Caffé Mio Italian Bistro

Caffé Mio has become a bit of a 'go to' place for us when we are looking to go out for dinner, and want to still be pretty close to home and most importantly, know that where we do go, every dish will be really good. Thursday was a bit of a train wreck in that a lot happened that wasn't planned and as a result the biggest amount of brain power went into just trying to keep everything on the rails. I am not sure how you can plan for dinner when it seems that you may be hijacked at every turn. So we opted for getting help and took a very last minute reservation at Caffé Mio. My guess is that we got the last spot in the house. The place was packed! It seems a lot of people had a train wreck of a day!!

Our waitress was great. I had a terrible time concentrating that day though so I hope I have the food descriptions figured out. It may not be quite from her lips to your ears.

I couldn't pass on the soup of the day. A tomato soup with bacon and fresh herbs. Although well puréed, it was still meaty and textured and very rich in its tomato flavour. I liked the balance of herbs. Every once in a while I would spoon up bacon. To me it didn't add one way or another. The splishes at rim-side are probably an indication that the kitchen was really hopping that night!




My dinner date enjoyed the Beet Salad. Roasted beets on a bed of arugula topped with crisp pancetta & toasted pecans. The picture that they have on their website photo gallery shows a plate groaning in beets. Although this one is less sparse, the reviews were excellent. Again, lots of flavour and fresh, fresh greens.



I opted again for a special. This time the salmon. It had a topping of caramelized onions and feta and sat on a bed of fresh, fresh green beans and mushroom risotto. The portion of salmon was HUGE but I persevered to the very last bite, enjoying each lift of the fork.



Across from me, hubby picked one of his favourites, the Linguine Mio. Linguine with prosciutto, spinach & roasted red peppers in olive oil & garlic. His plate too was reduced to a shiny porcelain white. The amount of prosciutto was substantial as was the combo of vegetables. As I was quite heads down on my dish, I missed sneaking a bite.



I re-hydrated with water while hubby enjoyed a bottle of Tankhouse Ale, something he usually experiences on tap.



As usual, no room for dessert. We had to dash anyway since the family taxi service was being called back on shift.

I mentioned to a friend yesterday that we were out to Caffé Mio. Her eyes popped. It is a great favourite of theirs too and particularly their daughter's favourite place to dine. So it would appear that the full house on Thursday evening is just regular business. I suspect it is good advice to say call ahead for a reservation.

Caffé Mio Italian Bistro
1379 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
(613) 761-5510

Mon - Fri: 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Sat: 11:30 AM - 10:00 PM
Sun: 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM