Mezzanotte Bistro Italiano

A very chic, posh ambiance to this place. Despite the trendy appearance and décor, the server we had was warm and friendly which was a nice touch.
The inside is a very modern layout with white as the dominant theme and intricate lighting (purple and red hues) and details — reminiscent of a night club but tastefully done.
We started with the shrimp appetizer that came with risotto. As risottos tends to be, the dish was rich but flavourful and truthfully the high point of the meal.
We followed this up with a veal dish with mushrooms — I thought it was tasty but my wife remarked that she had certainly had better.
She ordered the pasta with shrimp and scallops — a flavourful and tasty dish. Again, I was moved considerably more than my wife was with respect to the flavour of the dish.
The appetizer and 2 entrees were quite filling and regrettably we didn’t have any room for dessert. Next time perhaps.
Bottom line: if your looking for a trendy chic place to take a date or significant other in the byward market in Ottawa you won’t be disappointed. Our bill without drinks or dessert came to just under $ 100 including tip.

My girlfriend and I attended a birthday meal at this restaurant and I was immediately put off by the pricing. We ordered a plate of pasta each and drank water and the meal still came to $ 57 with tax and a 15% tip. This was not good value.
Other members of the party ordered meals such as the «Pollo Alla Mezzanotte» which again did not match it’s $ 29.95 price point.
Later on in the evening the restaurant became more of a bar with people standing around and walking around. I was unfortunate enough to be seated on the aisle so I was getting knocked every five minutes by the traffic of other customers walking around.
I am all for fine dining and enjoy spending the money on the meal if it is worth it however I feel this restaurant does not provide the value. That said, the service was very good and friendly.

I had come to Mezzanotte for an amazing Unilocal event, however I find it hard to review a restaurant based on a Unilocal event due to the unusual circumstances of these events, you don’t get a typical restaurant experience so I decided to bring my girlfriend on her birthday and boy was I impressed (again).
I’ll start with the service, we arrived and were greeted by a proper gentleman waiter who took our coats. This guy was a true professional who treated us like royalty throughout the evening. He was prompt in asking us what we wanted for wine and in taking our orders. He was also properly friendly and we chatted about Croatia (where he is from and where I have visited). At the end of the evening he helped put my girlfriends coat on and walked us out, a top waiter.
For food we had calamari as our starter. I had tried it at the Unilocal event and it was excellent so was looking forward to seeing how it was on a regular evening and it is just as good. Not too crunchy, but not to soft, enough chewiness to remind you that you are eating squid, but not overly fried so it tastes like fried batter. Girlfriend said it was as good as her Nonna’s (Italian Granmother) so that’s glowing praise indeed!
For mains, we had pasta dishes, I had a lobster ravioli that was excellent, great sauce and nice and lobstery, yum! Girlfriend had a penne dish with Chicken and mushrooms that she really liked as well. The sauces were excellent and the pasta cooked to perfection, this was food done properly! We were too stuffed to order dessert, but the brought us one anyway as it was her birthday! It was some sort of cake that was really tasty. It was a really nice touch of them to bring it to us, capping off an excellent evening.
For Wine they have a very good menu, we ended up having a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, from the Marlborough region that produces excellent Sauvignon’s. The name escapes me but it went well with what we had. Overall this is a great restaurant, not a place I would go often due to the price, but great for special occasions.

