ottawa foodies

We got a ham dinner take-out meal on Sunday. There was maple glazed ham with an apple and Dijon mustard chutney, rosemary focaccia dressing, peas and snow peas with pancetta, scalloped sweet and regular potatoes and orange and honey glazed carrots. To start there was a salad with balsamic dressing and for dessert, tiramisu. Everything was really good and in my opinion, a bargain for $45.00. The meal was enough for two adults with ham leftovers.

I went to Biagios with a friend who always raved about how good their food was. Beautiful decor, great menu, but sadly that's where the good stopped.
It took some time to get our order in and after waiting over an hour, I was brought the wrong dish. I waited another 30 to 40 minutes and finally we gave up and left to go somewhere else to eat. What a disappointment. The waitress did not charge us for our glass of wine but I never saw a manager, no one even bothered to come speak with us. Pretty much the same experience as user 3893's review

We just returned from a group dinner at Biagio’s. We were not at all pleased. Our group of 22 had the front room, and were CRAMMED into the room, which was very noisy .... hardly room for our waitress to serve us. There was one, and only one server for the whole meal, and she also was responsible for five other tables!!!! She, Jaclynn did a great job considering the circumstances. She took our drink orders, and we waited .... she took our meal orders, and we waited 45 minutes to an hour, and even then the meals were not served together - some people were finished before others received their meal!!! The irony was that management stood around oblivious, and certainly were not caring or helpful. We will not go back, nor will we recommend this restaurant to anyone. We remember when it was Peter’s Pantry and had enjoyable times there.

We reserved the Front Room for my bridal shower. I have to say the food on the brunch menu was good, though the croissants, muffins and danishes were small and few (I didn't realize they wouldn't be replenished once the baskets were empty). Secondly, and by far more importantly, the service was atrocious. The waitress did not come around very often, she did not clean up the small bread plates or the empty jam and milk/cream containers (I actually had to do this myself). No paper napkins were provided to clean up any spills, etc., and when the waitress spilled some water on the table, I don't know if she was so oblivious that she just didn't notice, but she never bothered to clean it up. She only served coffee once at the beginning and not again until one of my friends went out to find her and ask her to bring coffee with the dessert. She was very slow and very lazy. This is not what I would call good service, nor even adequate. If you want to impress your clients you HAVE TO do more than the bare minimum. This was completely unacceptable. I honestly thought that a place that caters to weddings and has private rooms would go out of their way to please their guests, but apparently I was sadly mistaken. We will NOT be returning to this establishment.

I have been to Biagio's twice in the last month. I had the Grazzi pasta both times (very good). It is quite al dente compared to most restaurants but I found it perfect, another diner we were with complained about it. I was not impressed with the salad I had either time though, the first time I opted for the caprese salad which to my surprise was a plate of mixed greens with the tomato, basil and bocconcini on top of crostinis. On the second visit I had the caesar which was disappointing as well. On the first visit I had the Napolitani (chocolate phyllo layered with chocolate mousse) for dessert and it was incredible! I love how they served ammaretti cookies with our lattes as well, it was a nice touch. Overall a mixed experience but I would return.

My husband and I went to Biagio's on Friday night. We were a bit surprised at the location, it seemed more like a place an East Side Mario's would be.

Service was prompt and attentive. I started with the soup of the day, sausage and cabbage in a tomato broth. It was good, but not exceptional. Hubby had the smoked salmon platter, which was slices of salmon, capers, red onion, crostini and ricotta on a bed of greens. It was fresh and good.

For the main course, hubby had the Grazzi (penne with onion, prosciutto, vodka, and parmigiano in a tomato cream sauce). It was very flavourful, but the pasta was just a bit less than al dente. It could have used a couple more minutes of cooking, in my opinion. The tomato cream sauce was delicious.

I, on the other hand, had a VERY disappointing pasta dish. I ordered the Funghi (fettuccine with wild mushrooms in cream sauce). The pasta was cooked to perfection, but the problem was with the rest. The wild mushrooms were overpowering in a very unpleasant way. I thought it was a mixture of rehydrated mushrooms (they all tasted the same!) because they had the same mushy-ish texture you get when you rehydrate porcini, for example. There wasn't the nice tender texture of a sauteed fresh mushroom. After a few bites of the mushrooms, I just put them to the side and ate the pasta. The cream sauce just sat in the bowl and didn't add much. I mentioned it to the waitress when she cleared our plates, and she came back to say that there was only 1 rehydrated mushroom and the rest were fresh. That was a big surprise!

Overall, it was OK, but I'm sure that there are better Italian restaurants on Preston where we can get a decent pasta with real wild mushrooms!

This is our favourite restaurant in Ottawa. The pasta cannot be beat (it is so fresh and perfectly al dente) and the steak is to die for. Service is always perfectly attentive, though it is funny how the servers always read the specials from little papers in their hands. They must change the specials often (which is good!).

If the beef tenderloin or filet mignon is the special, don't pass it up! Otherwise I recommend the pasta. Save room for dessert. The napolitani (chocolate mousse and chocolate wafers) is our favourite, followed by the chocolate and raspberry tartufo, followed by the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. Yum. The creme brulee is also exceptional.

You also can't beat the price. We took my entire family (six of us) and with five alcoholic drinks, three apps, six mains, three desserts AND five coffees, we only paid $195 before tip. Biagio's has never done us wrong - thumbs up!

I love the decor and atmosphere. It's the kind of place you can go in jeans but still feel a touch of class.

Great service! Our waitress was so friendly and attentive.

I had: Pasta shells stuffed with sausage, peppers and ricotta, with a tomato cream sauce. Fantastic! And lots - 6 big shells.

Roommie had: Veal Scallopini. He said it was good, even though it didn't look extremely appetizing. The side of veggies looked great! Fresh green beans, squash and carrots. Roasted potatos.

Their free bread and chili oil is delicious! Bread topped with oil and rosemary.

Price was right too.

I'll go back!

The place looks a little dated on the outside but they've done a really nice job on the decor inside. I heard from friends that the pasta was really good but I had the pizza both times I was there - just the way I like it - thin crust with interesting toppings. The chocolate mousse and waifer dessert is yummy beyond words. Good espresso.

I couldn't decide whether I liked my pasta or boyfriend's pizza better :)

This is one of my favourite places in town for pasta. I almost always order the Katrina - spinach spaghetti dressed in olive oil and garlic, grilled chicken and cracked peppercorns.

It's fantastic - highly recommended (if you don't mind ungodly garlic breath after ;) )!

always fresh and delicious!

I know you are only supposed to confirm links to exceptionally good items - but this is my favourite salad in town. The greens are always fresh and the dressing is subtle but amazing. It's best paired with the complimentary rosemary bread.