I was very surprised by the taste of the food and the prompt service. The food was very fresh and everything tasted good! read more

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As ever, Nick and the dedicated crew at La Favorita "hit it out of the park" in regard to both the level of service and menu. When you dine you feel like part of the family and, the warmth of this fine establishment truly radiates!! Get out of the house, avoid "skip the dishes" and enjoy a real experience with real professionals. read more

tough review to write-we both ordered, via doordash, the chicken ptarmigan with white wine and lemon sauce-it arrived with tomato sauce. Phoned the restaurant and was advised that chicken Parmigiana only came with tomato sauce-no options. They should read their own online Doordash menu-2× Chicken Parmigiana CA$42.00 White Wine & Lemon Sauce. That said the tomato sauce was superb-in fact the whole meal was great-although I would have liked to taste it with my original choice of sauce. Bottom line-great food at a very reasonable price-if you can overlook some minor operational snafus. They really should offer the White Wine and Lemon sauce, with their very obvious cooking abilities I am sure it would be amazing. Salad was good and generously sized. read more

I like this place. For a restaurant with a tablecloth, it's remarkably cheap. My wife and I had pizza, a large caesar salad, a half litre of wine, and tortellini, and the whole thing, with tax and tip, was $140. So if you want a nice atmosphere without breaking the bank, give this place a try. We had a view of the pizza oven, which was cozy and pleasant. My food was good. The pizza was delicious, as was the caesar salad. My wife was not as crazy about her pasta, but I'll let her write that up herself. Overall, I will probably go back. read more

We stopped there for happy hour, and it was the best value I've seen in a while. Great house wine, and our appetizer was delicious. We enjoyed the patio, and service was impeccable. read more

We celebrated my 60th birthday party last night with a group of 34. It was the best night we've had in a long time. The food was absolutely delicious. Everybody loved their meals and you were all so accommodating. The service was top notch!!! Kudos to you Nick and your staff...excellent service all round. Not easy serving such a large group and your staff were so professional and kind. You made my night one I will never forget!!!! Thank you Kathy U read more

I went there recently and the food was delicious, I had garlic bread, bruschetta and some calamari, along with a classic; spaghetti and meatballs. I also had some of the carbonara. The food was delicious and the vibe was great! The wait at the beginning once we were seated to see a waiter was a little long. read more

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Returned for 2nd visit since Sept 2022. Did make a reservation; glad we did. Not sure what the bread policy is but we were nnot offered any and we were still ok skipping the carbs. Both entrees were pasta...both were tasty but both were lukewarm. The heavy thick ceramic bowls may partially be the culprit...the bowls felt like they had come out of the fridge. The cold dinnerware sucked out a lot of the warmth from the food itself. There has to be a simple way for the kitchen to keep the dinnerware warm before plating. Other than that the service was 5***** read more

We ordered pasta, pizza, and salad. All were really bad quality food with stale ingredients. The pasta tasted and smelled so weird, that we returned it due to health concerns. Not recommended. Pros: waiter was friendly. Wine was good. read more

I had dinner here recently with some fellow Yelpers (we have dubbed ourselves The Pizza Committee) and I have to say, the pizza was pretty good. We were originally a group of 12 but ended up being only a group of 7, but the staff were totally fine with that. Our server was super nice and checked in on us appropriately. I had the Frutti di Mare pizza ($18). It was a 10" pizza baked in a wood oven. It had shrimp, scallops, crab and lobster, and tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Honestly, I didn't see or taste any lobster, but there were a fair amount of shrimp and scallops in the pizza. The crab was real crab (not surimi/imitation crab) but it was just tiny pieces. Despite being a seafood pizza it wasn't overly salty, which I appreciated. I also liked the crust. It wasn't as blistery as I like, but it was still light and thin. The pizza wasn't too saucy, but it was a tiny bit too greasy for my liking. However, overall I enjoyed it. I also got to taste a bit of the Al Salmone pizza (thanks Jana!). The smoked salmon was excellent and I was pleasantly surprised that the pizza wasn't overly salty. The wood oven baked pizzas only come in the personal pizza size (10"). The pizzas baked in a regular oven come in small, medium and large. Some people in our party got the calzones and they were huge and looked delicious. Calzones are about the same price as personal pizzas except they also come with a salad (while pizzas do not). We got complimentary bread while we waited for our pizza. The buns were warm and fresh. The ambience of the restaurant is quite nice. It has an intimate feel to it and would be a great place for a date. The washrooms are really small. When you open the door to the women's washroom, if you are not careful you may literally fall in the toilet. The toilet is right behind the door like just a few inches. And it is very dark in there! However, it was clean and I guess they've done the best they can with the small space. Overall, I enjoyed my pizza and I ate it all (10 inches is not that big, haha)! Like most places in Little Italy there is no parking, you just have to find street parking. read more