Hubby and I were very lucky to attend a Unilocal Elite event at this venue and it was Fantastic! The food was amazing, and the wine options were lovely. The food ranged from little canapés to full sized meat-​balls (which we learned later were the owner’s grandmother’s tried and true recipe) and they were Good! Everything was presented beautifully, the staff were polite, kind, and funny, and not once did I see an empty appetizer tray even though we were all pleasantly and constantly stuffing our faces.
The atmosphere of this restaurant is amazing. We felt like high rollers with the beautiful white surroundings, wall mounted fireplaces, candles, and a very snazzy bar. I immediately booked an event for my birthday! Also, I grew up in Ottawa, frequented the market many many times, and had no idea this restaurant had been around for almost 30 years! It’s no wonder they are still in business as the food would keep them going even if the restaurant were not as nice, but it is! It’s certainly a «special occasion» type venue for me as it’s not inexpensive, but for that level of restaurant, it’s very reasonably priced.
Late at night the restaurant turns into a sort of lounge/​bar with a DJ which is unexpected, but fits quite well with the atmosphere of the venue. The night of my Birthday bash one of the bathroom door locks was broken and there was an unfortunately incident with a particularly messy patron; the staff did an excellent job of a quick clean-​up and were very apologetic for the situation. We had a wonderful evening with lots of fantastic food, attentive staff, and a very warm welcome from the owner.
Overall it’s highly rated for me with reason — loved every minute of it.

4 stars for the food.
I booked a table and asked to be private, but when we got there we ended sitting in the middle of a crowd. Not good, I was told no problem. NOT
My girlfriend was very excited to be there.
If it wasn’t for her excitement I would have left.
The service, well let’s say if the waiter would have smiled a little maybe we would have enjoyed our night better.
I had better service from other waiters than the one I was stuck with.
I’ll think twice before going back.

I went her for Unilocal Elite event and was thrilled I did. From the outside, it is perhaps a little easy to dismiss as it is above eye level in a non-​descript building, but walking in, it’s beautiful with an (almost) all white interior including white leather sofas, white chairs, white curtains.
Pretty sure you guessed from the name that their focus is Italian food. :-) The owner spoke to us briefly and explained it’s a mix of old and new styles of Italian — and let us know they had been around for 20 years in this location. They periodically change their menu up and we were being served items from that new menu.
For food, we were focused on appetizers and tried many: eggplant wrapped around a stuffing (yum!), meat balls, seafood, crisped break with beef and what I think were shaved sweet pickled beats (yum again) — and a few other items that I remember were quite delicious, but 2 days later as I try to pull it out of my brain, have escaped me. All were delicious.
The waitstaff were all wonderful (thank you all).
Would I return: Yes — definately.
Would I recommend: Yes.

I went here last night for an event and was in awe of the room as soon as I walked in. It is absolutely gorgeous with white leather everywhere. The dim lighting and all the bling around the room make for a classy and romantic setting. The service was amazing, the staff was all very friendly and knowledgeable (and might I add good looking!). The wine was all amazing. My favourite of the food was probably the fried zucchini, but it is a really though choice because everything was soo good. I cannot wait to go back and try an actual meal because I love pasta!
Definitely worth the trip here. The owner was super friendly and is one of the longest standing restaurants to be around in the market and just one bite of the food will explain why.

What great ambiance this place has! Very modern and chic. The décor is on point and the layout is great! At the back of the restaurant were comfy couches to lounge on, and plenty of seating and space to host a party with a bar nearby. Near the front of the restaurant was more cozy seating for more intimate dining. The window seats looked great!
Mezzanotte is an Italian restaurant that seems to focus on seafood. They did not have that much vegetarian friendly options, but what I did have was good. The appetizers were delicious though, and the wine was great too. The staff was very kind to explain the different wines to us, so I did get to learn a few things which was nice.
I’d like to mention how attentive the staff are here. There was never any trouble getting the waiters attention, in fact they were more attentive than most other restaurants I’ve been to. Always offering more food. I can imagine you would be well taken care of if you chose to host a party here.
Would recommend! But not for vegetarians.

We recently went to a Unilocal — Elite event at Mezzanotte Bistro… and while some people would say they would be fishing for an easy promotion of their Bistro… I would argue the opposite… to put your restaurant on the line to have 30 plus foodies analyzing your food and service would be terrifying to me.
I can say that the owner was extremely gracious, the server staff were ON it, the apps were endless and incredibly tasty, the wine flowed from a local distributor who featured reds and white from California and Italy.
I have been here before and gave it 4 stars… I have upped it to 5 simply because to perform that well under that pressure says a lot about the staff and ownership of this restaurant.
This is a beautiful space, with great food, fantastic wine selection.
enjoy.

