Reviews of Tavola (Restaurant)

J. Kirby Robinson

Nice dinner. Won't be going back. We have a small list of Charlottesville restaurants that we rotate among to have nice celebratory meals, etc., and for a birthday dinner this evening we chose Tavola, where we've had multiple wonderful experiences in the past. Everything was very nice -- food, drinks, dessert -- and our group enjoyed the chance to gather in celebration in a way that seems to just not happen enough these days. Until.... About 5-10 minutes after we finished our after-dinner coffee and desserts were finished the manager came by and suggested that it was time for us to move along. They needed the table. I think it must have been pretty clear that we were only a few minutes from leaving. After-dessert chatting was wrapping up, we had been presented with, and signed, the bills, but, alas, we just weren't quick enough for the staff. Maybe billing about $400-500 and having a table occupied for two hours just isn't worth it for Tavola. Maybe it's more about the next party and bill, and not about the experience for the patrons. Hey, I get it. It's business. So, thanks, Tavola, for making our future dining venue choices easier. We'll narrow our list of celebration locations down and not be back. Your ill-timed push-out-the-door left a taste in the mouth unable to be overwhelmed by the otherwise very nice food. Wouldn't want to occupy the table or anything like that.

Jeff Kryger

Had a really enjoyable date night here. We sat at the bar and our server was awesome. Really added to the experience. We liked our different cocktail choices. The food was great and the portions were massive. Definitely plan on a to-go box if you order an appetizer as well with your meal

Spencer Lambert

Charming Belmont restaurant with unbelievably great food, excellent craft drinks, great servers, and a good selection of wines at reasonable prices. Portions are generous here so don't over order. In all the years I have been coming here, I have never been served a single dish that was less than excellent. Two caveats: 1) they don't take reservations and they do get busy, so plan on getting there early — or having a bit of a wait for a table. 2) With its high ceilings, this place does get noisy when crowded, so maybe not the best choice for a working business dinner — although I believe they have a private room or two that might be suitable for such occasions.

Yuntian G

Recommended by an Italian friend for its genuineness (in the range of Cville of course). Had great time there - only reason for 4 stars is that food portion is smaller than I expected. Maybe it’s part of its genuineness.

Ryan Hayes

Great place

Tammy Krause

A fabulous sanctuary for an evening and meal.

David Stewart

As a DC food lover, I was totally surprised with this little gem. Food is excellent. Service is 5 star. Highly recommended.

AR

Knowledgeable and superb service by Lisa. Excellent in house pasta.

Joe Thompson

Every course was amazing. Fast service, friendly staff, they should give lessons to other restaurants

Charles Friedman

Excellent food and service and atmosphere but the wine pours are so small each time that is what sticks in our heads.

James Matt

Slightly above average Italian fare. Portions were on the small side and the price was a bit high. Not bad, but there are better options in Charlottesville.

Denise Tran

Had a great time with friends, the atmosphere is nice, but not too overwhelming, and the food was perfect!!

Ck Aung

"Expensive" wine from screw top bottles... Raw meat served over cold pasta. Rude servers and inexperienced bartenders. Don't waste your money. EXPENSIVE... was NOT worth the 3 hour drive. Wouldn't be worth a ten minute walk. I'm praying i was there on an off night, because if that's how they regularly do business, I'm suprised they are still open.

Tom W

Really excellent Italian cuisine and great service. Very popular and they don't take reservations so get there early or be prepared to wait.

Amy Koch

Delicious, fresh, creative Italian food. Gets busy in the evening on the weekend and does not take reservations for dinner but has nice attached bar/lounge area for waiting. Bar has many interesting drink options to choose from. Highly recommend this restaurant for a nice night out. Great food, great environment, and great staff.

Dan Frosaker

Best restaurant in Charlottesville. Great food, great service, great wine. Cool bar in back with great cocktails.

Augustus

The restaurant has a charming atmosphere and the food is definitely high quality! Of course, that's very much built into the prices on the menu, but that said I loved the pasta (if only the portions were larger...). I was also a bit annoyed that they don't take reservations, and our wait ended up being pretty long. Overall a positive experience for a fancy dinner out and the service was very quick.

Melissa Kehl

Excellent pasta, great craft cocktails. Knowledgeable servers. A little on the pricey side but,yum.

Matteo Meglioli

Really good Food....amazing pappardelle!

Andrew Roland

This is my all time favorite restaurant in a town full of great restaurants. The food and the service are always amazing. They don't take reservations and the dining room is small so get there early or expect a wait. While waiting, they have a bar in the back that makes amazing cocktails and serves small plate/appetizer food. You must try this place!

Bill G

Dinner tonight @ 7:30 Too crazy busy to get good service. After a long wait end up at the counter. Watching the guys making salad, no gloves mixing with hands. Our soup and meal we're just, so so. It's going to be noisey. They should get noise absorbing material on wall. Staff on the most part is fine. Two people total cost $110. Ouch.

