I consider myself a picker eater, a lot of the time I go to different restaurants there will always be one item I don’t like as much. Everything I got here was 10/10, and I say that truthfully.
They have an item called dill potatoes, I kid you not, it is EASILY top 10 food items I’ve ever tried. And I’ve been around the world, Italy, France, Belgium etc, I tried hundreds of items in my life and this dill pickle potatoes were truly amazing! I really was ready to order 2 additional plates just of that dill potatoes.
The truffle Mac & cheese was an absolute 10/10! Truly which i could have got another plate of this also it was amazing!
The food was quality, the energy was vibrant there was people in every table, and I will most definitely come back here, it is easily one of my favourite restaurants now in Ottawa. Everything was a 10/10!!!! I couldn’t recommend you this place enough. I left that restaurant knowing I will make a review about how good that food was, and I rarely do these reviews.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Gopal Madhavaram
Dreamland cafe definitely knows how to do pasta right. I visited on a Tuesday night with my wife. The energy in the place is lively, though it does get a bit loud if you are looking for a quiet conversation. The food was the highlight. The vegan honey deep fried Brussels had a perfect taate, and the ingredients tasted high-quality. I also tried the pumpkin Gnocchi, which was pillowy and rich. Garlic bread was good. Felt vegan puttanesca was average. The only downside was the limited seating. I would definitely recommend a reservation if you want to have a pleasant experience otherwise you would be sitting at the bar side like us. Overall, a great spot for a fun dinner. I will definitely return for the food.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
ida the asteroid
You can tell a lot of thought goes into the food here. as for the experience itself, the place is lovely. however I felt a bit cramped between other tables. the service was relatively quick but the waitresses weren’t overly friendly. I guess it’s part of the authentic Italian experience though 😉
1. rosy pasta with chicken - this dish was good but nothing special. rigatoni was perfectly cooked and coating with silky sauce. could use a little extra salt
2. squid ink pasta with shrimp - my favourite. lemony and buttery (BROWN butter, yum). I suggest requesting Parmesan, it ties it all together
3. The crème brûlée : considering the other dishes were smaller than what I’m used to, I wasn’t expecting such a large portion. it was so incredibly rich, I could taste every speck of vanilla in the custard. the sugar crust wasn’t over burned, just perfect
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Victoria
Very tasty meals! I love that they offer a twist, which makes the options so not boring. I had the pumpkin gnocci with brown butter and ricotta and it was perfect!
Jermey Renger
I’ve been to Dreamland three times and can say that we’ve given it a fair chance. The first time coming here was okay, I recall staff being fairly friendly and the pasta being decent. The problems began during our second and third visits.
We were excited to come following our first experience, so for our second visit we decided to go to during the Italian festival. We did not know they’d be serving a reduced menu and were fairly busy (very understandable). I sort of wish they would have posted something online about the menu, but that was fine. Our main problem was with the staff being passive aggressive and seemed untrained. I definitely remember the dippers being not worth it, pasta being subpar, and water not being filled.
We were invited out for a third time, or else we wouldn’t have been back. The third time was definitely the worst. We were told that a table would clear soon and the wait should be around 10 minutes, but we ended up waiting around forty five minutes also receiving no updated texts or anything from employees. We were seated and ordered fine, but did not receive our food for almost an hour, we thought they forgot about us. The wait for food was obvious and we received no apology or acknowledgement from the server, a simple “sorry for the wait” was all we were looking for. The carbonara was sort of watery, almost “soupy” and had no guanciale or pancetta despite being around $30. The calamari was okay, nothing special.
Overall, I would say prices are crazy expensive for the portions and food quality you receive. Service is super slow and staff is untrained for this type of higher-end (expensive) restaurant environment. Book a reservation for sure if you do decide to go, but I would avoid.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Paige
Food and wine were phenomenal. Service was excellent as always. Even if you can only get a reso for 4pm it's worth it!
Saredo
Always my favourite restaurant to go to!! Mark my words - I will have their dishes at my wedding
Vijay
We dined here at lunch for our anniversary. We had quick and enjoyable service. The food was delicious (the spaghetti and ragu both), striking a balance between quality and portion size for the price. It is a small, cozy, and thoughtfully decorated restaurant. Lots of small details to appreciate. Very happy with our visit, and would definitely recommend it.
Sebastian Rodriguez
Great little spot for a date night. Pasta dishes are creative and always tasty. Best Caesar salad I’ve ever had!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Roberto Rivas
This spot is a gem. The food was incredible and the service was on point. I had the puttanesca pasta and tiramisu.. 10/10 chef! Thank you
Pumpkin gnocchi and chocolate orange creme brûlée were delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hani
Great food - one of the best squid ink pasta I have had - really enjoyed it - the entree with the meatballs were okay - nothing to rave home about and their desserts were okay - I found the wine list to be lacking imagination- but overall the pastas were great and I am quite happy! Lastly the seating are a bit ridiculous- wooden bench ? Not ideal! The chairs were comfortable!
Aliija Hughes-Wade
Literally the best cheesy garlic bread I’ve ever had and amazing pasta options. Always a favourite and go to.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Carli
Just incredible. So great for dietary restrictions as well. Lots of gluten free and vegan options.
