Caffe Mio - Ottawa

I came here for dinner with 2 of my girlfriends after hearing some buzz about this cute Italian restaurant. From the moment I stepped in I could see why it’s so popular. The beautiful ambience, candlelight, full tables of happy diners laughing, sharing stories, and more importantly, sharing food. To start we tried a variety of appetizers, including the special, and a salad. The shrimp diavlo is seriously delicious; large succulent shrimp in a spicy tomato/olive sauce served with crostini. Then we tucked into the beet salad; a large portion of beets, perfectly tart goat cheese, crunchy pecans, crisp red onions, and the pancetta was served on the side so our vegetarian friend could enjoy as well. It was the absolute perfect combination of flavour and texture. The bruschetta – classic. I’m generally not a fan of lamb, but when the app special was placed on our table my mouth started watering. A perfectly cooked lamb chop surrounded by shrimp upon a butternut squash puree and maple glaze reduction. Yum, yum, and yum. Next came the entrees. I ordered the beef tenderloin with polenta; it was the most succulent, delicious piece of beef I’ve ever had in Ottawa – and I’ve dined at a lot of restaurants. My friend ordered the veal with roasted potatoes, also delicious, and my other friend ordered a vegetarian pizza. Throughout our meal the server was very attentive, re-filling our water and wine glasses, checking in on how we found the food and asking if we needed anything. At the end we couldn’t decide on dessert so we got 3: tiramisu, a peanut butter gelato surrounded by chocolate, and a butternut squash crème brulee. Let’s just say that even though we were stuffed from dinner, we managed to eat ALL the dessert before ending the night with a Grand Marnier on ice. If I could give this restaurant 10 stars, I would. Top notch service, food, and experience.

Small, quaint, great service and the food! Rack of lamb amaaazzzzing! We actually stumbled upon this jewel, just walking trying to find a place we agreed on! After 30+yrs of marriage, we still do not always see eye to eye on food choices! but we both loved this place! thanks guys! Next time we are in Ottawa, we will be back! I can at least save another 'food 'argument!

My husband and I ate here for a Saturday night date night. We were both in the mood for Italian, and it did not disappoint. The muscles in a white wine cream sauce were one of my favourite parts. I had a bite of my husband’s Linguine Oceana with a morsel of scallop, and I almost cried, it was so good. Hubby is picky about not liking his pasta overcooked but told me this was perfectly al dente and tasted homemade (it probably was—the server mentioned many menu items with the tag-line “made in-house” . I had a prosciutto-wrapped chicken breast, a wide variety of perfectly-cooked fresh vegetables, and an innovative creamed artichoke in a tomato sauce, topped with crispy sage. So many flavours! The waiter recommended a lovely wine pairing for my meal, and we both enjoyed our desserts, although each liked the other’s better! (A chocolate pecan torte and a peanut butter and caramel bomba . Clayton was an excellent server, laid-back and humourous. The atmosphere was nice, if a little loud at the beginning (the place cleared out some at the end as we had a 8:15PM reservation , but I mean, it was people talking, so I can’t fault the restaurant for that. We will definitely return. <br/

I came here for dinner with 2 of my girlfriends after hearing some buzz about this cute Italian restaurant. From the moment I stepped in I could see why it’s so popular. The beautiful ambience, candlelight, full tables of happy diners laughing, sharing stories, and more importantly, sharing food.  To start we tried a variety of appetizers, including the special, and a salad. The shrimp diavlo is seriously delicious; large succulent shrimp in a spicy tomato/olive sauce served with crostini. Then we tucked into the beet salad; a large portion of beets, perfectly tart goat cheese, crunchy pecans, crisp red onions, and the pancetta was served on the side so our vegetarian friend could enjoy as well.  It was the absolute perfect combination of flavour and texture.  The bruschetta – classic.  I’m generally not a fan of lamb, but when the app special was placed on our table my mouth started watering. A perfectly cooked lamb chop surrounded by shrimp upon a butternut squash puree and maple glaze reduction.  Yum, yum, and yum.  Next came the entrees. I ordered the beef tenderloin with polenta; it was the most succulent, delicious piece of beef I’ve ever had in Ottawa – and I’ve dined at a lot of restaurants. My friend ordered the veal with roasted potatoes, also delicious, and my other friend ordered a vegetarian pizza.  Throughout our meal the server was very attentive, re-filling our water and wine glasses, checking in on how we found the food and asking if we needed anything. At the end we couldn’t decide on dessert so we got 3: tiramisu, a peanut butter gelato surrounded by chocolate, and a butternut squash crème brulee.  Let’s just say that even though we were stuffed from dinner, we managed to eat ALL the dessert before ending the night with a Grand Marnier on ice.  If I could give this restaurant 10 stars, I would. Top notch service, food, and experience.

Great experience <br/ I enjoyed the eggplant parmesan with a side of spicy pasta perfect. Eggplant was firm and tender (and not the traditional super soft I have become accustomed to receiving in Ottawa) it stole the show; pasta was decent but not memorable like eggplant. <br/ <br/ I'll definitely come back and will recommend this place to friends!