dennis.ca

Cabotto's
5816 Hazeldean Road, Ottawa, Ontario
Type: Italian/Fine Dining
Rating: 7 out of 10

First off, the building is lovely. The atmosphere is comfortable. Some people prefer a very well-lit environment to eat, but I don't mind things a bit cozy. It isn't quite as dark as Capone's on Carling, for example, but the rear dining room is indeed dim due to the dark wood wall panels and stained glass windows.

I started with the Involtini di Capesante appetizer, which is bacon-wrapped scallops in a maple glaze sauce. I wasn't sold on the flavour combination until it arrived and turned out to be very tasty. The scallops were slightly overcooked and a bit rubbery.

Served at the same time was the Caesar salad (the waitress kindly asked about the order we preferred to have items arrive). Everything was fresh and seemed carefully prepared. The modern, lopsided serving bowls seemed a bit out of place.

My entree was Veal Parmigiana with spaghetti. Portion size was enormous. The veal was perfectly cooked. The spaghetti was also cooked perfectly, but I found the sauce, though homemade, to be lacking in flavour. I suspect that it was a generic base for many/most of their dishes.

Our server was very, very friendly and checked on us regularly. When asked about a wine pairing she didn't recommend anything specific but rather told us that most people just "order what they want these days". Not quite a Beckta-calibre Sommelier experience.

On this particular night, there was an issue with lingering wait staff. I was seated with my back toward the corridor where they congregate and found it very distracting. The volume and topic of conversation was not appropriate. It was a disappointment during what would have otherwise been a very enjoyable dinner.

I was underwhelmed by the experience but will likely return since my girlfriend seemed to enjoy the place much more thoroughly than I did... Probably because I paid the check.

Overall, Cabotto's seems to be stuck somewhere between "high-end" and "fine dining". While the food and service were good, the experience itself wasn't spectacular -- and when you try to rationalize paying hundreds of dollars for a meal, that's exactly what you should expect.