Tennessy Willems

Traveling through Ottawa and we searched Unilocal for pizza and chose this based on reviews. The pizza, salads, and spaghetti were some of the best we’ve had. In addition, the service was outstanding and lots of unique pizzas to choose from. I would highly recommend this wonderful place.

I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this place yet after our great dinner a couple weeks ago. So my husband and I decided to have our date night here a few Saturdays ago. My husband always raved about this place but we never went since I am celiac and I didn’t think they had gluten free pizza. They don’t advertise that they do, but they do! The only pizza that has gluten in the toppings is the boar (which was the one I wish I could try, but my husband got). He got the boar pizza and I had the chorizo pizza gluten free crust. The pizzas were delicious! Very happy with both and we devoured them. The beer and wine were also good, and our server was spot on with his recommendations. Patrick was our server and his service was great. He was funny, helpful, welcoming and what else could you ask for?!
My only suggestion is to have a couple more pizza options, like chicken/​steak.
The restaurant is cozy, albeit small so make a reservation ahead of time! We will be back again in the near future.

Came here with my Mom for lunch yesterday. Got the special Pizza with Olives, Lardons, Red Peppers and Olive Oil. Was an absolutely huge portion! The toppings were quite good but I found the whole Pizza a little soggy, could have used a bit less Olive Oil. As well, it was a touch satly for my liking. Place was absolutely mobbed with Ottawa people lunching. Not the best Zaa I’ve ever had but decent in a pinch.
Service and décor was fine and they had decent beers on tap.

The pizza was great, but on the expensive side. Have not had wild boar on a pizza so that was a nice menu option. Small selection of alcohol. Service was good too.

South side of Wellington Street at Melrose
But difficult to find at night (no outside lighting)
Reservations definitely suggested
Allowed us in but only for one hour
Pizzas are good wood oven thin crust and tasty
Service was reasonable
Worth a second chance

Fun, relaxed, friendly. Not a huge place though.
FOOD AND DRINK: Pizzas are the key but they have some other options. Tried the wild boar and apple, like our friends with us recommended (and got too), and didn’t regret it. There was beer, which is key. Cider too.
The art is also awesome. A huge piece with David Suzuki in the bathroom surprised me but I really liked the artistic rendition.
Recommend.

Our second home. Absolutely the best pizza (and we’ve travelled around the world to find a comparison), best atmosphere, and most of all the best service! Pat, Lenard, or Rachel are wonderful!!! The owner is pretty fabulous too! A must try if you love wood fire pizza! You’ll never see pizza the same way again!

Heard of this place and was excited to try due to the wood oven. We finally got a break from our 4 kids and decided to do date night here.
we Went and were disappointed in the service. Our excitement from trying a new place was high but went down really quick They were not very welcoming. Took awhile to be seated because we didn’t have rsvp. When we finally did get seated we were brought warm water and everyone else had a nice cold bottle of water wich comes with the table. We finally got served but the people that came after us got there pizza wich they ordered three and we ordered two and ours still didnt come till about 10mins after thiers.
The servers were more friendly and attentive to the other customers. We felt neglected as customers and disappinted when we clearly could see we were treated different for what ever reason.
The pizza was good and love their sauce in house sauce.
We order an appetizer and when we complimented them on their home made bread we were rewarded with a mummbles and server rudely walked away.
Because of the service me and my husband will not be returning. Hope to find a place with pizza like this but with better service.

Definitely worth going back to try everything on the menu. Was there with my daughter on March 19^th and we were able to get a table. The place is very small with only about a 15 or so tables. Best to make a reservation!
They do NOT have a full bar, but carry wines and beers so find something that goes with pizza. TW makes their own very thin crust pizza with a plethora of great toppings. The place smells wonderful with the wood fired oven constantly going churning out mouth watering delights.
I had the special pizza of the day which was grape tomatoes, green olives, double smoked bacon (YUM) and Monterey Jack cheese. The pizza did NOT have a tomato base and was incredibly yummy. It was definitely hand made in a rustic kind of oval, sort of round. It was cut into four pieces which was more than enough for me to share with my daughter and still take some home.
My daughter had the spaghetti Bolognese with a really nice meat sauce. You can tell from the smell, the colour, and definitely the taste, that the sauce is worked on and made fresh.
We started off with the cheese board appetizer. So delightful. Freshly made sourdough bread with a great chutney — sweet and spicy/​tangy, along with their own spiced candied almonds (I could taste the star anise and the cardamom). The three cheeses were incredible. A two year old aged cheddar (could have been a 10 + year old cheddar for my liking) which was good, a triple cream (come here heart attack) brie from Quebec (oh so sinful) and I think that the last one was a cross between aged cheddar and parmesan. It was hard and tangy and really flavourful.
Water is served in bottles and as the sun went down, the tables were adorned with candles in a little bucket. So romantic (not with my daughter)! LOL
We will DEFINTELY be returning as a family (the hubster and both daughters). They have a wide variety of pastas and pizzas with many vegetarian options. While there are desserts, we didn’t try any but opted to wait until we come back as a family to taste test every one of them.
Parking is only on the street and it’s sometimes hard to get, so get there earlier.

