Carletto, an Italian trattoria from Montreal-based hospitality group Gray Collection, is set to open in downtown Ottawa at The Metcalfe Hotel, located at 123 Metcalfe St.
The restaurant is scheduled to open August 31, 2026, according to Ottawa Business Journal. Carletto will offer lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch, with 134 indoor seats and a 24-seat terrace for a total capacity of 158. The restaurant will be located at the same hotel as Cocotte Bistro, which Gray Collection also operates.
Carletto’s menu will focus on Italian classics with contemporary touches, including house-made focaccia, rigatoni alla vodka, spicy soppressata pizza, and chicken puttanesca. Pasta will be prepared tableside in a wheel of Parmesan, while the pizzas will be baked in an oven imported from Italy, with terracotta tiles used in the finishing process.
Executive chef Simon Brière Audet, who also serves as executive chef at Cocotte Bistro, will oversee the restaurant. Consulting chef Giovanni Vella created the Carletto menu. Together, the menu will bring a range of traditional Italian dishes to the new restaurant at The Metcalfe Hotel.
The restaurant’s name references Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, after whom Metcalfe Street and the hotel are named. Carletto is a diminutive of Carlo, the Italian equivalent of Charles. The interior will draw on contemporary Italian design, with a large central bar, arches, and terracotta tones.
Gray Collection is a Montreal-based hospitality group that also owns and operates Auberge du Vieux Port in Montreal and Cocotte Bistro at The Metcalfe Hotel. Carletto will add another dining concept to the group’s portfolio when it opens on August 31.
“Rooted in the convivial spirit of Italian trattorias, Carletto brings a warm, modern and urban dining experience to downtown Ottawa,” according to the restaurant’s website. “Here, the bar is at the heart of the room. Guests come for cocktails, business lunches, shared pizzas, house-made pastas and dinners that naturally stretch into the evening. Everything is prepared in-house, with a focus on detail, consistency and genuine hospitality. Balancing the energy of a neighborhood favorite with the execution of a leading hospitality group, Carletto is designed as an all-day Italian destination. Approachable, animated and refined.”
