Ottawa Foodies

My fiance and I went to La Favorita a few days ago with our Groupon. We ordered the focaccia with tomatos and onions and it was not very hot. I had the chicken parmigiana. The pasta was way overcooked (too soft) and the chicken was okay. Not a lot of flavour. It would have been fine for half the price. The size of the chicken was good though. My fiance ordered one of the non wood-fired pizzas. The chicken and the pesto were both very dried out, although the almonds were good.

Our server became friendlier toward the end of our meal but seemed to be in a rush for the first half (despite there being only two or three other full tables in the restaurant). The server also returned our cutlery after the appetizer to my fiance by placing the knife and fork pointed towards him, which was very odd. All in all, I would probably not return. The food was not terrible, but it was not good.

10

I'd like to tell you what the food at La Favorita was like, but we didn't get past the door. Evidently the fools that run this place allowed a Groupon coupon to circulate and have been regretting it ever since.

Although it's not marked anywhere, they said they would not honour the coupon on a Sunday. When my (65-year-old) mother complained to the staff, they got the owner, who came out and basically told us to get lost.

It wasn't completely unreasonable for them to have restrictions on coupons, but they never made customers aware and the owner was rude, aggressive and used vulgar language towards my mother.

As we left the place and my mother remarked she would make it clear to anyone she knew what kind of place this was, the owner screamed - this is true - "We don't need your bullshit!"
Great place - class all the way.

I used to love La Favorita when I lived close by, and when a Groupon deal came up last week, I thought it was a good reason to go back. I was very disappointed this evening.
Wish I had read the other review that said to skip the calamari as it was bland, greasy and barely warm. I think I am being generous when I say the other food was barely OK. We ordered the wood fired seafood pizza and the wood fired calzone (veal and red pepper on waiter's recommendation that this was a standout) with caesar salad. Both the pizza and calzone had soggy uncooked dough. Caesar salad was ok but a bit overdressed. Pizza toppings were ok but unremarkable. Calzone filling was very tasteless and the veal was quite tough. In both cases the dough was not quite cooked, soggy and chewy. We did notice that as other customers' food came out it looked to be more completely cooked. Also the only wood fired pizzas are the small personal size, and I will say that on the way out we saw a number of diners enjoying what looked like quite nice pizzas, although since these were larger, they would not have come from the wood fired oven. Another disappointment was the cleanliness: there were a number of "decorative" bottles of olives next to our table that were quite thick with dust. Service was polite but a bit slow, and when we discovered the salt in our shaker was caked solid and asked for another shaker, we had to repeat the request 2 more times and it only finally arrived when we were almost finished our mains. Probably will not return, but if I do I will steer clear of anything from the wood oven and go with the larger pizzas.

We came here on a whim and had a somewhat variable experience. First and foremost, take the people's advice and have the pizza!

Pros:
* Friendly service
* Cozy patio (although cigarette smoke and flies can be a problem)
* Pizza (Margherita) and Calzone (Frutti di Mare) were good!
* Cinzano was only $4

Cons:
* Calamari (pictured here) was greasy and uninteresting.
* Wifey's pasta with grilled chicken breast and roasted red pepper was bland.
* Caesar salad was all right, but the lettuce wasn't in the best shape.
* They left a sizeable bowl of that nasty parmesan cheese powder on our table. Not sure what it was meant for specifically, but we didn't touch it! (Maybe it was meant to make the pasta less bland?)
* Cinzano was very small and had no lemon by default.
* Water glasses (which *did* have lemon) were never refilled.

We've been to La Favorita a few times in the past year - and each time have gotten the pizza. We originally went on a recommendation from a friend, but returned because we quite enjoyed the pizza.

The pizza itself is wood fired. The dough is incredible. We haven't tried all of the toppings available obviously, but a couple of times have gotten the carne (meat) which is fantastic. They also serve a zesty olive oil to drizzle on it which is a nice (tasty) touch.

In the summer they have a small, very nice deck that allows you to take in the goings-on of Preston street (as long as they aren't ripping it up again, this is pleasurable).

The interior is nice too, but a bit unkempt. There's a lot of "stuff" lying around near the bar and back by the wood fired oven, but not so unkempt as to deter us from returning.