I went here with a good friend of mine on a whim and it was the best decision. We wanted to try the whole menu but went with the quesadillas and two different pizzas to try. The quesadillas were fantastic and to be honest I now make my quesadillas at home with mango because of them. The pizzas were both fantastic and I love that a lot of their products are local or made right in house. Definitely if you have a pizza lover check this place out because it was awesome! Our service was great and turn around is quick which is important when the restaurant is so small.

I apologize in advance for starting this review with a cliché.
I really wanted to like Tennessy Willems… but after going twice with a few months in between, and still not having tried a pizza that blew me away, I’m starting to think that the hype really is just… well, hype.
We’ve tried four pizzas to date: the duck confit, which in my opinion should be avoided at all cost due to how soggy it got with the caramelized onions; the wild boar, which is probably the best out of the four; the chorizo, which is alright, but overwhelmingly too goaty with that cheese; and finally the sopressata which was a little bit too spicy for my taste.
But don’t get me wrong, there are some good points here. Their wood oven works a great pizza and the crust is great. The flavours just don’t work for me, that’s all. There is also some surliness in the service when they are busy (which is often).
Anyway, I’m sure it’s a pizza place that works for most people. It’s just not for me.

I have returned on multiple occasions, and enjoyed the pizza very much.
On a hot summer day, on their patio, splitting a pie + apps might be the way to go, or, order one, split it, then have another while killing a bottle of wine.
Our server — a bearded fellow — was very friendly, upbeat, and on top of his area, as were the other patio servers.
Glad to have this place in Ottawa.

Food was decent, but not a very good experience overall. This was the meal I was anticipating the most in Ottawa because we had come from a local’s high recommendation and all of the pizza combos sounded amazing. We made a reservation for Sunday night– it was pretty easy. I’m glad we did, because by the time we left, it was packed.
We weren’t terribly hungry, so we decided on sharing one pizza (it’s 12 inches) and a house salad. After some arguing back and forth between the duck confit and the wild boar, we finally decided on the wild boar (with the help of the waiter as well).
Unfortunately, both items were extremely lackluster. The house salad was advertised as arugula, roasted mushrooms, cheese, all tossed in a maple-​sherry vinaigrette. Sounds pretty good, right? I’m not sure what happened to the vinaigrette, but we didn’t taste any maple or sherry. It came out as arugula with a few pieces of mushroom. It just felt like something was missing. In fact, we even overheard the table next to us say, «I thought this salad came with something else…»
Our wild boar pizza came out with maybe 6 large pieces of bright red sausage, cheese, and some pesto. I thought that it might have been missing the caramelized apples, but I wasn’t sure. Since we had already eaten some of it, I wasn’t absolutely positive something was missing, and being the kind of customer that will avoid confrontation or being difficult at all costs, I decided not to say anything. The pizza wasn’t bad, but again, it just felt like it was missing something. It tasted very flat with just sausage and cheese. But they do make a good crust that is soft and chewy.
It wasn’t until the table next to us got their wild boar pizza that we got pissed. Their pizza was totally different and looked delicious! Their boar looked brown and ours was bright red, like chorizo. Theirs was covered in caramelized apples and looked so good. Even looking at the Unilocal pics of other wild boar pizzas, it looks like none of them look consistent. I really regret not taking a picture of our lame pizza and not saying anything at the time.
Unfortunately, we brought it up when we got the check after seeing that pizza and confirmed that we weren’t crazy. When we said something to the waiter, he confirmed that we didn’t have a sweet component, but just said, «Oh that is weird» and then didn’t offer to do anything about it. I know it’s late at this point since we already ate it and you would have to take the customer’s word, but it was just kind of lame to not apologize or offer something small on the house.
But it gets worse. He accidentally charged us 10x our bill so a $ 40 something bill became $ 400. This was not a big deal at all and an honest mistake, but the way it was handled was annoying. We didn’t mind the wait to clear up the situation, but then they offered us 50% off our bill, which was very nice. Our credit card got locked from all the swiping back and forth, and then when we got the card released and went back to pay what should have been 50% off, they only gave us a $ 5 discount instead. We then went back in to ask what happened to the 50% off, and he said that was a mistake and he chose the wrong discount. All of that is fine and it’s nice we even got a discount, except for the weird situation of «hey, uh, what happened to the 50% discount you originally offered?» and not being upfront about the mistake in the beginning. Instead, he only told us after we asked, almost as if hoping we wouldn’t catch it. So all in all, the whole transaction resulted in an additional 30 mins of back and forth with a busy staff.
It’s really too bad because I think the apples would have made a world of difference on the wild boar pizza, transforming a flat pizza to one with the sweet and savory tastes I love. I can see why people really love Tennessy Willems. There definitely seems to be a lot of potential, but paying $ 10 for a boring salad and $ 20 for the pizza we got was really unacceptable.