La Favorita - Seafood pizza $18. - Italian Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

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This place has soooo many reviews already (21 at time of writing) - but it has room for 1 more! :-) I would say this restaurant might possibly be a 4 1/2 star if only I could, and I will bear this in mind for next time I visit. I reserve the right to up my vote! We had an informal group get together here on a Wednesday evening after work, and we were not precisely sure how many would turn out. Furthermore, we were coming from all different directions of the city so some of us got there later than others. The waitress was very tolerant of that! I ordered a glass of rosé as we waited, and my hubster ordered a glass of beer. They also brew a delicious smelling coffee! So don't feel obliged to order alcohol. We were seated at the front of the restaurant near the window, which helped us keep an eye out for others arriving after us. Cool - I love people watching! The room we were in had another group already seated and was fairly quiet and a bit echo-y when we got there at 5:30. This changed as the place filled up - which it most certainly did! This is a popular restaurant! The tables are very nicely set, with black and white table cloths, and wine glasses. Cutlery is wrapped in cloth serviettes. I was immediately impressed with this; La Favorita is not your typical pizza parlour! In spite of the fact that we came for pizza, we were given tasty buns and butter as we waited for our orders to come. The menu has a wide selection of eclectic pizzas, but bear in mind that only the last page has the Wood Oven Baked Pizza, which is what I really wanted for this visit, and I wanted something a bit different. I was not disappointed! I ordered an oven baked pizza that had slices of smoked salmon on it, and an Italian salad (which had artichokes in it - these surprised me as I usually don't like them, but these were tasty!) But what really impressed me was that the salmon was not overbearingly salty (which can happen). The Pizza was a fair size, as well - I couldn't finish it all and took some home. I would certainly return here. In fact, this is the kind of place I would like to bring visitors to when they come to our fair city. It got fairly busy as time wore on, and they could have used the help of even 1 more wait staff - the waitress was running around near the end of our visit, trying to wrap up several orders at once (not only ours!) But overall, a very nice visit. read more

La Favorita - Il Salmone!! Filling... Couldn't finish it all! - Italian Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

Three of us went for lunch, there was a big group there too but that didn't affect the speed in which we got our food. I had never been. The food was sooooo bland. Like cruiseship Italian. Was disappointing because I saw the chef or sous chef, and she had a vibe like an Italian mother who was about to cook some authentic Italian food. Unfortunately it was bland and didn't taste fresh. Missing that love! The waiter we had was very stressed and it felt awkward to ask him for anything. read more

Went there last night for my brother in law's 75th birthday and had a great time. Great food and atmosphere, the staff and owner were very friendly. Would definitely recommend this place. read more

My family and I grabbed a table on the patio at La Favorita this weekend on Preston Street in Little Italy. The patio area is small but very enjoyable with beautiful grape vines shading the area from the sun. I ordered a red sangria and we shared a large half 'n half pizza - "carne" and "pollo". The sangria was super delicious and so was the pizza!! La Favorita is known for their pizzas and for good reason! The large pizza fed the 3 of us no problem! Our server was excellent - very friendly and attentive. The only reason why I gave 4 out of 5 stars is because the restaurant wasn't very busy and our order wasn't complicated but it took quite a while for our pizza to show up. If you're in the area and craving pizza, I would recommend stopping by La Favorita. read more

La Favorita - Sangria - Italian Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

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终于有机会来吃这家一直在收藏夹里的参观。孩子们对pasta，chicken nuggets非常的喜爱。沙拉也非常新鲜。餐后甜点，整个一个欲罢不能，提拉米苏太好吃了，口感非常的细腻，也不会太甜；冰淇淋也很有特点 很好吃；孩子也很喜欢布蕾。下次还会再来的

We ordered chicken parmesan and pasta carbonara to share. The chicken parmesan was completely raw! It was disgusting, not to mention dangerous health-wise. We had both taken a bite, and felt ill afterwards and couldn't eat. (My husband had actually swallowed his, I spit mine out). The worst part though, has been dealing with the owner. He offered a $25 gift card to make up for it, and said he wouldn't offer more or else he "would be losing money." Wouldn't even cover the full cost of our meals. So unprofessional. Will post a picture of the chicken as well. read more

La Favorita - Raw chicken parm from La Favorita on Preston, Ottawa. - Italian Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