A long-​established, higher yet affordable-​end restaurant in Ottawa; if you’re looking for some excellent fare and care in the Byward Market area in Ottawa, consider a visit to Mezzanotte Bistro Italiano. I went there for an event tonight, and was met with smiles and gracious hosting, a sleek, white with occasional splashes of blood red, modern, yet organic décor reminiscent of both Northern lights in the sky (Mezzanotte means «midnight,» I might add), as well as underwater ocean waves.
The servers were unobtrusive, professional, friendly, and handsome, I might add. We were served a variety of wines available at the establishment. I quickly became a fan of the Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc as it gave off both the taste and odour of grapefruit without a hint of sourness. Another popular wine that night was la Marca Prosecco, an Italian sparkling wine that tasted a bit of apples.
I tried various appetizers, and all were delicious. I especially recommend the tuna carpacio, and the mozzarella arancin if you’re looking for something a bit hardier.
I honestly can’t think of any critiques of the place during my visit. Superb establishment all around.

Very solid apps, especially the tuna and calamari. The tiramisu dessert was also fantastic. Everything in between was meh. The pasta was in desperate need of salt, thebread oil needed heat and the espresso some finesse.
There was also a bit of a low-​light issue. You eat first with your eyes, right?
I’d go back. Even for the fantastic but overpriced oysters.

Favorite restaurant.
Amazing people, food, drink menu, and décor is the best in the city. It’s always my first choice restaurant, I recommend 100%!

Where do I start? This place is absolutely fantastic!
My girlfriends were planning a pre– Christmas dinner together, and I had mentioned that I was craving Italian, but some place where we could dress up nicely. So we crossed off East Side Mario’s from our list, and headed to google search. We searched up «classy Italian restaurant in Ottawa», and the first option was this fine restaurant. The website had sold us, so we made a reservation.
A week later, the time had come. We all looked cute with our red lipstick and headed towards the entrance. What did we find? A big, blinged-​out mirror at the front of the entrance, and beautiful crystal lights. There was even a coat room, where we took off our jackets and hung them. Oh, was the décor beautiful in the restaurant! Dim lighting, candles, crystals everywhere, cool walls. Very chic, modern, and classy. I can see what everyone else on Unilocal was saying about the high-​society clientele. Everyone looked so fancy! It looked a bit intimidating at first, but we quickly warmed up to the atmosphere and felt comfortable.
Our waiter named Rico was an angel. The best server I had ever had. He was super kind, polite, attentive, and helpful. He made several suggestions for drinks and plates, and was really funny. My friend had taken her water bottle from her purse to rehydrate herself from all the drinking, and he had asked her if she would like for him to replace the bottle with a cold bottle. How kind! Rico gets an A+ for his great service.
Now onto the food, the menu was loaded with delicious options. Looked a little pricey, but what can you expect from fine dining right? I had previously read Unilocal reviews for this place, and some had mentioned the portions being big, so I opted out on the appetizer (although they were tempting), and stuck with my bottle of white wine and Pasta Aglio Olio, which I had finally selected after serious contemplation (the food all sounded so good!)
Rico brought us some warm and beautiful bread rolls, with a roasted tomato and herbs spread, in olive oil. It was super good! I couldn’t stop eating. Then before we knew it, our entrees had arrived. They all had a beautiful presentation, and were garnished with a gorgeous, purple, edible flower. The pasta itself was amazingly good. It was a Fettucini pasta dish with: shrimp, scallops, pancetta, mushrooms in a spicy olive oil. Although I’m not a fan of scallops, they were delicious! The olive oil was not spicy to me at all, but it may be to someone who can’t tolerate slight heat. Everything was perfect about the dish, and it was really filling.
The price came to an estimated $ 33.00 without the tip for the pasta, and a shared bottle of white wine between four others. It was really worth it!
Definately visit, you won’t be disappointed!

