Ottawa Foodies

I have been to Vittoria Trattoria in the market a few times, but i had never tried the Riverside location.

Upon entering, i noticed it was very nice, and the wine "wall" is very impressive. I know Vittoria has quite an extensive wine list.

Now i don't want to sound "bitchy" in this review, but one thing that i like in restaurants like this one (non-family / non fast-food) is polite and good service. I got the good service, but i got a big "hey guys! wassup?!" from the waiter when we came in. All through the time we were there, the waiter was talking to us as if we were one of his beer buddies, which is not the kind of service i like. I don't ask for a red carpet or anything, but just the basic level of client service. I don't even expect the "surfer cool" talk in fast food joints (and usually don't get it, but won't mind if i do). :)
Other than that, the service was good. (got our water, menu, bread, bill, all in good time)

The food?

Well the appetizer i had was the artichoke dip. Basically, it's a spinach and artichoke dip, served with bread. I'm forcing not to criticize prices, but 9$ for a dip can be a bit much. Still, it was very good so i don't mind it much.
The friend i was with had the "freshly diced plum tomatoes tossed in garlic herb scented olive oil on toasted bread". Maybe it's because i'm french, but is it "freshly diced" or "fresh plum tomatoes"? not sure. I had a bite and it was good. We loved both appetizers. :)

Main course:

We both went with Pasta courses. I cannot comment on what my friend took (Linguini bolognese) because i didn't taste it. He found it "average" and didn't finish the plate.

I ordered "Fettucine Natasha". I liked the sound of "smoked salmon and baby spinach in a citrus vodka cream sauce". I love smoked salmon, and i like the other ingredients, so i figured: hey, should be good!

Well it was average. It's rare that i won't finish my plate, i didn't finish this one. I found that the flavors didn't go well together. The white cream sauce did not go well with the smoked salmon. Speaking of that smoked salmon, i don't know when they smoked it, but even on its own it was so-so.

We didn't have dessert as we were going to the movies and were already a bit stuffed from the bread and half plate of pasta we had.

Now i'm not going to say this was a bad experience, because it wasn't. It was very average. But i hate going out of a restaurant and feeling like i just spent way too much on an "average" experience. The appetizers were good, the main course was so-so, the glass of wine was good, and the service was good (to a point), but i just felt like i got jipped.

I've had good experiences in the Market' Vittoria Trattoria, so next time i might just go back to that one.

Excellent food and wine. Nice decoration and good service.

Pretty Good spot for lunch, they have an excellent wine list. I like what they did with the space. Parking lot is always packed. Good staple for Pizza, salads and Pasta.