poco pazzo

still deciding. i went to pocopazzo in late march and had mixed feelings. i was at the big table up on stools. i hate a stool dinner but i didn't organize this party. also the vents were blowing cold air on us and i wished that i had brought a coat to wear. for my antipasti i had the gameri al pepenero - tiger shrimps sautéed with garlic butter - finished in a creamy peppercorn sauce. i quite liked it. i then followed with di cesare - crisp romaine lettuce, herbed croutons, crumbled bacon and shavings of parmigiano tossed with the caesar dressing. i made the mistake of adding chicken. i just didn't need my meal to be that big. not their fault! the salad was okay but didn't wow me. beware, i found it very noisy and hard to have a conversation. a concern since the place was not very full. our waitress was attentive. i would consider goingbackto see if another time might be more quiet.

so so-so. have heard about poco pazzo for a few years now. the reviews for the one in stittsville were good. my husband and i tried the one in kanata last year and were very disappointed. i ordered my favourite italian restaurant go-to, veal gorgonzola. i could not taste the gorgonzola in the sauce which is unlikely given that it's such a strong cheese. i sent itbacksaying i thought they forgot to put the cheese in the sauce. they camebackwith the same plate and extra sauce on the side...the same sauce. i was not impressed. the service was good but the food mediocre at best.
last night my husband and i decided to give the stittsville one a chance. we were hopeful because the place was packed. we had the last table in the place. our waitress was prompt and very nice. we ordered one of the most expensive wines on their list and it was just ok. not worth the 80 dollar price tag. had the stuffed eggplant appetizer. not bad. the special, chicken parm...chicken a little overdone, sauce ok but bland and the fettuccine alfredo it came with was only ok as well but though it tasted like no alfredo i've ever had ( i cook for a living) it did have a pleasant butter flavour. i was left wondering why so many people were there and why there were such glowing reviews posted. to sum up. great service. so so food and overpriced.

disappointed. after reading all the good reviews we decided to try this restaurant. we made a reservation but the only availability was for 8:00 pm. when we arrived, they didn’t have our reservation (made over the phone), but they had a table available, only that one of the chairs was wet. luckily we noticed before we sat.

the problem was that we felt very rushed. starting with the waitress asking what we would like to drink, even before we had the menu or wine list. then after we got the menu, we had less than 2 minutes and she wasbackto take our orders. we shared an appetizer calamari. that was really bad - uncooked. it was impossible to chew. then we got the main dishes which were nothing more than ok.
during dinner, our waitress disappeared and another one came. i can only assume that that original waitress finished her shift, as most of the patrons left by then. maybe it explains why we were so rushed with the order.

because we felt so hurried, we didn’t bother with desert. in all we were out of there in less than an hour. maybe it was our mistake to take a late reservation, but we won’t be back.

first timers. after having our heart set on another nearby restaurant, and not wanting to wait for a table we looked up poco pazzo on urbanspoon as it was nearby.

we ordered the brushes as a starter, my husband ordered the spaghetti and meatballs i ordered the cannelloni. it was delicious, the meatballs were so tender and the cannelloni was full of flavour.

we will definitely gobackon another rare date night!

best italian restaurant in ottawa. my family is italian and we come to this location for all family birthdays. yesterday we went and i ordered the principessa dish which is boneless chicken/ ham/ asparagus in a peppercorn sauce. it was to die for. i usually don't order something twice but when i gobacki will be getting this again. this place has the friendliest staff and by far the best italian food i've ever had. the portions are so large that you really get what you pay for unlike other high end restaurants that charge you an arm and a leg for two bits of food.

snippy waitress. very disappointing - ordered linguine and received spaghetti - when we asked the waitress, she was not only rude but tried to pass it off as linguine (either too lazy to check with kitchen, or has a lack of knowledge of pasta) - service was poor and amount has gone down 30 percent
too bad as i used to love getting take out and eating in. will not gobackagain

a cozy little place with great food. when i visit poco pazzo, the word that immediately comes to mind is “gracious”. this not only describes its urban interior, which lends itself to comfort and luxury, but it also describes the staff, each one courteous and benevolent. during one saturday night visit, we arrived at their doors without a reservation and looking a little worse for wear: we had spent the day in the car and were looking rumpled, messy and ... can i admit how bad i looked on the internet? my sloppy hair was stuckbackin a ponytail and actually using the word “pony” to describe any part of this hairstyle is an insult to all members of the equine family. i felt ill at ease arriving in such disarray, but the hostess made me feel at home immediately. since there wasn’t a table available, we were seated at the bar temporarily. while we waited, we enjoyed a drink (their house red is very good) and were never left neglected. the hostess checked in on us, offered us menus to peruse while we waited for a table and the bartender was attentive. once seated at our table, our waitress was gracious, available but never intrusive, and friendly. despite our wretched appearance, we were treated like royalty.

i have had the pleasure of dining at poco pazzo a number of times. the food is distinctive. every dish is a level above your average italian fare. i love to start with the tri-colore salad, a lovely dish with tomatoes, bocconcini, basil and olives, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. i make sure i leave some of the fresh bread on the table to soak up some of the oil and vinegar on this plate. my colleagues tell me that their eggplant appetizer is a delight and i intend to try it next time i visit. i like to order pasta when i visit and their pastas are rich, flavourful concoctions. their fettucine poco pazzo is a rich, indulgent bowl of pasta, chicken, prosciutto in a brandy cream sauce. it is out of this world delicious. both gnocchi dishes are wonderful and my daughter will normally order gnocchi when she visits. the linguine frutti mare is a pasta with seafood cooked to perfection. if you really want a treat, order one of the pastas with their gorgonzola sauce. it isn’t overpowering, just this wonderfully cheesy sauce that will leave you wanting to lick your plate clean.

i consider poco pazzo a perfect date-night restaurant. it is dark and intimate and what could be more romantic than italian food? it brings to mind the spaghetti scene from lady and the tramp. and the food here is so good, it will put you in the mood for ....... dessert.

the food is heated up. the service was so so. i ordered a salad with extra chicken and they forgot to add chicken and i sent it back. minutes later the owner comesbackand argues with me. i wasn't appetized at all after that. it's also too cramped up to have a conversation in there. the food was gross, it tasted buttery. not recommending this spot to anyone.

dinner. fantastic atmosfere and delicius meal .


-----12 sep, 2012-----

best dinner ever. my wife and i went to poco pazzo last friday night. i have to say she was right. ( it was the best meal i ever tried ) i started with the stuffed melanza which was mouth watering and finished with the gemeli siciliana which was yummy! my wife had the calamari and finished with the canneloni. the service was excellent . the atmosphere was cozy . we definetly recommend this place to everyone who is craving a taste of italy.


-----13 apr, 2012-----

best night out. o what a night!!! let me tell you one of the best meals sincebackfrom italy.linguine di mare con pomodoro buonissimi,calamari fritti what a taste pocopazzo good job.

the best veal. if you go to pocopazzo you have to order the veal palermitana ...wow,and for dessert the tiramisu.one of the best meal sincebackfrom europe

unfortunately, very slow service.. my entrée was fabulous, too much for me to finish, but amazing. the calamari was very rubbery (more so than usual), but the service was horrible. slow, slow, slow. would love to gobackfor the food, but not sure if i want to sit around all night waiting for service. not enough servers, took forever for everything and kitchen was very slow as well. it's too bad, because the food was good.

joanne. i was very disappointed in your restaurant we took our family and found your food to be of poor quality i had to send my dinnerbackit was cold them it was too hot we had to ask for water service was poor , we were on a monday pm and you were not busy . no one in our group would gobackfood tasted like it had been warmed up