Worst customer service EVER, worst dining experience ever, worst GM ever.
I cant say enough terrible things about this place.
We were there for a bachelorette and had a group reservation for 20 girls…
We waited about 45 mins for drinks and half of them were wrong.
We waited 3 hours and not a single plate of food came out, so all 19 of us walked out.
The waiter was so rude and actually put his hand in my friends face to tell her to be quiet. This was after he told my friend with a gluten allergy «well what are you going to eat? «
When I called him out in front of the GM and called me a liar…
The GM did NOT care at all and said «lets just move past this» without offering anything, and then after 3 hours of not getting any food or Apps the GM came back and said very rudely «Take a look around were busy» and he walked away.
I have been here twice and each visit has been horrible. Save your time and money and go to Stella instead, if you want great Italian.

The is a great spot for amazing food in the Market area. Not being a pub or lunch place they truly have an amazing evening atmosphere and food that will satisfy all palettes. There was a large group of us and I can say that eveybody at the table of 14 loved their food. The menu is primarily seafood and pasta — but there are steak and chicken dishes as well. I know I have eaten in this location years ago — but they have updated the space, menu and even the name since then adn they have hit the mark on all areas! I plan on going back again :)

Mazzanotte is a fantastic restaurant, one that I often recommend to friends and family visiting our nation’s capital. I love the modern décor of the place and the food is always delicious and well worth the cost. They also have a really good wine list which is worth exploring.
We always have great service, and the chic interior does not resonate into a pretentious staff. The employees take the time to talk with you an answer any questions that you may have. In the summer, they have a small, but great patio that creates a little bit more of a «lighter» atmosphere than the dark intimate feel of the indoor dining area.
There are a variety of antipastos to choose from as starters, along with your standard appetizers such as calamari, shrimp cocktail and bruschetta. While Mezzanotte offers a variety of chicken, beef, veal and fish entrees, I typically find myself ordering pasta because it is always delicious and «if it a’int broke, don’t fix it». I have had the gnocchi (amazing), a seafood linguine (amazing) and agnolotti with proscuitto in a cream sauce (amazing)
In case you haven’t picked up on the trending of the word «amazing» the food is always incredible. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a nice, «fine dining» meal in the Byward Market.

As soon as I walked in to Mezzanotte I thought I should have come in my Snooky costume from last Halloween. If you feel like people watching this is a great place… alot of tans, fake boobs, white rabbit fur half jackets and douchebags eating dinner with their Prada sunglasses still on.
Our server Franco was wonderful. How an older and very professional gentleman handles a Friday night in there listening to Rhianna on full blast and serving Pauly D. and the gang without turning all Scarface on everyone is beyond me. Anyways, A+ for Franco and the rest of the service team. Great service all evening.
The food was also excellent, enormous portions which we were all surprised with and beautifully presented. And big props for having a veal dish with my last name attached «Vitello Al Campagna» which my Zia had and loved. We were a party of 10 and everyone agreed dinner was delicious but everything was definitely on the rich side.
If you don’t like mushrooms please note that 90% of the dishes contain mushrooms of some sort.
My only complaint would be the bathrooms. All 2 of them for a room that must seat at least 80 people. Not only were there only 2 of them, they were tiny and dirty which flabbergasted me as there was clearly no expense spared in the dining room. They had the extra toilet paper on the back of the toilet, not even in a basket and the walls did not even meet the ceiling so you could hear everything going on the kitchen.
Also the music became obnoxiously loud after 10pm. Unless you like drinking chianti to Katy Perry on triple full blast by 10pm I’d opt for an early exit.

Pros:
Lots of food
Good quality food, but rich
Good alcohol selection
Decent service
Cons:
Really dark — have fun trying to read the menus
Muzak is a little loud an annoying.