I really didn't have a good experience here. Pros They had a chair for our baby which was nice. The Fried Zucchini was really good and I ate the whole thing. They also offer really big portions and the wine selection is great. Cons: Long wait times for our waiter. He'd take one of our drink orders, disappear and then return after 5 or 10 minutes and do this over and over again. We couldn't get all of our DRINK orders in at once. I had the manicotti, it was dry on the inside too which was upsetting. The food is OK, but that paired with our absent waiter made the outing a bit of a disappointment. read more

My favorite Italian restaurant on Preston St. The food is always consistent and great service too. Nick the owner is always there to ensure his customers are happy!!!! read more

I've been here a couple times now and I've had a great experience both times. The food was great. 8 got the lamb pizza and i loved it. The ceaser salad is delicious as well. The service is very friendly and professional. Great selection of pizzas and pastas and a lot of them with sea food too. The inside of the restaurant is very cozy and it's always a good time here for me. Usually it's pretty busy so reservation would be a good idea read more

La Favorita - Italian Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

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We came here on the fly... when we forgot to make a New Years reservation. Big mistake! We ordered pizza, and pasta. The pizza came to the table luke warm, and the pasta was average. My partner had the pizza oil and when we got home he was in the washroom for about 20 minutes. I tried a little of the pizza oil, tasted like the melted the little packs of butter and put it in a bottle with weird herbs. The rolls they brought to the table before our food, was the best thing, I ate. I should have know when I arrived and saw Costco chairs. read more

Excellent meal!! We bought the groupon deal, $99 seafood platter for two people. It is our first time to dine here, we will be back for sure!! The groupon deal is more than the value worth!! Seafood platter include two whole lobsters, king crab legs, snow crab legs, scallops, shrimps, mussels and oysters. Everything is delicious!!!! This groupon is including a choice of soup or salad, bottle of wine, two liquids or speciality coffee and 2 desserts as well. I'm sure the owner is losing money for each groupon visit. Please tips them generously!!! We will be back for sure!! read more

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Fiance bought us a Groupon and we were excited to try out another restaurant serving wood-fired pizza... our absolute favorite. Our server Shakir was a delight from the second we walked in. Full of life and ready to be our host for the evening which included a bottle of wine, salad or soup to start, our main, dessert, cover or tea and a shot of whatever we wanted to finish off. That he did... we felt welcomed and our favorite part of the experience was Shakir! The soup and salad were pretty tasty. He got the ceaser and the ginger carrot soup, simple and a great way to start our dinner. The pizzas were definitely not up to our preference. The dough wasn't light and chewy but dense and felt more like French bread then Italian wood-fired dough. The amount of mozzarella was a bit ridiculous. I couldn't get through more than two slices of my small pizza where as I can easily finish an entire large anywhere else. Next time we will try their pastas but for now a no go on the pizza unfortunately. The desserts were basic and nothing to write home about but then again we don't usually eat dessert out so can't judge too much. Everything else from atmosphere to service was an absolute delight. We would love to come back again. read more

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Me and my husband are new in Ottawa. So today , taking advantage of warmer and sunny weather, we went to explore the city. After some time walking in Little Italia, we got hungry and decided to have a bite. From quite a few places which would open @5pm ( it was Sunday, long weekend), we found an open restaurant-La Favorita. The waiter greeted us nicely, took our order within 5 minutes.While waiting we could look around -what a nice ambience, lots of room, tasty decoration, pleasant music ("Gypsy Kings"). We ordered bruschetta, spaghetti with meatballs, greek salad and vegetarian calzado-special "lunch" for us, plus drinks. The food arrived within 10 min, we barely had a bite of fresh buns with butter. The bruschetta was quite tasty with crisp bread and nicely chopped, juicy tomatoes. Then greek salad- good assortment of fresh vegetables, a splash of dressing, too A plate of spaghetti& meatballs was quite a lot to eat..The same with calzone-lovely golden brown and crisp, giving a lovely aroma when cut. What a treat. lt was just a lot to eat at one sitting. Food was pretty tasty, well...nothing extraordinary, but pleasant, freshly made, and just the look of it was quite inviting. Service was prompt and we will definitely recoment it to our friends. read more