Chad Arnold

Incredible food, atmosphere and service. This is definitely one of my top 5 places to eat in Charlottesville!

Iriana Cruz

Carbonara is amazing.

Amy H

We hadn’t been here in probably 6 years, but it was even better than we remembered. Loved the mussels, the pappardelle bolognese, and the pasta with asparagus and peas. Delicious!

Thomas Joyce

Best restaurant in Charlottesville. Consistant 10 years running.

nicoletta Weiss

Consistently well prepared menu selections.

Brad Sheffield

We went here for years. We feel in love from when it first opened. It was our “go to” place to relax after work. Great food and great staff.... well, something has changed on the later part. We waited over an hour for our table (it’s to be expected on a Friday night, but the food is that good). After about an hour and 15 min we were offered seats at the bar (which they now call their chef table... we called it that for years). First, they offered seats at the bar, but neglected to mention three tables were coming open, we could have waited. Second, they escorted everyone else to their table when it was their turn, but when our seats came up they just told us to go to the bar when we were ready. They then turned to escort a table of four to their table. Third, the guy behind the counter (never seen him before) gave us water, then disappeared. I had a $150 Barolo sitting in front of me. The previous staff would have immediately taken it away to decant the wine. In the 15 min between getting water and deciding to leave he never returned. Fourth, my wife has hot flashes. So when we sat down she realized it was not something she could tolerate. It would result in her sweating throughout dinner. When we saw tables being cleared immediately after we sat down we asked if we could move. The waiter was a jerk about the request, telling us once you are seated you can’t move. And, if we wanted a table we could put our name back on the list. WTH. Wait another hour? Fifth, when we decided we would leave no one cared. We walked right past the owner who has seen us for years, and not a word from him. Sorry Tavola, because you don’t care about us, we no longer care about you.

vince bush

We only recently discovered Tavola after living in Charlottesville for 18 months. Food is amazing, service is warm and attentive. We've been there twice now in two weeks. Sat at the bar for dinner both times. We've already met virtually everyone who works there. That's how friendly the atmosphere is. We're going back again tonight. First come, first serve just means you have to get there @ 5:00PM. Otherwise, snooze ya lose....

James Bunting

Easily the best Italian in Cville.

Ian Blaine

Good food in a fun area. Only downside is that it's a little pricey

Lakshmi Kerr

Best Italian meal I have eaten in a long time. Set in a wonderful, warm atmosphere.

Vicky Harris

Awesome food atmosphere..service

Gary Fang

Always great food, fun atmosphere, rally a great place for a night out!

Eric Werner

Tasty

Christopher Lunsford

I asked for my cocktail to be Spirit-forward and the server said that the bartender would only “follow the recipe” which told me either the server was clueless or the bartender was not worth 10+ dollars a drink. Cancelled my cocktail order right then and there. Food was mediocre; barely made the 3 Star rating.

Gc Myers

Don’t come here if you have more than 2-3 in your party. It took us 2hrs to be seated for a party of 6. Silly.

Daniel Ahn

Very good neighborhood restaurant that serves solid food and provides nice service to go along.

thumpur c

Good food but not worth what they charge

Julia Davis

Can't recommend this place enough. All the food was perfect and staff were great. Will definitely come back!

Adele Roof

A friend and I went there last Wednesday night for the first time, arriving about 5:30. The place was packed, so obviously many think it's special. I'm not sure I would return. The food was very good, but very pricey and with extremely small portions. But my main problem was the noise level. I was at a table for two, and we literally had to yell at each other to be heard. The acoustics are just terrible. This might not be a consideration for everyone, but for me it's huge.

Mizraim Johnson

What an excellent experience! My husband and I stumbled across this gem and thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Keep up the great work!

Larissa LaCour

Great service and worth the wait! They don't take reservations but I recommend taking advantage of whatever wait time you have to order one of their amazing house made cocktails at the bar! You won't regret it. If you have more time, enjoy an app too - not all the offerings at the bar will be on your dinner menu so it's a way to not miss out. I had just gotten back from a trip to Italy and it was great to see a lot of traditional Italian offerings on the menu that you may not see in your typical "Italian" restaurant in the states. The wine menu was great as well.

Josh Griffin

The burrata was better than the main course - food wasn’t bad, just not exciting or memorable. Had the scallops with beet risotto and spring linguine. Both lacked any contrast, very bland. Overall, wouldn’t return. The service was great, but the food was underwhelming. I will say we did not sample any of the wines, so don’t hold them to this review for their selection, which is very well stocked.

Adam Michels

Really great place. Service was top notch and food was excellent. Recommend the Domaine de la Guichardie.

Laszlo Farkas

One of the best restaurants in cville

Dylan Farish

Delicious Italian; Bistro feel. Back Bar is favorite pre- dinner haunt with 'sneaky'

Mark Chamberlain

Great place to eat. Service was good despite it being busy. Is a bit loud at times so wouldn't recommend for an intimate meal.

