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| - My first weekend in Montreal and I had discovered Petite Italia. With all the great aromas drifting down St. Zotique my choices for dinner were limitless. One in particular had an old-school brick oven and that was good enough for me - don't worry, I plan to hit every other restaurant on that street eventually.
The atmosphere was casual inside and out, with diners ranging from couples to familes to after work socials. I was pathetic dining by myself and had no choice - what to do except ask for a table for one. The maitre d' (who may or may not have been the owner...) sat me at a table right next to the kitchen. Talk about "dinner and a show." For a saturday night it was fairly busy and when I offered not to take up a 4-top by myself to sit at the bar, he replied, "No sir, sit, relax and enjoy your meal." Can't argue with that.
Stephanie, my waitress, took very good care of me. Looking around I saw a lot of dishes that looked great...from the fried zucchini flowers(?) to the pizzas to teh calamari...so much to sample next time. I may also be the first person to review Bottega without being able to comment on their pizza since I ordered a glass of wine and a calzone. Without hesitation it was quite possibly one of the best calzones I've ever had. To top the night off, I finished with the hazelnut gelato and that was pure heaven.
Now the hard part; I was a bit surprised when the bill came and the cheapest glass of wine, a plain mushroom & meat calzone with a cup of gelato along with tip came to over $50 for one person. I'm still learning what constitutes cheap vs expensive in this city so don't let this fool you though - I try to get the most for my money wherever I go. It's pricey in my opinion but the service and atmosphere were great. The food/dessert was amazing and I did not walk out of there still hungry. It's a great place to visit once and a while or for special occasions. Plus, I moved in down the street after that night so there's a good chance I'll be back.
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