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I love this place! had a groupon for $50 worth of food at La Favourita, and decided to order take out. Ordered a small deep ocean pizza (Scallops, mussels, king crab meat, shrimp and lobster ), chicken parmigiana, garlic bread, tiramisu, and cheesecake. The deep ocean pizza was phenomenal. A thin crust pizza, with lots of cheese and delicious tomato sauce. The small pizzas are cooked in a wood burning oven. The pizza tasted very authentic, and everyone who tried it loved it! The chicken parmigiana came with a large serving of spaghetti in your choice of sauce, I chose rose. The chicken was perfectly breaded and cooked, and was a very large portion, the pasta was al dente and was very good, as well. The garlic bread came with four pieces, was nicely baked and had a lot of cheese. Very delicious. I am not personally a huge dessert person, but the cheesecake and tiramisu were amazing, too! I personally preferred the tiramisu. Overall, I HIGHLY recommend this restaurant! read more

Cute, Charming Restaurant in Ottawa's "Little Italy." Being from Toronto, with our large inexplicably adorable Little Italy I did not know what to expect. The difference here, it seems, is that while the neighbourhood is not as charming, the Italian food is actually GOOD which seems to be the main difference between the two. We settled on La Favorita, primarily because of the number of people looking happy on the patio. It was late, 9:30 or so, and the patio was full and the restaurant inside quite empty. The kitchen was open and other tables still ordering, so we gave it a go. The patio is covered with a trellis and vines, creating a cozy atmosphere. We scored a seat for two near the street and ordered. Our app was an excellent fried Calamari. Perfectly cooked. For main, I selected Vegetarian Manacotti served with salad and garlic bread, impossible to finish, with delightful extras like artichoke hearts in the salad. The SO got a similar dish with Veal and was also pleased. Attentive servers and bus-people kept the evening running smoothly. I am from Toronto, where bottles of wine are more expensive, but without anything to compare it to in Ottawa... $32 for a BOTTLE? I was amazed. Tiramisu was also delightful. At the end of the meal, as we were mulling over our wine, the owner came out, shook our hands and chatted, and had the server bring me a schnapps and my SO some cognac. Nice touch. Beautiful patio, very romantic. Our bill for two with more food then we could handle, a bottle of decent Chianti, app and a dessert was $100. Excellent value. Recommended. read more

I don't eat pizza all that often but when I do decide to indulge, my preferences are definitely more for the thin crust, real Italian style that makes me think of when I was in Italy (so definitely not your Pizza Pizza pizza - sorry Pizza Pizza lovers). I'm not aware of too many places in Ottawa where you can get a good thin crust pizza (I guess I have to do some more research on that) but the two that I have tried are La Favorita and La Dolce Vita, both on Preston Street in Little Italy. Taking advantage of a recent Groupon for La Favorita, three of us visited the restaurant last night for what was my third visit. So, now I'll take a pause and say that at the end of the day, no more how good a place may be, your review will be based on if you enjoyed your meal. With that being said, here's a quick summary of my visits. My first visit I tried their Bella pizza (Pesto, chicken breast, brie cheese, almonds) and I was not a fan as I found the taste too heavy and not enough... variety? The second visit was takeout order of their Verona pizza (Five cheeses, red onions, tomatoes, pesto) and I thought it was GREAT! Definitely one of the best pizzas I have had in Ottawa. Last night I tried their La Favorita Special (Pepperoni, mushrooms, bacon, ham, green peppers, olives, anchovies) and I was again, disappointed, but not as much as my first time. Mainly I had issues with the dough as I found it just didn't have the taste I was expecting and was a bit thicker than I would have liked. So, based on my experience, the pizza has been one hit and two misses but that can solely depends on your taste buds. OTHER MENU ITEMS I haven't tried many of the other menu items so I can't comment on if they are good or not. I will say that I was looking for some form of anti-pasta appetizer to start and pretty much everything as either bread based or fried so that was disappointing. SERVICE AND ENVIRONMENT The service was fine every time I have been there and its a nice place to eat at. PARKING Parking on Preston Street is a real pain. It's a popular spot with many, many restaurants. Parking on the side streets west of Preston is also more of a miss than a hit so, to play it safe, you are better off to probably park in on Rochester (one block east of Preston) or in the parking lot between Aberdeen and Beach Street as it costs only $3 after I think 3pm. So, would I go back? Probably. If nothing else, I'd like to try the Verona pizza one more time but before doing so I think I'll try La Dolce Vita again to see how they fair. read more

A group of friends and I made reservations on a Sunday so the place wasn't busy. The service itself was mediocre. No conversations or recommendation was made to us. They also never gave us the complimentary bread everyone else had at the restaurant...Which was kinda disappointing. The food itself was great. I have the Chicken Pene with Red Pepper and it was a generous serving and good. Could have been hotter... read more

