Johnny Farina

I went for dinner (1 st time) end of January. Meatball appetizer was lukewarm at best and the arancini was frozen. The server had the arancini remade. Waiting for this mistake to be corrected really set back dinner. The pizza wasn’t that great. The manager working came by and offered a tiramisu for the mistake. Given how poorly our experience had been, it would of been nice to had at least the arancini to be compensated.
I also asked the server the soup of the day. He said there wasn’t one. The couple next to us had a different server and in fact there was a soup of the day.
We had been seated in a section in the middle and there was tables on each side of us. It made it difficult to talk and have a romantic date night because the people next to us could hear everything we had to say.
It was also embarrassing to have the manager come over and have multiple guests hear about our appetizer experience.
I was disappointed to see more intimate seating by the bathrooms.
Definitely not a good first impression.

Gorgeous restaurant, the ambiance lighting creates a very nice atmosphere.
The food was very quick and absolutely excellent, Amaretto sour cocktail was amazing.
Service was good very minor (Cannot stress minor enough) issue, a slight mixup when we didn’t want dessert and still had a full drink in front of us that they gave us the bill even though we hadn’t asked for it yet and planned on ordering another drink. Drinks also were slow to come out.

Had a corporate lunch here the other day, and it was great. Food was wonderful, tasty, I had a pasta dish and liked it 🙂 I ate it and no pick provided. But managed a salad pic….I know salad pic! Our group was large and the place was packed so it was very noisy, but we were upstairs and once the other group left we had the upstairs to ourselves which was great. Like I said meal was delicious, service was very good, waitress was very busy and managed to provide good service, and the atmosphere was nice. We had a preset menu which limited the options but it was a smart move.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5

Delicious food and great atmosphere – highly recommended!
I went to Johnny Farina for dinner and tried several dishes: Stella pasta with grilled chicken on the side, Caesar salad, arancini rice balls, and zucchini fries. Every single dish was incredible—finger-licking good!
• The pasta was full of flavour
• The grilled chicken was extremely juicy and tender
• The zucchini fries were super crispy
• The arancini were rich and perfectly cooked

This restaurant knows how to deliver on taste!

Service:
The only area they could improve is the speed of service. We had to wait a bit too long at different intervals to be attended to. However, the staff were friendly once they came around.

Atmosphere & Experience:
The ambiance was warm, lively, and perfect for dinner. One thing that really impressed me was that they actually paid attention to the notes I added to my reservation. They even brought out a tiramisu (a generous portion!) completely on the house, which was such a thoughtful touch.

Overall:
Amazing food, great vibes, and attention to detail. If they improve service speed a bit, this would easily be a 5-star spot. I would definitely recommend Johnny Farina to anyone visiting Ottawa!

We order mussels , calamari as appetizer and pasta for main dish.
The appetizer is fine, but pasta is overcooked, and the sauce is lack of flavor.
Service was good though, food is a bit on pricey side

Unfortunately, this was a disappointing experience. We were seated in the furthest corner of the restaurant, right next to the stairs (think Harry Potter). When we were seated, my friend got a glass of iced water. I got tap water in a cup that looked like it had already lived a full life. No ice, just vibes and suspicious stains. The bread and olive oil were served sloppily, with oil spilling over the plate, and my friend’s plate had to be replaced because it wasn’t clean. Salad was good, pizza was mid. Save yourself. There are better Italian restaurants in Ottawa.

Went there on my first evening in Ottawa which was on a Saturday.
I ordered the Diavolo which was delicious.
As was the Gelato for dessert.
Service was quick, super friendly and very enthusiastic.
Jayden made me feel welcome.

It was a bit noisy, did not bother me though.

I’d go there again.

As a matter of fact, I did go there again a few days later. And probably will go there again. 😅