It has been over a month since I was there and I still think and dream about the Wild Boar pizza. This place is one of the many reasons Hintonburg is turning into the place to live in Ottawa.
This is an original place with high quality food and beers. Cozy yet modern inside, the outside front patio is a great place to drink, eat and people-​watch.

Très bonne pizzeria. Bön service, courtois, chaleureux.
Pizza «Elmdale» délicieuse.
Malheureusement le français est complètement inexistant!
Ni menu ni service.
Dommage.

My brother and I agree that this pizza is simply the best.
We both ordered the margherita — it was everything we could have wished for and more. Great size, we both only managed half which means lunch for the next day, yay! As a starter we also shared the cheese plate. Three small portions of different cheeses, served with some delicious homemade chutney, cinnamon candied nuts and bread. All in all the food is divine.
The menu is not large, but it doesn’t need to be. There is plenty to choose from and generally with smaller menu’s the quality of the food tends to be that much better — which is definitely the case here.
The service was quick, friendly and genuine. We were seated at the bar as they were fully booked, but being only two we didn’t mind. The atmosphere was very laid-​back and casual, but still cozy.
My taste buds are in heaven just at the thought of this place, and I will be going back very soon to try some of their more adventurous toppings. It is a must try for any gourmet pizza lovers in the Ottawa area!!!

After reminiscing about the lovely thin crust margherita pizza’s that I so enjoyed while in Paris last year I was excited to get my hands on a margherita pizza in Ottawa and finally check out Tennessy Willems. This restaurant definitely has that European flare, from the cozy-​ness of the restaurant itself, to the thin crust pizzas, and interesting toppings such as boar and duck (btw, why are restaurants still serving duck?).
Our group of four made reservations for 6:30, and I am SO glad that we did because it was a packed house, and unfortunately they turned some groups away. FYI, there is seating at the bar. We got a nice booth table which was very accommodating for our group of four. This restaurant can get pretty loud, and noisy, which can be irritating when trying to have a conversation, so be prepared to yell! None the less, we had a great time!
We all ordered the margherita pizza’s and when it arrived to the table, it looked just as good as the pizzas in Paris, France and the taste was very similar. Loved the fresh basil leaves, and the bubbly cheese. The chili oil was a fantastic addition to spice up the pizza. The crust was nice and pretty light, a bit hard to cut, but I am not sure if it is because I lack basic knife skills, the knife was dull, or if it was the crust?
Almost everyone who dined in left with a take out box. I ended up taking a slice home, and noticed the delicious charcoal flavor on the crust after it cooled down.
I noticed just as Unilocaler Barry. Z. noted in his review, that the wait staff do box up the pizzas at the bar, which I thought would have bugged me more, but it didn’t bug me as much because they used utensils to place the pizza in their take out box and not physically touch it with their hands. But, I do agree, this should be done in the kitchen and not behind a bar, especially where clients are eating (who knows what can end up on your pizza in the process).
Service was pretty quick, there were two waiters working the bar and the restaurant, and they did a pretty good job handling the rush. But, because it was so busy, they were not very sociable with the tables, and left no wow factor regarding the service.
Lastly, going back to the atmosphere, the restaurant was boiling hot in there, maybe it was from the wood burning oven, and all the clients packed in one little dinning area… They do have ceiling fans, but that did not seem to help.
Definitely a must try!

