurant. The food is absolutely amazing. The seafood plate is my favorite. Decent prices for great quality!

Romeo and Juliette Groupon package. First off, the decor struck me. Beautiful. Fiona greeted us and she was a well seasoned server that did everything right. The Ceasar salad wasn't the best I've 'ever' had, but the prosciutto on top was welcome and was quite good overall. Pasta Tutto Mare with Rose sauce was very good, as was the Tiramisu. A nice bottle of Chianti also came with the meal. The nice surprise was that we were treated like full paying customers. We'll return for sure.

Great time!. The food was tasty and the service was amazing. Went for dinner with the in laws and were made to feel right at home...even with complimentary drinks. Will be back for sure.

Best place to have seafood. The seafood platter is always fresh and tasty! Wonderful service and nice boss.

Anniversary 24 th. So we did our 15th year aniversary at la favorite on mc Arthur { at the time} ,we had the seafood for 2 platter hummm ! it was excellent. on our 20 th anniversary, they were back on preston, grabbed 8 friends went there ,service ,food ,ambiance superb . so last night for our 24 years anniversary ,again we decide la favorita ...the mood ,the food, its all so great, this time we had Italian food and again amazed. great food ,super waitress "fionna" and the rest is history, would highly recommend this restaurant :if you want peace, quite and extra good food.<br/>famous last :words "well be back: thank you la favorite...ruth and dennis and company

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! <br/>We decided to share a plate of calamari followed by a seafood pizza with caesar salad as appetizers.<br/>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.<br/>We concluded our wonderful meal with carrot cake and coffee.<br/>Each selected menu item, without exception, was delicious. Chef/Owner Nick Shallal obviously takes pride in his<br/>work and devotes a remarkable degree of TLC in the preparation and presentation of all menu offerings. <br/>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 <br/>picked from vines on the premises as a little gift to mark the occasion. <br/>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.

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.<br/>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!

Delicious food, friendly service, an outdoor patio, an affordable price!. My wife and I had dinner at La Favorita tonight to celebrate my (mid 50s..) birthday. We both started with the Greek Salad. My wife followed with the Fettucine with lobster tail & snow peas. I had the Linguini with shrimp, scallops, crab & muscles. We shared a bottle of Chianti Ruffino that went well with the rose sauce we both chose. Both dinners were fantastic! The service was as good as the food. We will be back and suggest that you give them a try as well.

Great food and pleasant romantic evenings. The seafood plate is very good, generous portions of lobster, crab, shrimps, scallops, mussels and always fresh. Nick the owner always has a little attention to your plate and his customers. The staff is always pleasant and polite. The quality is very good and the price of food and wine is very reasonnable. For dessert, you can always ask for a plate of fresh fruit, you will not regret it.

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!

La Favorita - Little Italy. La Favorita is my best restaurant in the little Italy for pizza and osso buco. A few years ago, when my kids and I lost "The Garage", we found La Favorita. We tried many others but La Favorita is the best. The service is always great. Often they serve me in my mother language, french. The terrasse is smal but very europeen.

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!! <br/>Thanks La Favorita!!

Great food, great service and a great evening. La Favorita never ceases to impress. The six of us had the seafood plater and my, my, my, what a huge serving it was. As usual we ate to our heart's content and the service was phenomenal. Thank you Nick for making this happen. We will be back.

Frozen Lasagna in a Plate of Water & Finger Prints in the Cheesecake.. My girlfriend and I decided to try this restaurant out by way of a groupon. The groupon was accepted just fine, so I ordered the lasagna while my girlfriend had the lobster fettuccine and a starter of garlic cheese bread. The garlic bread an unimpressive pair of grocery store rolls, cut in half, with a knifes spread of garlic butter and a few strands of cheese. The lasagna came to me soggy, actually sitting in a pool of its own melt-water. When I cut it in half it had ice in the middle. My girlfriends lobster was overcooked and tasted of old fish, the taste of which carried over to the entire fettuccine dish. The server was very apologetic and offered to have them 'remake' the lasagna, but we didn't have the time to wait another 45 minutes. Instead, we ordered cheesecake to use up the groupon and in my case act as a substitute dinner. My girlfriend’s cake had two clear thumbprints on the top of it while my plate was merely smudged with fingerprints. There was no management available to speak with. They cashed my groupon $50 and I left regretting the entire experience. The idea they offer 'casual fine dining' is a joke played on their patrons.

