a tavola

a tavola had really good service, it was a busy friday night and we didn’t have a booking, the boss (i presume) was quick to find us a table. half the menu hasitaliannames and he was more than happy to explain to us what each dish was and went through the daily specials etc. the food was alright, nothing too special and the portion sizes were a bit smaller than expected.

a tavola is my favouriteitalianrestaurant in sydney! i live in melbourne and my partner lives in sydney, so i visit sydney quite often. every time i’m in sydney, we always come to a tavola. the pastas are delicious and the cremino al cioccolato is out of this world! a chocolate goodness that makes my tastebuds dance.

a lovelyitalianrestaurant walkable from kings cross station. the main dining area is located upstairs if it appears to be a function on the ground floor. the pasta was very good especially the pappardelle with braised beef. of course check the wall for the handwritten menu. my favourite part was the desert though ahahaha. the cremino al cioccolato served in a cappuccino cup is so perfect and wonderful, i think it's worth ordering one entirely for yourself.

it used to be our favouriteitalianrestaurant! we used to dined here a lot. tonight as soon as we dined in the pasta we noticed something was terribly wrong. both pasta tasted neither tomatoy nor winery. the seafood pasta had absolutely no seafood taste. and they were very salty!! we were pretty sure they changed the chef. which is later confirmed with the waiter they change the chef last week! very sad this is no longer our fav bistro :(

one of the best places foritaliancuisine. the pasta at the place is really amazing and so is the gnocci. they have indoor sitting as well as the vegan options

pappardelle : 😁 great
gnocchi: 😍 amazing
roast pork : 😍 amazing
rigatoni: 😍 amazing
swiss mushroom & peas : 😁 great

of the abundantitalianrestaurants, a tavola was the place to be on a monday night. great atmosphere and amazing waitstaff service. food was beautiful. i highly recommend the roast pork or if you’re wanting to try their pasta, i would recommend their pappardelle. enjoyed the experience and i will definitely come back again.

a tavola is anitalianbar that is known for its delicious offerings and cool vibe.we stopped here for just a quick snack - in between our main meals - but it was so cute. . a tavola is a community gathering place, a modern interpretation of the timelessitalianbar and trattorias in cities like naples, rome, venice, bologna, and florence, which have served as local gathering places for hundreds of years. at a tavola we are about family, and our restaurant is an extension of your dining room. pizza, pasta, platters, and wine are meant for sharing which helps create the communal atmosphere that makes the a tavola experience.

we were in sydney one night and felt like havingitalian- something not particularly unusual to be honest. we knew of a tavola but hadn’t visited yet so it seemed like a good idea to drop by. it’s a quaint place that stretches back quite a way from its street frontage. its popularity meant it was packed - which is generally a good sign that the food is good - and it was. fortunately we’d booked before arriving so we were lucky!

exceptional and authenticitalianpasta dishes!! staffs were super friendly and clearly explained the menu out for us.
trying any of the pasta dish is a must! we ordered the scallops to start off with and these were cooked exceptionally well!! highlight of the day was definitely the papadrelle dish
thank you for having us, it was a lovely experience!

i have been wanting to visit thisitalianrestaurant 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.

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 initalianbut 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)

authenticitalianexperience!
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!

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

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

it was uncommon to find anitalianrestaurant 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 authenticitalianpasta.

service was excellent though.