Viva Italia! A catch-all foodie itinerary for Ottawa's Little Italy
Your weekend plans are below. 👇
Someone in Little Italy, Ottawa. Right: A sandwich from Di Rienzo's in Ottawa.
Preston Street and the surrounding area is one of Ottawa's most illustrious hospitality stretches. High-end and low-end, restaurants and cocktail bars, even an elite food truck!
It also happens to be the home of Ottawa's Little Italy, a place that despite its name, is not limited to Italian food if you're looking for a great bite or a well-made drink. I've spent many days walking up and down this part of town, tasting all that it has to offer.
I couldn't possibly fit all of my favourite spots in one article, but here is the route I would take if I were spending a weekend eating my way through Ottawa's Little Italy.
Disclaimer — for the purpose of this exercise, I am assuming you're VERY hungry.
Friday Lunch: Di Rienzo's
Price: 💸
Cuisine: Italian Style Deli
Address: 111 Beech St, Ottawa
Why You Need To Go: While most of the restaurants on this list are going to fall on Preston Street, our first entry is slightly off the beaten path.
Di Rienzo's is an Ottawa institution. They've been serving up freshly shaved deli meat sandwiches with all the fixings for as long as anyone can remember. This cash-only Italian grocery seldom doesn't have a line at lunchtime, but it is worth the wait, and at less than $10 per MASSIVE sandwich, worth the price too. Just make sure you get the spicy eggplant on your sandwich, and a cannoli for dessert. Trust me.
Friday Snack: Smash Daddy
Price: 💸💸
Cuisine: Smashburgers
Address: 289 Preston St., Ottawa
Why You Need To Go: This food truck in the heart of Little Italy boasting a cartoon burger on its side is my clear-cut choice for the best burger in the city. There is no way around it, you have to eat here. From the crispy edge patty to the sauce to the quality of ingredients, to the Oklahoma style. There isn't much more to say other than you're only hurting yourself the longer you wait to eat here.
Friday Dinner: Kuidaore
Price: 💸💸-
Cuisine: Japanese
Address: 420 Preston St., Ottawa
Why You Need To Go: Kuidaore is a Japanese restaurant that for many has flown under the radar, but I'm about to put you on some game.
Here's what you're going to do. Walk in, sit down at one of the tables along the Anime mural wall, order a bottle of Sake, and go crazy with the menu.
I truly believe you can't go wrong at Kuidaore, the food here is all so delicious. However, I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't tell you to get the takoyaki. Fried octopus balls topped with kewpie mayo, a sweet and tangy sauce, and dancing bonito flakes. This is one of my favourite singular bites in Little Italy.
Friday Late Night: The Moonroom
Price: 💸💸💸
Cuisine: Cocktails
Address: 442 Preston St, Ottawa
Why You Need To Go: By now you know I'm a sucker for a dimly lit, intimate cocktail bar with a high-end touch. Well, The Moonroom fits the bill there. Not only is this an ideal date spot for a cocktail lover, but it's just a cool hang. The staff is great, the cocktails are expertly executed, and this is a place where you can truly be yourself no matter what. It really is a perfect blend of comfort and refinement.
Plus...Their garden patio is elite.
Saturday Lunch: Giovanni's
Price: 💸💸💸
Cuisine: Classic Italian
Address: 362 Preston St.
Why You Need To Go: Let me start by saying, Giovanni's is a beautiful spot for dinner too, but I had to make some decisions on how to fit all these amazing spots into this Itinerary, and Gio's is conveniently open for lunch whereas some of my other choices aren't.
Gio's is about as classic Italian as it gets. Familiar dishes done the RIGHT way. Italian food, as simple as it may seem, is really easy to screw up because there is nowhere to hide.
Thankfully, Giovanni's prides themselves on using premium ingredients, and scratch cooking techniques that result in a superior product every time.
Look, I AM ITALIAN, I don't go out for Italian, but I will absolutely go out for Gio's. Between the quality of food, the ambiance, and the level of hospitality...This is a place I break my rule for.
Giovanni's Website
Saturday Snack: Carmelito Cafe
Price: 💸
Cuisine: Italian Pastries and Espresso
Address: 354 Preston St., Ottawa
Why You Need To Go: So, you've just left a beautiful lunch and you have that craving for something sweet, but light. You stroll down Preston to find a cute coffee shop and stumble upon Carmelito Cafe!
Here's what you're going to do: Head inside, order a caffeinated drink of your choice, and revel in all of the sweet pastry options available behind the Carmelito counter.
My personal choice? One of their uniquely made Biscotti from an ever-changing menu of flavours dipped into a nice hot Cortado (with oat milk of course.)
Saturday Dinner: Perch
Price: 💸💸💸
Cuisine: Sustainable Canadian Fine Dining
Address: 300 Preston St., Ottawa
Why You Need To Go: First I'd like to start by saying it was nearly impossible for me to pick a dinner spot for Saturday night, I might need to do another list just to include places like Atelier, Katha, Mati, and so many others, but ultimately I HAD to talk about Perch.
Perch is a fine-dining restaurant unlike anything else in the city. They focus on using exclusively Canadian ingredients, ethical farming practices, and being as sustainable as humanly possible (or as much as the Canadian government allows them to be).
Perch even managed to source Canadian-made olive oil and balsamic vinegar for their menu, which if you ask me, is really impressive.
Saturday Late Night: Ward 14 Consignment Bar
Price: 💸
Cuisine: Hot Dogs & Pop ups
Address: 139-1 Preston St., Ottawa
Why You Need To Go: Alexa - Play "I love this bar" by Toby Keith!
This has been, is, and (if I can help it) always will be one of the most fun places to spend your evening in Ottawa.
Ward 14 Consignment Bar is different in a lot of ways. First off, everything is for sale. From the paintings on the walls, to the items on the shelves, to the tables and chairs, to the pews in what has been dubbed "the Jesus room". Everything has a price if you want it bad enough.
Second, their food menu is unique. What used to be two hot dog options and some chips and dip has since evolved into a full-sized hot dog menu due to the popularity of Ward 14 as Ottawa's "best late bite".
But it doesn't stop there. Ward is also the home of Ottawa's pop up's. Restaurants, caterers, and other talented hospitality professionals are regularly found taking over the kitchen at Ward, serving up unique one-off menus for patrons to come in and try.
Oh, and this is one of the best staff in the city. I really, truly love this place...I hope you learn to love it too!
Ottawa's Little Italy is truly special. It offers something for everyone and has a laundry list of hospitality icons that only continues to grow.
Making decisions on who to include in this list was probably the most difficult choice I've made as a writer in a long time... Guess I'll have to do a part two. *Slams laptop shut and runs to Ward*
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
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