When you’re coming here you’re stepping out of the normal realm of what should be on a pizza. At least for me I was coming here to try the pizzza. This little place is on the corner of Wellington St and Melrose Ave in the heart of Mechanicsville. The restaurant itself is small with limited tables due to the physical size of the restaurant. Although I mention pizza they do serve other things on the menu so they aren’t just serving pizza alone.
Entering we were greeted by a nice smile and hello from staff. We were quickly seated due to it not being that busy. For reference we arrived around 11:30AM on a Wednesday. We came for the pizza as someone had mentioned to us it was good. It also helped that we were here with gift cards in pocket.
Looking at the menu choices for Pizza you will see that they are not your normal pizza toppings. Choices include Duck, and Wild Boar. In fact I didn’t even know what some of the ingredients were because of the fancy wording LOL. I decided on the one with Spicy Salami (the exact name escapes me right now) while my wife decided on the one with Duck.
The food came out relatively quick. What you’ll find with the pizza is that the crust and dough is super thin. I tried many times to eat it with hand but ended up resorting to my knife and fork. My salami had a nice spicy kick to it. The pizza is topped similar to how Pizza Pizza does theres. Size wise you’ll see from my picture the pizza is cut into 4 large slices. Overall the pizza I selected was delicious and filling. I am not a big fan of Duck but from my wife she enjoyed hers as well. As far as service our server was great. She took initiative to offer a top up of coffee without prompting and made sure that we got our cups filled with water as soon as we sat down.
Parking will be street parking. Melrose Ave would be your second best bet if you can’t get parking along Wellington St close by. Keep in mind Melrose is a one way heading north so you’ll only be able to access Melrose from Gladstone Ave.
If someone is coming here for the pizza they are adventurous and sick of the «classic» pizza and wants something absolutely different from the norm with regards to pizzas then YES come here and do so often cause this is a place for you!
I’ll be back but I think next time I’ll want to try something other then the pizza. Rating has me torn this one’s a toughy… although 4 stars I really want it to be 3 ½ simply because I’m not sure just yet that it was that great of a place that if I was looking for a place to eat that I’d include it as a consideration to eat at.

I’ve been here one more time since my last review and I have to bump the stars up to 5. The pizza really is that fantastic. I ordered the Bianco pizza minus the speck (so, pear, walnuts, fior di latte and gorgonzola). The Bianco is similar to Zazaza’s Sweet Glide topping, which is my favourite. I have a massive appetite and can’t quite make it through a whole pizza.
Great, friendly, attentive service as well! You won’t be disappointed.

Loved it. Low key décor and a straight forward (but delicious) menu make this a great stop to head to for gourmet pizza.
Excellent (thin) crust with great toppings. We tried the one with the sardines — warning — very salty! It was fun to give it a go. I ended up not being able to finish mine, took it home and reheated the next day. It was even better! (The salt from the sardines had mellowed somehow, the flavours merged… Good to know it’s worth carting home for lunch the next day!)
Hubby had the Elmvale — it was excellent.
Note: If you want your greens, order a large salad and a large pizza for 2 people — more than enough food. Or one pizza *only* for one person. (You’ll be full.)
Would I return: Yes
Would I recommend: Yes

I would give this place a 3.5 stars, were I given the option. I work in Tunney’s Pasture, and I am truly grateful for all the restaurants that are now available from Westboro to Mechanicsville, where this one is located. Besides, it is across the street from Wabi Sabi, the local yarn shop for this area! It was a pleasant 20-​minute walk on this sunny Wednesday to meet my work colleagues for lunch at Tennessy Willems, which was recommended by one of the people attending on this day.
The restaurant is not huge, but it is inviting (it is roughly the size of a living room and dining room together). You are greeted by an open space where the tables are, and a bar at the back of the restaurant. The kitchen is behind the bar and the tantalizing aromas of the cooking waft through the open window between the bar and kitchen. The tables are made of wood, giving a pleasant worn in look. Artworks grace the walls — in this instance, black and white photographs depicting a variety of unusual local views such as what looks like the dome of the Aberdeen Pavillion. These works are offered for sale.
Our party was initially to be 12 people, but when only 7 of us were able to make it, the staff was gracious about it and rearranged the tables. In the end, the other tables ended up filling up anyway, while we were there.
One negative I might add is that this is one of those «echo-​y» places — and don’t we all get together to talk! As the restaurant filled up, it became more and more difficult to hear my colleagues speak.
And now about the food: this place is renowned for its pizza, as you can see from previous reviews, but I am not a huge pizza fan. The menu is not extensive — they specialize in a variety of interesting and appetizing thin-​crust pizzas, but they also offer 2 or 3 pasta dishes. Six of the people today ordered different pizzas, and I ordered Spaghetti Bolonaise. I have to say that the portions were quite generous! I was surprised that the pizzas looked to be about 16 inches wide, and the pasta I got could easily have enough leftovers for another meal. Best of all was the flavour! It was DElicious! I would go back just for that!
As stated, the service was pleasant, and quick enough — especially considering the size of our group.