Just average. I think we had a coupon and decided to try this place for a second time. Service was good but the food was very average and not worth it even with a coupon.

Awesome. La favorite is one of our favorite restaurants. Last night we had dinner there again. I ate veal scaloppini with cognac sauce, roasted mushrooms and steamed mini potatoes and vegetables. It was delicious. The house merlot was great.<br/>My partner had chicken parmesan with spaghetti and meat sauce. He loved it. Their tiramisu cake is to die for.<br/>We love the atmosphere and the service is great. We will go back.

La favorita. Amazing food amazing service great time.

We had a delicious meal and great service. We had strict dietary concerns and they were accommodated. The service was fast and the the generous owner joined us for a seat at the end of the night. We definitely recommend.

This was the worse experience I've had in a very long time. The calamari came out burnt! The waiter upon serving us our calamari, told us that "now...this is the way most people like it, but tell us if it's not to your satisfaction..." I was exteremeny puzzled because he clearly noticed that it was burnt but still chose to serve it to us. After 15 minutes he came back without asking us how we like it, he stated "oh I'm just going to ask them to fire you up another one..."I then asked him to remove it all together from our bill, as I was shocked at the state the calamari was when he initially brought it out and how burnt it was.... Now I wish I had taken a picture so I could show how terribly burnt it was. Then the chicken Caesars salad came out, which was so disgusting that we wrapped it up for our dog... The lettuce was old and stale and the chicken tasted like reheated frozen chicken you'd expect from a fast food restaurant. But i'd have to say they saved the worse for last... Our pizza was soggy and burnt at the same time. Zero flavour and a mish mash of ingredients that tasted straight from a can, rather than fresh. Not sure how they're staying open, and honestly I'm guessing most of the people who write the good reviews probably had a couple of bottles of wine which altered they're true judgement in the quality of the food.

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.

Very nice. Staff and food were excellent, Groupon friendly as well. Excellent seafood linguini and ossabuco. Michael is an excellent professional server.

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.

Had a bad experience here today, a large group of ladies attending a baby shower inside the restaurant loudly and obnoxiously invaded the patio space and smoked there in violation of Ottawa's laws against this behaviour. Very crude and classless patrons and staff useless to stop it. We had to leave. Like the pizzas here but they lost a regular customer today.

La Favorita. The food was very good here, but even more impressive were the waitresses. They were very pleasant and knowledgeable. I was left with the feeling that they really cared about the clientele, and would do what it takes to make the meal a success. I highly recommend both the food and the service.

Deception, first and last!. For our 35th wedding anniversary we bought a Groupon at La Favorita, potage affreux, salade celle du MacDonald est mieux, cannelloni OK, Steak (certainement pas du filet mignon) et queue d'homard et pour dessert un morceau de gâteau directement venu de chez Costco, le jeune homme qui préparait la pizza devait préparer le dessert et notre table était just in front of him, he got the box written Kirkland cut two pieces,sprinkle some cacao on top of it and voila "BON APPÉTIT" Quel déception et pour couronner le tout depuis que je suis de retour j'ai la diarrhée. Soyez très prudent.

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!!!

Went here with coworkers for an after work dinner before heading to a comedy show. Needless to say, for little Italy, I wasn't impressed. It wasnt terrible, but it wasnt the quality I was expecting from an Italian resto in little Italy. We were a big group and I feel they couldn't accommodate us properly, the lighting was poor and the service was average. Overall, average at best, at least from this experience. I would go back, but it wouldn't be my first choice of little Italy.

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. <br/>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!

La Favorita. Amazing food! This restaurant never dissapoints. Food is great everytime, fresh ingredients and well prepared. Always consistent.....and you are always treated like royalty! My favorite place and best value on Preston St.<br/><br/>Terri and Don

A Gem in Ottawa!!. Tried it once when passing by and loved it! Great calzone with salad, mussels and pizza. Tried it twice for the pizza! Awesome!! Tried it three times within one week while visiting Little Italy in Ottawa recently and had the seafood platter and pizza. Can't stay away from La Favorita ... too bad this restaurant isn't in Saskatchewan! We will definitely come back next time we're in Ottawa and bring our friends/family! Can't go wrong with great service, delicious food and welcoming atmosphere. Well worth checking out.

