ottawa foodies

I had lunch on the patio with work colleagues. I ordered the Mio pizza which was savoury. I had a glass of pricey Sancerre ($11.25 a glass). My coworker dined on veggie pasta with gluten free rotini; success, the pasta was good. The real delight was the desserts. We tried tartufo, crème brulee and tiramisu. The desserts were a standout. The service was also attentive and the patio is a great place for a sunny lunch. The interior was clean and stylish. I would eat here again to explore their dinner items. The wine list looks respectable and they have a great looking espresso machine.

If you are looking for a great little place to have lunch on a terrace and watch passers by on a quiet but entertaining Wellington Street in Westboro, try Caffé Mio.
A small Italian caffé with tasty, simple fare.
Maybe it helped that the weather was perfect, and I was with great company and conversation. We shared the Pollo salad, and Caprese Cotto thin crust pizza. We top it all off with a delicious Lavazza Capuccino and herbal tea for my friend.
The Pollo salad was really fresh and had lots to offer: dried cranberreries, apricots, roasted red peppers, chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers, goat cheese and walnuts. Mmmm
The Caprese Cotto had a tasty thin herbal crust, with prosciutto, tomatoes, bocconcini. It was a paired nicely with the salad.

See more at theovalley.blogspot.com

On Thursday we were out to Caffé Mio Italian Bistro at 1379 Wellington Street, just east of Island Park. It was another noisy, busy night for them. It is great to see them doing so well. But it is no great mystery why. Every time we have visited, every dish has been good to great. No disappointments yet.

This time we had the soup of the day Tomato Soup ($5) and the Beet Salad ($11) to start. Then we moved on to the Salmon special ($25) and the Linguine Mio ($14).

All the dishes were great. And such a substantial size that we had no room for dessert.

We were given some bread and butter to start. The bread was a white baguette and was extremely fresh.

Hubby had a bottle of Tankhouse Ale ($5.25).

Dinner was close to $80 with tax and tip all in and we came away very, very full. Pace yourselves!

Our server was highly attentive and busy!

Full Review can be found on my blog here: ottawafood.blogspot.com

My wife and I stopped in here for a late lunch yesterday. We dined outside on the hot, noisy patio (hey it's on Wellington west, but I'm so used to my backyard) and both ordered panini, for her the grilled vegetable, for me the capicola. Both came with a salad of good baby greens, cucumber, red onions, a mildly hot pepperoncini and a mild vinaigrette. The panini were good but I found mine a little on the bland side (it had capicola, roasted red peppers and Swiss cheese slice - why Swiss? was it a southern Swiss-themed panini?). Some mustard, ajvar, pickles or perhaps a tastier cheese (eg some Crotonese?)would have made it more interesting to eat. The bread was toasted and quite crispy (the roof of my mouth is still feeling a little sore 24 hours later). My wife said she liked her grilled vegetable panini.
A panini and salad is only $8 - that seems pretty good.
My coffee was OK.
Service was good and attentive.

My friend and I decided to drop in to Cafe Mio for a small bite. We decided to share the quattro fromaggio pizza and a half litre of white wine.

The pizza was very good and flavourful. The house pinot grigio was okay, but not one of my favourites. Probably would not order that wine again.

The service was good. The waitress was very attentive and kept coming back to check on us.

The one drawback is that it was pretty expensive for what little food we ate. However, since I am a foodie, I really don't mind paying for good food.

I will definitely return to this restaurant to try other menu items which looked and sounded delicious.

#4:
Another friend had Chicken breast with blue cheese, he said it’s good. - $23.99 (?)

Overall, it was a restaurant that I’d like to go back again. Service was good, food was good, and atmosphere was pretty good. Price was alright. The only thing was that it was quite packed - not that comfy to sit for too long.

#3:
My boyfriend is a big fan of lamb, so no surprise he ordered grilled lamb rack again, according to him, the meat was cooked well, but the sauce was quite bland, I’ve tasted and agree. - $28.99.

#2:
Girlfriend ordered the special entrée of the night – Spaghetti with grilled chicken, plum tomatoes, and roasted veggies in pesto sauce (?) She is quite happy, portion was filling.
- $ 16.99

Main courses #1:
I ordered Linguini with Grilled chicken, sun dried red bell peppers, artichoke in white wine creamy sauce.
The chicken was cooked just right, very flavorful. The linguini’s texture was great - wondering if it’s made in-house, the creamy white wine sauce is good too, not so heavy. - $ 13.99

I always heard the good comments on this tiny Italian restaurant, so finally I decided to give a try :)
Friday night, 4 of us went to Café Mio, we made a reservation @7:00. It’s FULL HOUSE by the time we
got there!
Beside the regular menu items, they also had a few specials of the night. I ordered from the menu, but have tried their daily soup – sun dried tomato and mushroom soup with dried basil… hot and fresh made - $5.
My friends ordered their house salad, very fresh too but nothing special - $6.