Sanguiccio

Character, orange blue, black. Part deli. Part club. Tomatoe salad. Coffee nutella
Found this through the Unilocal newsletter — and was headed over that way on a Friday afternoon so seemed logical to stop and try it.
It has an unassuming entrance, with a small flight of stairs up. Inside you find a room full of character. With orange, blue and black décor and a slightly worn patina it’s really quite welcoming.
We knew from reading other reviews that we should expect to wait for good things — and we did. Went with one of the sandwich specials and the anti-​pasta plate for 2. We ordered to much. :-\ However, hubby put in a valiant effort and managed to finish everything off. We *loved* the tomato salad, the meat assortment, the pickled vegetables. Everything was good!
As other Unilocalers noted, the owner will stop to chat. He’s passionate about food — he does it because he loves it — the best kind of restaurateur. His background is in health supplements so he looks for and buys meats with lower nitrate levels, buys vegetables locally and seasonally and makes what he enjoyes eating. As a result, you never quite know what’s on the daily menu. (He told us you can find out on a day to day basis on Facebook and Twitter.)
We finished off with coffees — I had his special Caffe Latte with Nutella. Delicious. Worth it to go here just for the coffee.
Would I return: yes
Would I recommend: yes

More 3.5, really — because of the price. But the food is good, the owner extremely friendly, so I’ll round it up this time.
I’ve been to Sanguiccio before. They had weird hours last year, but I think that was mostly because the owner was running the place by himself and he was still looking for someone to replace the girl who had been helping him out at the restaurant. I think that has since been fixed.
I was in the area this week, and remembered that I have still yet to get a full sandwich there myself (I shared one last time, and it was a while ago so I’d forgotten). So I went in to Sanguiccio to a crowd of regulars.
As I remembered from the last time I was in, the owner was extremely nice, asking me how I came by the place. I was not in a hurry, but I wanted to take my sandwich to-​go. Obviously, he convinced me otherwise.
I had the chicken butter brandy, one of the sandwich specials. It was delicious. Made fresh for about 20 – 30 minutes. I am not sure, however, if it was worth 9.95 (that is a little expensive for a sandwich). I wish there was a set menu that I could have looked at before ordering though — that way, I might have been able to compare choices and prices… and yes there is a menu. I guess it’s partially my fault I didn’t ask for it.
Otherwise, it’s a small, intimate atmosphere. Great for dates or perhaps a long lunch. The owner makes it easy to say, «See you again» and mean it. It’s a nice alternative to the other places in Little Italy, that’s for sure.
(PS, it’s cash only here!)

Have been hunting for a good weekend sandwich spot for a while now. The hunt is over. I found Sanguiccio.
Climb a few steps to the restaurant on Preston and sit at a quaint little table. Good, authentic coffee, and then the sandwiches. I love the tuna. Fresh, with tomato and black olive+. This is not the tuna sandwich you get in a package — delicious, made fresh, and served hot. Hubby had the pulled pork this time. Equally fresh, and he enjoyed his equally as much. Daily specials have also been a hit. The food reminds both of us of our time in the south of Italy.
Go when you are not in a rush. Sit, have a coffee and a chat, order a daily special or the tuna, relax, eat, enjoy, repeat. :)

I was recommended this place back in the summer and was warned the service was sloooooooooow but the sandwiches were delicious. I was a little torn on this but said what the heck!
We came in and it looks like a little trattoria with a some food on display and a coffee maker behind the counter. They have a back room with an ATM as well.
We sat down and ordered a few of their sandwiches. We stayed away from the deli sandwiches as I heard they’re OK and stuck with their daily specials.
Thankfully we came in a large group and had a lot to chat about, but it was definitely some time before all our food came. My friend and I swapped half our sandwiches and on first bite I knew I was coming back, long wait and all! The sandwich was pretty delicious and might even be one of my favourite sandwiches in town. Cooked hot and delicious it was definitely worth the wait.
They make homemade hot sauce as well and we tried that. It was really good. We told our server and the owner came out and we talked about hot sauce and Italian food for the next 30 minutes. He’s a super cool guy and very health conscious. He even brought out a few hot sauces he was working on. Delicious and spicy. Come out and give one of their daily sandwich specials a try! They have a lamb sandwich I’m just waiting to try.
Slow service but worth the wait!

Sanguiccio is an authentic, hole-​in-​the-​wall Italian bistro in the heart of Little Italy. I stumbled upon the place while taking photography classes with Harry Nowell (OttawaStudioWorks) across the street and wandered in looking for a quick bite.
I was wrong.
This place does not do «quick».
It is absolutely charming, homey, friendly and the owner is the nicest fella, but please don’t go there is you’re in a rush. First, because you won’t get it, but also because you won’t appreciate the very thing that makes this place good. It is oh-​so-​very European in its concept of time… The owner once told me «You don’t eat to live, you should live to eat, it is one of life’s many pleasures and the base for all things… you cannot work, enjoy yourself or love if you are not eating well.»
So why go at all?
Because I have only ever tasted food this good in Italy; this is honestly the closest thing to a trattoria I found at a reasonable price.
So there you have it. Sanguiccio is a lovely bistro with very reasonable prices (cash only) to meet a friend for a chat over a capuccino, or share a bit with your partner, but it’s certainly not a typical «take-​out» kind of place.
Go for a bite, an espresso and a chat with the owner.