Squandered potential.... Some of my favourite things are homey restaurants, mom and pop operations, with inviting terraces like the one at La Favorita, in Ottawa's Little Italy. Whenever I walk up to one at random, I want it to be a place I'll come back to. La Favorita had the potential to be such a place. I want to support these local businesses and the sense of community they create. But they don't get a free pass just because of those noble aims.<br/><br/>La Favorita has a letter (with typos) to its customers on the front page of its menu. I'm beginning to think this kind of heartfelt overture should act as a warning sign to me that more often than not that the business is going for some sleight of hand. Distract you with all its uplifting talk of origins and loyal customers ("hundreds" apparently, in La Favorita's case) and "great food" and "atmosphere", all in the hopes that you won't notice that a) the service is sub par if not bizarre in our case (3$ Fairlee cranberry juice bottles brought right to our table and served like fine wine!), b) the food is far from "great" even in the case of simple dishes like Chicken Cesar Salad (tough, bland, heat-lamp tortured chicken) and garlic bread with cheese (also a heat lamp victim) and c) that the prices they charge for this experience are completely out of line with what is delivered. I don't expect masterpiece cuisine in a place like La Favorita, but I do expect, at the very least, a competent recreation of things that have been successfully done elsewhere, a billion times before. Especially when a place bills itself as a "casual fine dining" experience.<br/><br/>I don't know who the "hundreds" of loyal customers who have followed the changing La Favorita locations around are (says it right there on the front page of the menu), but my time there sure hasn't convinced me to join that bunch. Such woefully middling fare is far from my idea of a favourite thing, and I can only hope the folks at La Favorita can do better.

Horrible. When the food came out, it was pretty marginal. The meat was very cold. Terrible seafood pasta.I have spoken to other friends about this restaurant and they had the same option. Overpriced for poor (at best) food. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone even though it generally had very good review. Save your money!<br/>Mike

Lovely girls night out.. My friend and I visited La Favorita this past Thursday evening after walking by the week before and taking a look at the menu. The atmosphere was very peaceful with charming tealight candles and flowers at every table. We were looking for a relaxing girls night out to unwind and catch up, and this was the perfect spot to do so. The food was delicious and the service even better. The owner introduced himself and was very pleasant to speak with. It was very evident that he takes pride in both his restaurant and the food that is served there. After a small delay on one of the items we selected, he very kindly went out of his way to bring us both a unique, sweet tasting cocktail before also bringing us a delicious complimentary dessert to make up for it. Fabulous customer service, delicious food and an overall very pleasant environment to spend and evening out. Will definitely be returning here. Thanks so much Nick!

Great, . . We keep going. Nice, cozy, romantic . . . I have been dining, partying here for many yrs. I go for the taste, the generous portion, the kindly owner/manager cheking personally if u r satisfied.<br/><br/>They have, among others, an impressive food platter, a wonderful tiramisu, . . yumm yumm!! Chapeau!!<br/>Sam

Great food, great staff, great place!. I recently ventured into La Favorita for the first time, and was very impressed. I met, and conversed with the very charming owner and a couple charismatic waiters provided great service throughout the night. As a vegetarian, I was pleased to see that there were a good number of dishes that I could enjoy. They have a great wine list as well. <br/><br/>As it was my first time there, the owner gave me dessert on the house! I ordered the home-made tiramisu, which I was a tad hesitant about because I'm not too fond of tiramisu, typically. It was SO delicious though, that I ate the entire thing!<br/><br/>The ambiance of the restaurant is also very nice. It is the perfect kind of place for either a nice date or a family celebration. Classy, but not snooty. <br/><br/>Overall, I'd give the restaurant 97% on a satisfactory scale.

Great dinner and friendly service... Go La Favorita.. In late March we were at La Favorita and we had Veal Scallopini and it was an excellent food with great service. We now bought Filet Mignon deal through Groupon and we heard a lot of positive comments from others who have had it before. Affordable, great food and excellent friendly service.

Great meal.... At a great price<br/><br/>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!

Great dinner and service. We used a Groupon there last night and the meal was excellent. It included minestrone soup, artichoke salad, cannelloni and veal with small potatoes and vegetables. Desert and coffee were included too. Everything was delicious. They were very accommodating and allowed us to switch our two glasses of wine that was included for a bottle of Woodshed Shiraz and pay the difference. The wine was great too. I would highly recommend this restaurant and we will definitely be back there. The owner was very nice and the service was great.

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.<br/>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

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.<br/><br/>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 ;-)

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.

