poco pazzo

still deciding. i went to pocopazzo in late march and had mixed feelings. i was at the bigtableup 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 going back to see if another time might be more quiet.

eaten here twice and both times the food was excellent.


-----10 feb, 2014-----

great place that my friends recommended. the owner/chef came right to thetableand was chatting with us (nice touch). the bread is homemade and to die for!! we ordered the mushroom bruschetta (very nice!) then had the pasta shells with veal and gorgonzola sauce. delicious. just wish they had cannoli for desert. wonderful place.

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 it back saying i thought they forgot to put the cheese in the sauce. they came back with 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 lasttablein 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 atableavailable, 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 was back to 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 atablewe 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 go back on another rare date night!

crossed this one of the list!. i was in a large party at this restaurant last night, and there is no way i would ever return. having worked in a few fine-dining restaurants, i know good food, and this was not good food. not by a long stretch. the apps were the best part of - but then, it would take a lot of effort to mess up bruschetta, calamari and fried smelts.

the veal marsala was substandard, according to all three people who had it. i ordered the steak and 5 minutes before the apps came, was told that there was none. great communication there between kitchen and waitstaff...not. ordered the special instead, the veal-stuffed giant pasta shells in gorgonzola sauce. absolutely awful. the so-called child-sized portion was far too much for the child vainly trying to make a dent in it.

the presentation was nonexistent. a few slivers of red pepper atop four bloated pasta shells the size of a baby's fist, stuffed with heavily sauced veal and drowning in gorgonzola sauce - ugh. neither i nor my bf finished our portions. everything was heavy and leaden. only the house red was any good.

but there was one less thing less inspiring and lacklustre than the food, and that was the server. she showed no interest whatsoever in us and was basically as indifferent and bored as could be - never mind that we were the biggesttablethere of the four occupied ones.

i also watched with horror as another server carried a glass of wine to another table. cradling the bowl of the glass, in her hand. wtf?! uh, trays are at a premium there?

all i know is that the only reason i didn't go off on the server and demand that our entrees be comped was because the dear old 91-year-old lady was treating us. it was her birthday, not that anyone bothered to ask if it was a special occasion.

ah yes, and my bf and in-laws are italian. they know their stuff.

huge thumbs down.

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 stuck back in 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 atableavailable, 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 atableand 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 thetableto 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.

a delicious afternoon. i went to poco pazzo with a crew from work. we were on a tight schedule, and our waitress happily accomodated us - getting us in and out within an hour so we could get to our meetings!

the chef and owner emanuele was wonderful, and came by ourtableto make sure our food was tasty... and it was! i had the agnoli gorgonzola e pinotti, and i have to say it was the most delicious pasta dish i have had in ottawa. the sauce was impeccable - rich and creamy, salty from the gorgonzola, complementing the ricotta and spinach filling of the agnoli (ravioli) pasta.

i will definitely be bringing my italian friends and family to poco pazzo for another beautiful afternoon on their new patio!

sam

great italian!. we have been looking for a great italian restaurant around kanata/stittsville, and this was just the place! we loved the food, the service, and prices reflected both. the chef came out to ourtableand reassured us that the pasta had no egg, as my son is very allergic. the pasta was done perfectly, and the chicken as well. child-friendly, but not noisy, perfect. great italian!!