La Roma, Ottawa

If you are from Ottawa, then you are likely familiar with the construction happening on and around Bank and Preston Street. The streets are being teared up, and a large portion of the streets have been closed since April. There is no doubt that this is affecting businesses around the area, and for that reason, my friend R and I decided to head to La Roma on Preston Street for an Italian dinner.

La Roma recently renovated and completed their semi-private CinCin rooms, which are suitable for large group functions. They are located on the 2nd floor of the restaurant and the decor is elegant and contemporary. The rooms combined can accomodate up to 60 people. If you are worried about the large parties affecting regular dinner service, don't be. La Roma was hosting a large party while we were dining there, and the service was attentive and uninterrupted.

Our meal started with fresh bread and a small plate of olives tossed in herbs.

Olives Tossed in Herbs

For appys we ordered two deep fried plates: deep fried calamari, and deep fried smelts. The batter here is quite thin, and out of the two dishes, I preferred the smelts.

Deep Fried Calamari

Deep Fried Smelts

My main was the Linguini alla Pescatore: linguini pasta tossed with a tomato sauce that was mixed with baby shrimp, scallop, and crab meat. Surrounding the pasta were fresh, tender mussels that were cooked perfectly. I really enjoyed this dish, and would recommend it. If you aren't a tomato sauce fan, they also offer this dish with cream sauce or olive oil.

Linguini alla Pescatore

R ordered the uccelletti scappati: stuffed veal 'birds' with ham, baby shrimp, mozzarella, fontina and parmigiano cheese. They were covered in a cognac cream sauce and were served with vegetables & potatoes on the side. This was an interesting dish, but I much preferred my pasta.

Stuffed Veal 'Birds'

For dessert, I had to order the budino alla panna. It was labelled as an exclusive La Roma specialty, and it is a unique Italian variation of the crème caramel. Compared to crème caramel, the budino alla panna was richer and starchier. It was neat to try but I prefer the smoothness of crème caramel.

Budino alla Panna

R ordered the crepe Alaska. This was a baked vanilla ice cream crepe, topped with chocolate sauce and almond slices.

Crepe Alaska

La Roma
430 Preston Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Telephone: 613-234-8244