The service is good, but each time it seems they are short staffed and scrambling. It's happened often enough, I think that's just the way it is though.

Despite the couple of "shortcomings" I mentioned, I would definitely recommend this restaurant and will be going back. I can't speak to their other offerings except the pizza, but it is excellent. Do try!

Visited La Favorita on a Saturday Night during the Italian Festival. It was very busy, besides the inside dining room, they also had a very large patio that was spread out on closed off Preston Street. We had a reservation for six people, and thankfully we were seated right away… things got really hectic by 7:00 PM. I find this restaurant has a funny layout, seating on two floors all long and narrow. Unfortunately, we were seated at the table at the base of the stairs, I didn’t feel cramped there, but I was constantly aware of the waiters running up and down immediately behind me.

After being seated we were welcomed by a waitress who was friendly and had a good sense of humour. She quickly set about handing out the menus and wine list. Unfortunately, as I later discovered (upon exiting) La Favorita was doing a whole roasted lamb on a spit for Italian Week, but there was no mention of any “Special” with the menu. Once seated, I decided to try an Ice Wine Martini. A nice combination of Pelliteri Ice Wine, Vodka and Peach Schnapps, but it was powerful!

As a starter I ordered the Italian Salad which consisted of mixed greens, tomato, cucumber, green pepper, onion & olives. “The Man” had the Minestrone Soup, and others shared an order of the Brushetta. No one was disappointed. Shortly after we placed our wine order, the good humoured waitress returned (good thing she could laugh and smile thru all the confusion that was going on in the kitchen etc), she wanted to apologize for (a) the shortage of wine glasses… she’d bring them as they became available from the dish washer, and (b) that they were sold out of Rosemount Shiraz. We were able to chuckle at the first issue, but feeling pressed to make a decision on the wine, “The Man” chose a bottle of the house red. The wine turned out to be a basic Italian table wine, and not nearly up to the dreamed of Shiraz. Gradually, over the next 20 minutes or so, the wine glasses appeared in pairs. We laughed because they were “hot” from the dishwasher and stuck them in the white wine chillers to cool them off.

For mains, I had the Penne with Chicken and Peppers in a Rose Sauce. “The Man” had the Veal Marsala that came with a side of Penne in Red Sauce. Friends ordered the Surf & Turf that included a steak, lobster tail, & shrimp. Unfortunately steak knives and melted butter never appeared. We noticed that steak and seafood dishes were the most popular items at La Favorita. The Seafood Platters were huge, and featured good sized Lobsters. Although known for their “wood oven” pizzas, I did not see any being eaten. During dinner we were serenaded by two very talented Italian singers who sang a multitude of times from atop the staircase. We opted not to have coffee or dessert, but rather to walk along Preston Street take in the sights and check-out the Ferraris.

All in all an “entertaining” evening. The Entertainment Book card entitled us to a $ 15 discount per couple. I found their pasta average, but I might consider going back to try their pizza, or more likely their Seafood Platter.

I love La Favorita - the wood-fired pizzas are totally amazing, and the owner is super friendly (and helps to wait tables when it's busy!).

Try the pizza with mango and brie - sounds weird but it's DELICIOUS.

Pictured is the La Favorita Special I had today (olives, peppers, anchovies, bacon, and pepperoni I believe).

I go here for the pizzas
nothing more nothing less
can your say wood fired pizzas!
the only thing better would be if the dough was sourdough

the owner (Nick) is always pleasant to me but that might be professional courtesy but I do enjoy the pizzas and He always remember to only put the cheese on half the pie

I ordered the "Frutti di Mare" Calzone, which is always a bit of a gamble. This one came loaded with shrimp, lobster, scallops, crab, and clams. The wood-oven crust was excellent! There was no sauce to speak of, which is fairly normal for seafood pizze. The seafood was tasty, although mostly overcooked (as is inevitable in any dish where dough must bake).

I'd imagine that other flavours of calzone here come with a plethora of tomato sauce, as is popular. If not, they should!

It's nice that these Calzones come with a side salad. The Caesar was nothing special, but I enjoy having some greens with my carbs and meat!