A Memorable Meal. My husband and I recently purchased a Groupon deal for $69.00 for La Favorita, which consisted of Italian salad, choice of 2 soups, manicotti and entrée of steak with Portobello mushroom sauce, lobster tail and vegetables. Dessert and coffee were included also. From the moment we stepped in the door, both Nick the owner, and Mike, our server were accommodating, attentive and gracious. <br/>This was a feast, we're not just talking about small samplings of the above, bring your appetite. The salad was light and fresh, the mushroom soup extremely flavourful and I would challenge anyone to leave their bowl half finished. The steak was not a medallion as advertised, but a thin slice, extremely tender and delicious cut served with a side of slightly crunchy mixed vegetables. The tiramisu was incredible, just when you think you can't eat anymore, just too good to leave on the plate. The courses were served at just the right intervals, enough time to settle a bit and allow you to anticipate the next course. Give yourself a good 2 - 2.5 hours at least to enjoy this experience.<br/><br/>Thank you Nick and Mike for a memorable meal and evening. We will see you soon!<br/>Anne and Eric

Service, food and ambiance always good!. We have eaten in Ottawa's Little Italy area many times.... We keep going back to La Favorita!! <br/>Ambiance is warm and clean.<br/>Staff, always super friendly and efficient.<br/>Food, never disappoints and reasonably priced.<br/>Nick the owner is always a warm flamboyant presence.<br/>I especially like their Calzones

Best Pizza. Today my family went to this restaurant for the first time. We order three different medium pizzas and I have to say their pizza is the best we have tasted in Ottawa by far! The ingredients were fresh and tasty and the crust on each was nicely done. Staff were very friendly and service was excellent. We will be back.

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!

Not a good pick for Little Italy. I dined at La Favorita last night, our food took ages, the owner was scolding his staff, the kitchen seemed short staffed, and our food was really not good at all. When we mentioned we had been waiting for our cheese garlic bread, they apologized profusely. I then watched them slap some butter and cheese onto some freshly torn bread and VIOLA, garlic bread - ingenious. $70, and a terrible dining experience. Very disappointed.

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

Pizza not so great. Sorry to say, I have had way better pizza at restaurants that do specialize in pizza and that charge less. I ordered a prociutto pizza with asperagus, and they did not have asperagus. They substituted with zucchini. The cooked a cheese pizza and added grilled zucchini and prociutto after the fact. What was sad is the grilled zucchini was the best part.

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!!!

Brutal Experience. Brutal Owner.. We had gone for dinner last week using our Groupon. Being a vegetarian and needing a gluten free option, I ordered the gluten-free spaghettini pasta with some fresh vegetables tossed with olive oil and garlic. My spouse ordered a calzone. <br/>I will preface this by saying that I never complain about food and have never returned an order to a kitchen before. In this case however, our food came and my pasta was cold (literally to the touch) and not properly cooked (very hard/chewy). Also, the pasta was penne (not spaghettini) and there were no vegetables on it. The waitress was very nice and sent it back to the kitchen for me. In the interim, my spouse ate his calzone and said it was fairly good.<br/>The pasta returned and it was still cold / uncooked and this time, I found pieces of meat in it (salmon). The waitress was very apologetic (acknowledging it was still uncooked and that I am a vegetarian) and said that she would speak to the owner because it was unacceptable. The owner came to the table and said "We'll make it for you again. We're busy. It happens". Essentially, it was a "deal with it" kind of response. <br/>The pasta was brought back to me for the third time and was cooked, but there was no oil and garlic left on it. I smothered it with parmesan and ate what I could (keeping in mind that my spouse had now been done his meal for 10 -15 mins). <br/><br/>We then ordered their homemade tiramisu and creme caramel (which were delicious) and a coffee and asked for our bill. Our Groupon was good to cover $50 but he bill ended up being $95 (not including tip) - so really, we paid full price for our meal anyhow. We were charged for everything - even the pops we ordered were individually charged - no refills. We were really shocked that after all of that, the owner didn't offer to promo anything - not even the drinks or dessert. We understand that it was a busy evening, but it is the responsibility of the owner / manager to mitigate any issues and ensure that they not bear any consequence on clientele. His reaction to the situation alone was less than caring and in my opinion, is reflective of bad business. I have never written a bad review about an establishment before, but I felt it was imperative to do so after our experience. We will never return there.

NOT MY FAVORITA. GO.SOMEWHERE.ELSE. Hate to write negative reviews, especially considering that both I and my other half have history working in restaurants....but this place messed up our entire order and refused to take responsibility. Instead, blamed it on a "busy" night. Brutal, man .There is a reason they are at 59%, should be lower.