DreamLand Cafe
262 Preston St., 613-422-4200, dreamlandcafe.ca
Open: Tuesday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., closed Monday
Prices: pasta dishes $11 to $19; 20 per cent discount for students
Access: steps to front door
The website for DreamLand Cafe proudly proclaims that the tiny, six-month-old eatery on Preston Street makes “the best pasta in Ottawa.” If that claim isn’t a red flag for a restaurant critic to come by and be the judge, then what is?
After two visits in the last week, I’d say that DreamLand goes a little overboard with its boast. But then, who doesn’t, in these hyperbolic times? I can still lavish a lot of praise on DreamLand, including some qualified superlatives.
Calling DreamLand the cutest pasta place in Ottawa is less of a stretch. From its pink exterior to its bright, leafy-wallpapered interior, the cafe treats guests to a youthful, cheery, unpretentious and even feminine vibe.
Kale Caesar salad at Dreamland Cafe.
That’s as you might expect, given the restaurant’s owners are the young sisters Coco and Marlo De Leo. The DreamLand Cafe on Preston Street is, in fact, their second business. In May 2016, they opened the first DreamLand Cafe on Laurier Avenue, a tiny, weekday lunch counter that doles out made-in-house, cooked-to-order pasta in takeout cartons to downtown workers.
The Preston Street eatery is a step or two up from its older downtown sibling. As at the Laurier Avenue DreamLand, fresh pasta is the focus. But the Little Italy DreamLand, a woody place of hard chairs and cushioned banquettes, features full table service for about 20 people. Through the summer, the patio here appealed. Its menu branches out to offer more from-scratch fare including starters, Italian sodas and desserts. The cafe also offers wine and even some cocktails.
My first lunch here began well with a kale Caesar salad ($8.50) that had nice oomph to it, hitting salty, lemony and pungent notes, likely with some anchovy in its dressing. At my second lunch, we split four big, densely packed meatballs ($6.50) in a sauce with good and concentrated tomato flavour.
Meatballs at DreamLand Cafe
Our pastas here have been, if not the best in town, respectable to very good. Given their prices, the bowls of pasta, available in small (but substantial) or large portions and generally cooked a little beyond al dente, could be called the best wallet-friendly pastas in town.
The table’s favourite last Saturday afternoon was a special of squid-ink rigatoni with a butternut squash-purée-meets-alfredo sauce ($16 for a small bowl; all other pasta prices below are also for small bowls). It was simply made but creative, and chock full of the pinging flavours of oregano and chilli peppers.
Squid-ink rigatoni at DreamLand Cafe
The eatery’s vegan dream pasta ($16) also delivered flavourful excitement, as vegan penne served as a backdrop for vegan pesto, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, and mushrooms.
Vegan dream pasta at DreamLand Cafe
A bowl of angel hair aglio e olio ($11) worked more minimalist charms with olive oil, garlic, flecks of chilli and anchovies making their presences felt.
Angel hair aglio e olio at DreamLand Cafe
With a bowl of lemon pesto angel hair pasta with shrimp ($16), the sauce’s flavours were bright and clear and the shrimp, while on the smaller side, were toothsome.
Lemon pesto pasta with shrimp at DreamLand Cafe
As soon as it landed on the table, spaghetti carbonara ($16) tempted with its bright blob of egg yolk, ready to be dispersed. The bowl was easy to enjoy, and happily devoid of cream, as per the right way to make carbonara. But the dish could have been still more luxurious, I thought.
Spaghetti carbonara at DreamLand Cafe
Moving a little laterally from pasta, the cafe also serves mugs of mac and cheese. A classic, four-cheese version topped with bacon ($14.75) was as comforting as it needed to be, while a mac and cheese heavy on the goat cheese was tangy and flavourful, with a topping of raw onion for contrast.
Four-cheese mac and cheese with bacon at DreamLand Cafe
Goat cheese mac and cheese at DreamLand Cafe
We ended our first lunch with a slab of tiramisu ($8.50) that was classic, light and creamy, but missing a boozy kick. A miniature ice cream sandwich ($3.50) was suitably chocolatey. At our second lunch, we had what we thought was the winner among DreamLand’s desserts — an admirably light cheesecake with a subtle caramel topping and a layer of spiced pear ($9).
Tiramisu at DreamLand Cafe
Mini chocolate ice cream sandwich at DreamLand Cafe
Caramel spiced pear cheesecake at DreamLand Cafe
Let me finish by rambling further about the notion of the best pasta in town. In the last week, I also ate at a fancier Italian restaurant where the pasta prompted me and my dining companions to ooh and aah at the rich indulgence of it all.
Whether we’d just eaten Ottawa’s best pasta is up for grabs, but those dishes, at a restaurant still to be reviewed, did make me happier than what I ate at DreamLand.
Mind you, at that fancy place, the pasta started at $25 — considerably more than what you’ll pay at DreamLand.
Of course, our expectations scale up and down with the cost of what we eat. But all things considered, even if DreamLand doesn’t serve Ottawa’s best pasta, what it offers in terms of taste, value and ambience is more than good enough.
MORE RESTAURANT REVIEWS:
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Dining Out: Rangoon’s Burmese dishes impress with deep and surprising flavours
Dining Out: The secret’s out about indulgent but affordable hole-in-the-wall Le Candestin
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