I consider myself a picker eater, a lot of the time I go to different restaurants there will always be one item I don’t like as much. Everything I got here was 10/10, and I say that truthfully.
They have an item called dill potatoes, I kid you not, it is EASILY top 10 food items I’ve ever tried. And I’ve been around the world, Italy, France, Belgium etc, I tried hundreds of items in my life and this dill pickle potatoes were truly amazing! I really was ready to order 2 additional plates just of that dill potatoes.
The truffle Mac & cheese was an absolute 10/10! Truly which i could have got another plate of this also it was amazing!
The food was quality, the energy was vibrant there was people in every table, and I will most definitely come back here, it is easily one of my favourite restaurants now in Ottawa. Everything was a 10/10!!!! I couldn’t recommend you this place enough. I left that restaurant knowing I will make a review about how good that food was, and I rarely do these reviews.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dreamland cafe definitely knows how to do pasta right. I visited on a Tuesday night with my wife. The energy in the place is lively, though it does get a bit loud if you are looking for a quiet conversation.
The food was the highlight. The vegan honey deep fried Brussels had a perfect taate, and the ingredients tasted high-quality. I also tried the pumpkin Gnocchi, which was pillowy and rich. Garlic bread was good. Felt vegan puttanesca was average.
The only downside was the limited seating. I would definitely recommend a reservation if you want to have a pleasant experience otherwise you would be sitting at the bar side like us.
Overall, a great spot for a fun dinner. I will definitely return for the food.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
You can tell a lot of thought goes into the food here. as for the experience itself, the place is lovely. however I felt a bit cramped between other tables. the service was relatively quick but the waitresses weren’t overly friendly. I guess it’s part of the authentic Italian experience though 😉
1. rosy pasta with chicken - this dish was good but nothing special. rigatoni was perfectly cooked and coating with silky sauce. could use a little extra salt
2. squid ink pasta with shrimp - my favourite. lemony and buttery (BROWN butter, yum). I suggest requesting Parmesan, it ties it all together
3. The crème brûlée : considering the other dishes were smaller than what I’m used to, I wasn’t expecting such a large portion. it was so incredibly rich, I could taste every speck of vanilla in the custard. the sugar crust wasn’t over burned, just perfect
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Very tasty meals! I love that they offer a twist, which makes the options so not boring. I had the pumpkin gnocci with brown butter and ricotta and it was perfect!
I’ve been to Dreamland three times and can say that we’ve given it a fair chance. The first time coming here was okay, I recall staff being fairly friendly and the pasta being decent. The problems began during our second and third visits.
We were excited to come following our first experience, so for our second visit we decided to go to during the Italian festival. We did not know they’d be serving a reduced menu and were fairly busy (very understandable). I sort of wish they would have posted something online about the menu, but that was fine. Our main problem was with the staff being passive aggressive and seemed untrained. I definitely remember the dippers being not worth it, pasta being subpar, and water not being filled.
We were invited out for a third time, or else we wouldn’t have been back. The third time was definitely the worst. We were told that a table would clear soon and the wait should be around 10 minutes, but we ended up waiting around forty five minutes also receiving no updated texts or anything from employees. We were seated and ordered fine, but did not receive our food for almost an hour, we thought they forgot about us. The wait for food was obvious and we received no apology or acknowledgement from the server, a simple “sorry for the wait” was all we were looking for. The carbonara was sort of watery, almost “soupy” and had no guanciale or pancetta despite being around $30. The calamari was okay, nothing special.
Overall, I would say prices are crazy expensive for the portions and food quality you receive. Service is super slow and staff is untrained for this type of higher-end (expensive) restaurant environment. Book a reservation for sure if you do decide to go, but I would avoid.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Food and wine were phenomenal. Service was excellent as always. Even if you can only get a reso for 4pm it's worth it!
Always my favourite restaurant to go to!! Mark my words - I will have their dishes at my wedding
We dined here at lunch for our anniversary. We had quick and enjoyable service. The food was delicious (the spaghetti and ragu both), striking a balance between quality and portion size for the price. It is a small, cozy, and thoughtfully decorated restaurant. Lots of small details to appreciate. Very happy with our visit, and would definitely recommend it.
Great little spot for a date night. Pasta dishes are creative and always tasty. Best Caesar salad I’ve ever had!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This spot is a gem. The food was incredible and the service was on point. I had the puttanesca pasta and tiramisu.. 10/10 chef! Thank you
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Pumpkin gnocchi and chocolate orange creme brûlée were delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food - one of the best squid ink pasta I have had - really enjoyed it - the entree with the meatballs were okay - nothing to rave home about and their desserts were okay - I found the wine list to be lacking imagination- but overall the pastas were great and I am quite happy! Lastly the seating are a bit ridiculous- wooden bench ? Not ideal! The chairs were comfortable!
Literally the best cheesy garlic bread I’ve ever had and amazing pasta options. Always a favourite and go to.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Just incredible. So great for dietary restrictions as well. Lots of gluten free and vegan options.
Good pasta. I would recommend booking ahead.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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