La Strada is an Ottawa Italian tradition

Opened in 1972 La Strada fits easily into the category of “legacy dining”. Only Mamma Teresa, opened in 1970, is older.

Peter Milito first opened this restaurant and today his three sons, Chef Carlo Milito, Leo and Rick, carry on their father’s vision. There’s a bit of comfort in such constancy and it’s obviously appreciated, as we’ll see.

A friend and I sat down at 11:30 for a Friday lunch and it was lovely having the bright, fresh room all to ourselves. As La Strada is only open for lunch on Fridays, I knew that we wouldn’t enjoy this calm for long.

After a quick catch-up we ordered two pasta dishes along with Caesar salad and calamari fritti for sharing.

We began with an attractive Caesar salad, and once tasted, I wished it were larger. The dressing is the star of the show. It was lemony and tinged with anchovy and applied evenly with an experienced touch. Neither too much nor too little. 

This was also the first time that I enjoyed a crouton, and it may have given the dressing a run for best element. It was almost as delicate as meringue and broke apart with little pressure and exploded in delicious, savoury seasoning. 

We were off to a good start.

The good times continued with a fresh and tender fried calamari served with a side of marinara sauce. As fresh as the sauce was, it was a let-down and added nothing to the dish.

There was a lightly applied batter that was modestly but sufficiently salted and that broke away easily to reveal the sweet squid. No excessive chewing was required and everything was in balance.

By 12:30 the place was packed with not a seat to be had. There was a good deal of activity with many people moving between tables, greeting each other. The conversation was so lively and loud that my friend and I had trouble hearing each other. 

My lunch companion was presented with her cacio e pepe pasta and it looked like a healthy portion. She was concerned however, that the dish had been made with cream as there was a fair amount of sauce. Cacio e pepe is made with only Pecorino Romano cheese, black pepper and pasta water with butter or olive oil sometimes in the mix.

She asked one of the owners about the extra cream in her dish and, as if Scorcese himself were directing the scene, he replied “Wha? You saying you don’t like it?” It was both hilarious and vaguely menacing at the same time. Just like in a movie, as the expression goes.

She set the record straight, as it was quite tasty, saying she only wanted to know if they’d used cream (they hadn’t) and we all went about our business, my business of which was tucking into my linguine Calabrese.

I was informed that they use De Cecco pasta here and only make their sheet pasta for ravioli, manicotti and lasagna in-house. That’s a fairly standard practice. Sheet pasta, unlike shaped pasta, doesn’t require space or time for drying and space in a kitchen is always at a premium.

The linguine Calabrese was a generous amount of pasta and I did take my leftovers home. 

It was a simple enough dish of garlic and olive oil, chili flakes, shrimp and capers. When I think of pasta it’s often in its most unadorned versions such as spaghetti with just olive oil, garlic and parmesan. This was close and I enjoyed it very much.

As you’d expect, the pasta was al dente and judiciously dressed. The shrimp was sweet and cooked on point, with the occasional caper adding a salty pop as an accent.

The room was clearly filled with regulars, and because of this, the service was marginally less attentive than I would have liked. The team was, however, professional and efficient in responding to requests.

La Strada does not have lunchtime pricing so you may well want to enjoy their food over dinner. It’s easy to see why people flock to it in droves. It’s a professionally run restaurant with an attractive ambience, good service and nicely prepared food. 

I would like to return to try some of their grilled dishes. If only it weren’t so loud.