a tavola

i have been wanting to visit this italian restaurant for over a year. originally recommended by a friend and the food did not let her down. the restaurant is housed in a quaint old building. there is additional seating in the back and they also hold pasta making classes.

the pasta rigatoni al ragu was perfect. quite flavoursome and stood ahead of the same dish in peer restaurants. the meat was tender and perfect.

this place is literally heaven. thou the price is high , it’s worth every bite. ambiance is soft and romantic. service is impeccable, food is fantastic and loved the long dining atmosphere. truly a quality dining experience.

tried the papardelle and it was divine! pasta was splendid.. the downside was the wait period because there are only a few staff taking orders and serving people. overall, i still love the food and will surely come again.

excellent service and exquisite cuisine. highly recommend their:

carpaccio di manzo - this was an entree and it was really hard to top this one! full of flavour and texture.
conchiglie con polpo - tad spicy but complemented well with the octopus and sauce.

i think the door to the bathroom could be fixed a little, the door relies on a little latch which doesn’t close the door securely. with there only being one unisex bathroom, i think this is worth looking at. but then there’s aesop hand balm and hand wash, so that compensated just a tiny bit!

came for my birthday dinner and i’ve got to say - i was a bit disappointed with the service. i had made a booking prior to visiting the restaurant - and when my partner and i entered i tried to say my name and time of booking however, the waiter shut me down and told me to wait as he went to attend another customer at table.

fast forward 5 minutes or so - another waiter came to show us to our table - which was at the bar section (again i was not impressed since we had already made a booking, plus there was a back section that looked really nice and candle lit but i didn’t understand why we got the bar if we were already booked in the system).

now to the food - the menu is a bit confusing since it’s all in italian but the waiter will come around and explain it to you when you order.

we ordered three dishes - i’m not 100% sure with the exact names but they were quite nice.

the handmade pasta was delicious and you could tell it was handmade. something i would definitely recommend!

next we had a mussels pasta - that was quite average.

and last but not least - a lamb dish. though the lamb was very tender and nice i didn’t actually enjoy the sauce that went with it...

overall:
service: 2.5/5 - i felt disregarded most of the time and the atmosphere was not welcoming (i felt as if the waiters had a pretentious outlook/ feel)
food: 3.5/5 - has some stand outs but overall wouldn’t return even if it was just for the food
ambience: 4/5 - very nice and cozy / dimmed light place - however i didn’t get to explore the back seating area.

would i go again? no i wouldn’t - i think this is the type of restaurant where you would want to go to explore once just for the experience but not necessarily “crave” or return.

(plus it was quite pricey as well)

came for lunch, ordered 2 specials - a crab spaghetti & tagliatelle ragu. pastas are freshly made so the textures were great! the crab pasta didnt have much crab flavour. the ragu was nice but lacked a bit of depth. overall a nice meal, though for 70 bucks for 2 pastas, slightly on the pricey side

authentic italian experience!
the first time i ate at a tavola i stumbled across it, i had such an amazing experience i couldn't wait to take my partner here. after visiting the website i noticed that the family is from abruzzo as is my family - i was even more excited for my boyfriend to try traditional food (that for once i haven't cooked). we came here on saturday for our anniversary and his birthday. everything from making my reservation to even receiving a confirmation call, being seated and requesting an abruzzo red wine was fantastic ! the team at a tavola made sure every request was taken care of and we felt as if we were at home relaxing.

i have never seen my partner enjoy complimentary bread as much as he did ! i was lucky enough to even get a bite of it before he scoffed it down.

we had ordered 1 entree and 2 mains from the special board menu. along with salumi misti.

the entree was burrata cheese with pickled cauliflower, balsamic reduction and mouth watering capsicum puree complemented by pork crackling all elements were incredible alone but magical when paired together.

my main was beef cheek ragu with homemade paparedelle which they were hand rolling when i walked in. my partner order the meat dish, beef sliced thinly and perfectly pink in the middle this was complemented with leek puree, rosted potatoes and turnips.

i just wanted to thank the team at a tavola for such an amazing experience and incredible food! you will definitely be seeing us again soon!

a tavola is usually packed but when you go to a tavola for monday lunch, you get the whole place to yourself! if the weather is good, then the tables at the back is so nice to enjoy your meal. the portion of pasta was surprisingly big - twice bigger than other places. the menu is well considered and it's hard to choose what to order. i think they have large selection of wines too. next time i would like to try other dishes...the staff is very knowledgeable and helpful. when we were leaving the restaurant, three staff were making pasta on the tables!

exceedingly delicious. neapolitan style pizza with a perfectly charred crust, well matched and tasty toppings, and damn good cocktails to boot. was just passing through cincy, but we'll be sure to come back if the food's always this good.

come for the pasta, stay for the service, the wines, the atmosphere. a tavola is about as good as traditional italian food gets in sydney...

hand made pasta
fresh cheeses
high quality ingredients.
excellent service
nice atmosphere
not a vast selection on menu but recommend ordering off the specials board.

the most amazing food and italian experience. my 9 yr old son and i loved it...a must go in sydney.
fresh pasta, amazing service, great choice of italian wines. small place so book ahead. all staff were bellissimo

this place never disappoints. the service is incredible, the ambiance is amazing and the food is to die for. i recommend a tavola to all my friends and family - by far my favourite restaurant in sydney!

legit, best pasta i've ever had. i honestly didn't know a vegetarian dish with what effectively is pasta and mushrooms could ever make me so content. do yourself a favour and order the tagliatelle with porcini or portobello mushrooms. it will blow your mind!

it was uncommon to find an italian restaurant in sydney which made their own pasta and i was lucky to find one here. however, there is no such thing as veal or minced meat in authentic italian pasta.

service was excellent though.