Diners' Choice: Italian restaurants in Ottawa

OpenTable

Updated March 05, 2025

Looking for restaurants with the best overall Italian cuisine in Ottawa? You’re in the right place. Each month OpenTable analyzes more than 400,000 new diner reviews. We sort the results by category to help you discover new favorites. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Giovanni's Ristorante

4.8

4.8 (586)

CAN$51 and over

Italian

Downtown

About the restaurant

Giovanni�s Ristorante, which you can find in Ottawa, Ontario, is proud of its reputation for serving some of the finest Italian cuisine in the surrounding area. The staff insists upon only the finest ingredients like AAA steaks and seafood taken fresh from the sea. Guests will also enjoy the lovely d�cor, which is filled with gleaming crystal, in addition to the food at Giovanni�s Ristorante. One great way to start your meal at Giovanni�s Ristorante is with one of the excellent soups, such as the minestrone or the stracciatella. When you make it to the main meal, you might try one of the veal dishes. The veal marsala, with mushrooms and a wine sauce, is just one of many options.

Top review

Josh

Dined 2 days ago

Great service, and always a special evening at Giovanni's. Thank you for being a restaurant with an elevated experience in Ottawa. Food was fantastic and even on a busy Saturday night the service was outstanding.

DreamLand Cafe

4.8

4.8 (521)

CAN$31 to CAN$50

Italian

Little Italy

About the restaurant

Located in the heart of Ottawa’s Little Italy, DreamLand Cafe offers incredible fresh pasta dishes, made with love and finesse.

Our dining room is currently undergoing renovations. We're looking forward to welcoming you back in April 2025.

Top review

OpenTable Diner

Dined on Feb 28, 2025

The food was excellent, and the staff was incredibly friendly! However, it was a bit pricey.

Retro Gusto

4.9

4.9 (510)

CAN$31 to CAN$50

Italian

Little Italy

About the restaurant

Retrogusto is a pizzeria and bar that brings some much needed excitement to the north end of Preston street. We serve a Roman style pizza "Tonda", traditional roman fried snacks, salumi, cheeses and other small plates. Our food will be complimented by a small wine list that will be in constant rotation, strictly Italian classic cocktails, and beautiful amaro's from around Italy. The warm, cozy, dimly lit dining room with an open kitchen will be the perfect place to do the only thing that matters; eat good food, drink good wine and have a good time with friends.

Top review

Jessica

Dined on Feb 27, 2025

Food was amazing. Service was great! Solid menu. The restaurant was spotless and the attention to detail with the retro decor did not go unnoticed. This is a great quaint, casual, and cozy spot for delicious food and a fun night out. Ottawa foodies are lucky to have this place!

Joe's Italian Kitchen - Wellington

4.7

4.7 (69)

CAN$30 and under

Italian

Westboro

About the restaurant

Weaving old world traditions with new world creativity. Our goal is to bring you a diverse menu that not only preserves, but elevates hearty dishes that showcase the essence of Italian cuisine.

Top review

Marina

Dined 3 days ago

Warm friendly ambiance. Delicious food. Excellent service.

North and Navy

4.7

4.7 (1843)

CAN$51 and over

Italian

Downtown

About the restaurant

A Northern Italian kitchen inspired by the Bacari of Venice.

Our menu is inspired by tradition and dictated by the quality and availability of ingredients. We play off the similarities between the climates of Eastern Ontario and Northeast Italy, and create our take on classic dishes made with seasonal game, seafood and vegetables. Plus, sometimes we’ll just add whatever we want.

Top review

Andrea

Dined on Feb 24, 2025

Our server explained each dish and they did not disappoint, definitely in my top 5 all-time favourite meals.

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Experience

A Decade of North & Navy - Tasting Menu

La Roma Restaurant

4.6

4.6 (600)

CAN$31 to CAN$50

Italian

Downtown

About the restaurant

Located in Ottawa's Little Italy, we're an Italian, from scratch kitchen, focusing on contemporary Italian cuisine that is rooted in tradition. With a large dining room on the main floor, and three semi-private dining rooms upstairs, we have the space for all your party needs. In the summer, we have a covered rooftop patio available for small private functions, as well as three ground level patios. We are proud to work with local farmers and producers wherever possible. Join us Tuesdays for half price wine (on select bottles). We looking forward to serving you soon!

Top review

Sarah

Dined 3 days ago

Quite honestly the best meal I have ever had. The lamb was perfect and fell off the bone. The braised beef stuffed pasta had the most amazing brown butter sauce. Everything about this restaurant is perfection.

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Popular dish

Fettuccine Pescatore

Experience

Every Tuesday - 1/2 price wine!

Enoteca Monza Pizzeria Moderna - Gatineau

4.7

4.7 (161)

CAN$30 and under

Italian

Gatineau

About the restaurant

The wine has a unique and mystical quality: unlike most other drinks, it gets better as it gets older. No one can elaborate exactly what the end results will be – the wine is constantly evolving. So there is a bottled surprise to discover. Monza has been a household name for over 10 years with its wine bar. The wines on sale are from all over the world. Whether it’s a bottle of wine or champagne, local or international labels, quality and affordability are always on the menu.

Top review

Jean-MarcVIP

Dined on Feb 19, 2025

What a GREAT experience!! Waiter Dan was very attentive and prompt. We will go back food was amazing, bottles of wine 1/2 price on Wednesdays.

Fratelli - Westboro

4.6

4.6 (1044)

CAN$31 to CAN$50

Italian

Downtown

About the restaurant

Coming Soon!

Top review

Penelope

Dined 4 days ago

Yet another wonderful dinner post yoga class! The young lady at the bar taking care of us took it a step above by giving my birthday boy a lovely glass of limoncello…… very kind!

Cantina Gia

4.6

4.6 (1039)

CAN$31 to CAN$50

Italian

The Glebe

About the restaurant

Welcome to Cantina Gia
We look forward to seeing you soon.

Top review

Brenda

Dined 3 days ago

Excellent food. Very good service. However, chairs and bar stools hard and uncomfortable. Bar stools so uncomfortable we did not stay for desert.

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4.6

4.6 (773)

CAN$51 and over

Italian

Downtown

About the restaurant

Caffé Italiano’s approachable menu features fresh handmade pasta, sauces, bread, pizza and composed specialty dishes using 100% AAA Canadian select cuts, grass-fed and aged to perfection, fresh seafood from British Columbia and Nova Scotia through our Fresh Fish Program, locally sourced in-season fruit and vegetables, and imported fine Italian foods like gelato, San Marzano tomatoes, olives, pastas and relishes.

Enjoy fresh cuisine at Caffé Italiano in the destination setting of Rideau Carleton Casino, Future Home of Hard Rock Ottawa, a lively atmosphere perfect for group dinners, business meetings/events, anniversary dinners and birthday dinners

MUST BE 19+

Top review

helen

Dined on Feb 27, 2025

I've eaten at Cafe Italiano many times and have never been disappointed. Attentive and pleasant staff, excellent service and great food.

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