Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from November, 2010

Not Recommended: Stella Osteria (Ottawa)

The Byward Market in Ottawa is the obvious tourist hot spot in the city, boasting the latest and arguably, greatest restaurants. Stella Osteria has been around for a few years, affiliated with Luxe Bistro and the Blue Cactus. Rated highly by the local paper and magazines, we had high hopes. The hostess at the front was wonderful and attentive - if she was the standard for their service, the evening would have been wonderful. Sadly, she wasn't. From Wikipedia, "Osteria" in Italian literally means a place where the owner "hosts" people. Food is generally regional and prepared with local recipes, and often served at shared tables. We've been to Mozza Osteria in Los Angeles - that felt exactly as described above. I'm not sure if the owners of Stella truly have that in mind, because the experience didn't hit that tone at all. Food First off, the portions are very large. It would be enough to only have three appetizers for a table of four. It was i