The first time I ordered from here (spaghetti and meatballs and garlic bread), I thought I had found the perfect spaghetti place. Delicious sauce, well cooked, soft meatballs, big portion. I've been a few times since and it's always tasty and the portions are huge (3 meals out of one order) BUT the meatballs are woefully inconsistent. Sometimes they are soft and delicious, but sometimes they are hard and rubbery, to the point of being really unpleasant to chew and I ended up mashing them with my fork (easier said than done, since they would try to just pop out from under my fork). Imma keep coming back for the portions sizes and the overall very tasty food, but I really wish they'd up their meatball games. read more

We have been here three times over the past 6 months or so. Food is always good, ambiance is nice and so is the service. What's not to love? Ok, maybe parking on a busy Preston Street evening, but that is manageable. We've had cannelloni, various pizzas and calzone all have been very good. It's our "go to" spot for a last minute night out. read more

The food here was pretty good; I was told it had worse reviews on other websites than here on Yelp. I guess going with that in mind had me pleasantly surprised. It's a cute restaurant; they decorated it pretty nicely. The service was good, but it was fairly empty the evening we went. It was a little bit awkward as they didn't have any music playing. You'd think it's a requirement at every restaurant nowadays.. So it was just some buzzing sound (maybe the AC running or something); that and it smelled a little funny. Almost like it was just somebody's old basement or something. I came here in a group because one of my friends had a Groupon, so it was definitely worth the money. We ordered 2 medium pizzas to share between 4 people, and one person ordered separately. All of us ended up paying $5 each after the Groupon :) All in all, I think I'd come here again only if it were on the way for me while going somewhere else. I don't usually go to places in Little Italy so I wouldn't go out of my way to come here again. read more

Delicious! Perfect for a first date! Romantic atmosphere, great food, good selection of wine. read more

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We have been eating at La Favorita for years. It's always been a pleasurable experience. Nick, the owner,and his staff always looks after us. They go above and beyond to ensure we have a memorable experience. The food is great and at a reasonable price. In the summer, we especially love to sit on the patio under the grapevine canopy that creates a romantic ambiance. We regularly recommend La Favorita to all of our friends. In our opinion, this restaurant is definitely a five star. read more

I went here with my parents for a nice dinner out. I ordered one of the wood-fired oven pizzas without cheese. I don't remember exactly what it was called, but it had artichokes on it and it was delicious! It is nice inside, dark and intimate. I did find the table/chairs a little uncomfortable. Our waiter was nice, very friendly. I was there on a Thursday and it wasn't all that busy, but it's definitely not huge inside and if you are planning on going on a Friday or Saturday you might want to make a reservation. read more

We have only been here a handful of times but every time we go it gets better and better. The service is very accommodating and friendly. The atmosphere is relaxing and quiet. They have nice personal touches such as fresh cut flowers at the tables and lit candles. The individuals who run the restaurant go out of their way to ensure that you are enjoying everything and genuinely care about your entire experience. read more

Waited 45 minutes just to get water. Service was disorganized and confused most of the evening. Appetizers forgotten entirely, entrees arriving 10 minutes apart. Bill incorrect and overcharged. A complete gong show. read more

This place is very quaint and has great seafood and pasta dishes. I like their oil dip. The restaurant isn't very big but they were very sweet to have participated in a fundraiser raffle for charity. On a weekend night definitely make sure to have reservations. read more

I visited La Favorita in July on a Groupon with my boyfriend. The restaurant had a nice ambience and our server was incredibly attentive. The bread they served to start was scrumptious! Warm, freshly baked, and moist. I had to hold myself back so I could save room for my actual meal. We ordered the greek salad as an appetizer, and it was very tasty. For the main dish, I had the carne (meat) pizza and he had the calzone. We both really enjoyed our food: not overly greasy, flavourful, fresh-tasting, and hearty! The servings were huge so we could hardly finish it. Even though I don't tend to eat my pizza crusts, I found the pizza dough to be delicious. The pizza itself had a generous serving of meats. Paired with the spicy oil, it was perfect. We ordered a couple desserts (including the cannoli) but these were so-so. Overall, would recommend if you're looking for an authentic Italian restaurant in Ottawa! Prices are very fair, food was great. I'll be back to check out the seafood platter (a gentleman in the next table ordered this and it looked amazing). read more

Ambiance was good but it's about it. We ordered salad... bland. 2 pizzas.... bland. Wine wasn't good and when we asked about the featured wines our server brushed us off saying he didn't know where they were! read more

Excellent food and excellent service. One of the best pizza places in Ottawa Strongly recommended read more

Really enjoyed the chicken parmigiana here! Both the chicken and the pasta were done perfectly. Nothing groundbreaking, but i think this place gets a bad rap, restaurant is beautiful as well. read more