La Roma is one of Ottawa's oldest Italian restaurants. It's still got

When I’ve been asked, I’m entirely straightforward and say that it’s easier to write a positive review than a negative one. 

Some folks think that critics enjoy writing clever turns of phrase in order to lay waste to a restaurant. Serious critics, however, use their long experience to be honest with the public and even the proprietors, so that the criticism will be seen as advice. I want restaurants to succeed for selfish reasons: I want to continue eating there.

Then there are those restaurants that have been around so long they need no one’s help. They make the act of writing a pleasant stroll down memory lane.

So it is with La Roma. 

Owner Maria Papalia’s other siblings own and run Trattoria Caffe Italia just down the street. Doing things the right way, seems to be the only way they know how to do business. 

For Maria, this means making everything, down to the bar syrups, in-house. Yes, the pasta too.

The calamari, for example, does not come frozen. This is the fresh stuff cut into rings, dredged in seasoned batter and lightly fried. Each piece comes out sweet, tender and creamy.

It’s also under $20 and is one of the nicest versions I’ve had in a long time. You could just have that with a glass of white and be happy with your lunch.

The chicken Caesar salad arrived and represented a new take on this standard item. 

The salad had a very nice dressing judiciously applied but the chicken was served on the side. It was also warm in a zesty and fresh lemon oregano sauce. 

Each mouthful was moist and, while the reader might wonder, it did work well against that Caesar dressing. Going forward, you might not want it any other way.

It was time for pasta. This is where the magic really happened for me. I know. It’s pasta, but when it’s well-made and not from a box, you really notice the difference. You also don’t mind paying for it.

Not every restaurant makes its pasta in-house. It requires extra space in the kitchen, not just for making but also for air-drying the noodles. Many kitchens also don’t have the talent required, so they rely on boxed pasta.

Many can be of decent quality. But it might, and I’m being generous, cost a restaurant as much as two dollars for a 454-gram box. That box produces four servings.

Last year, I reviewed La Strada. It was a very good (but loud) lunch experience and they used De Cecco. It's one of the three brands in my pantry. 

At this point, however, I don't know that I necessarily want to put my money into an experience where the kitchen relies on pre-made pasta. I can do that at home. Sidebar over.

I’d ordered linguini stolanoto and the aromas coming off the dish were appetite-inducing. Olive oil, garlic and that smoked bacon pulled me in.

Adding colour and a sweet bitterness were rapini and braised leeks. The leeks were the sweet cream to the rapini, which added bitterness that countered the smoky pork. The olive oil had likely been seasoned with chili, as there was a bit of heat. At just $22, it was amongst the best restaurant pasta dishes in years.

Pizza is not something in which they specialize, but they do offer two on the lunch menu. It’s listed as “personal size,” but two of us couldn’t finish it. 

The Colosseo involved spicy Italian sausage, black olives, mozzarella and parmesan. It could easily have been a little too salty, but it wasn’t. Everything was in proportion with flavours in harmony. A delicious sharing bite for $21.

I did find the crust unusual. It was a thin crust which held up well without flopping, but it was a little more cracker-like. The dough had obviously not been left to rise. 

I asked to speak to the pastry chef responsible for the dough, and she confirmed that it only rests for a few hours. Not enough time to give the resulting pizza dough a pleasant chewiness.

I don’t know if it’s out of some misguided sense of caution or a special care for customers who eschew alcohol, but too many restaurants offer flabby takes on tiramisu. 

I need mine with that little bit of booze to counter the richness of the whipped mascarpone. Marsala wine is traditionally used, but I’ve seen recipes involving rum or brandy as well.

The amount of alcohol in this version was noticeable. Fear not, it’s nothing that would even affect a toddler. 

It was super fresh, nicely presented and not too sweet, with the coffee and chocolate giving the palate a round, warming sensation.

If you want to extend the experience to home, La Roma offers a number of pre-made meals you can prepare at home. This includes their excellent marinara sauce ($12 for an 800 ml jar), which tastes as fresh as you will ever find out of season.

La Roma was a surprise, a place I’d been meaning to try for some time. When the cooking is this honest and delicious, it makes it easy to share the good news. 

This restaurant has been with us for around 30 years. Rather than relying on reputation, you get the feeling that the family here still very much cares. 

In these cynical times, that’s not nothing.