Caroline Creekman

Amazing pasta, great service, great decor. Perfect for a dinner for two. We got here right as it opened and didn't have a problem getting a table but it fills up fast.

john rumba

Best food in Belmont.

Tiffany D. Smith

Killer meal at Tavola tonight. I finally got to try it. Really great. The stand out: support staff in FOH. Support staff is so key in the dining experience. Charlottesville tends to have terrible service and decent food. It was refreshing to have stellar front and kitchen integrity!

Guilherme Oliveira

Great place and Very Nice food

James Fishwick

Best restaurant in cville

DJ Bickers

Incredible, yummy meals with amazing service. Special, romantic experience.

Susan Goings

Awesome meal!!! Romatic atmosphere!

Marlene Saint Martin

Great pasta but a long wait to get a table (2 hours).

Isaias Cummings

The best! Great atmosphere and amazing drinks!

Robert Wilson

Exceptional service and the food is OUTSTANDING!! I did the Pappardelle Bolognese. 3 weeks it took me to get over the food coma!! I could eat this every night! The wine selection was great!! It is definitely worth the wait! Is now THE restaurant I am frequenting!!

Mark Layman

Food is great, but their process for tracking people waiting to be seated is inane and inefficient. Don't let them lose you like they lost us.

Tim Long

Everything was very good. Service, wine, food were all enjoyable. We shared the burrata special and highly recommend it. My wife had the shrimp pasta and I had the paparedella (sp?). Both were excellent. Hint: save some of the crostini from the burrata for the main course. Wines were good: Prosecco and Barbera were both very good. Tavola has always been very good.

Caleb Russell

Full disclosure: you may have to wait for a table, but.... I’ve had the privilege of dining at Tavola twice recently. Once with my partner for her birthday, and once with my best friend for my birthday. Both times we had a fantastic experience! The food is authentic Tuscan with a slight American twist. The only aspect of my experiences that topped the food was the service. Steven was my server for both meals, and I truly appreciated his top notch service. The coursing was well paced, his recommendations were well thought out, and there was never an empty glass. Will definitely come back in the future! Cheers!

Sam Schulman

As Cville's other serious restaurants decline into mediocrity, Tavola becomes the only place that could operate as is in Paris, NYC, Rome, or Chicago--only funner.

Erika Goodell

Best Italian Restaurant in town! Very intimate so be prepared to wait for a table. But never fear! Walk in, give your name, and request they come get you in the bar. Continue through the restaurant to the bar in the back where the bartenders are the best! They make their own tonic water in-house so enjoy a vodka tonic!

Jeffry Poche

What a wonderful find!

Sam Snow

The back bar is first class. Fantastic bar tenders.

Niy Rya

It’s in amazing place, I definitely will go back again! Very friendly staff, food absolutely delicious and very good wine list!

Wade Cotten

A nice place to stop for either a full dinner or a drink and dessert at the back bar. The burrata is amazing!

Matt Reeves

Food was fantastic!

Corey Williams

I’ve been looking for an amazing Italian restaurant in Charlottesville since moving from Atlanta and visiting Italy for two weeks. Hands down best Italian restaurant in Charlottesville so far!

Alice Rivera

Very good food. Service was excellent.

Gina Jackson

Fresh and fabulous!

Anthony Nikischer

Great food but a bit noisy. No reservations so come early! The best authentic Italian in Charlottesville.

John Miller

Excellent Italian food

Kyle Malec

Delicious food, great service, and quick. Not cheap, but prices are reasonable for what you get.

Virginia Stockwell

Food and drinks, always consistent, always five star. Put your name on the list in the restaurant then go to the back bar and relax with a drink. One of the best restaurants in Cville.

Kevin Healy

Best Italian, actually best restaurant in Charlottesville, hands down.

Jean Gratz

Still one of the best restaurants on Cville. Creative Italian with something for every one- meat,fish vegetarian ,pasta. Fantastic wine list and great staff across the board.

Karen Frye

What a delicious dinner in a lovely restaurant! The eggplant parmesan was delicious as was my husband's hangar steak, and the tiramisu was a delicious way to end the meal.

chris garland

Quaint italian restaurant in the heart of the city. No course disappointed and I cant recommend enough to get the affogato gelato!

Max Schramm

Amazing pasta and the dessert was excellent too!

Don Davis

Had after-dinner drinks at the bar area in back - very cool place and would be a lot of fun to hang out there in the summertime.

David D

Tavola is my favorite Italian restaurant in Charlottesville. Always great food and great service.

harold lewis

Not sure what is up with the facility this place is housed within or that lawsuit-waiting-to-happen loose wooden 2x4 front step but I had a transcendent culinary experience when I dined at Tavola. From the appetizer to the dessert, everything was extraordinary. Run don't walk to Tavola. As many have stated, no reservations and typically packed. Entered around 8pm on a Wednesday night and, fortunately, two adjacent spots were available at the bar. Good luck to you with your efforts to dine and, yes, it is more than worth it.

Cory Collea

Was visiting Monticello and heard this was some good Italian. Hands down the best Italian I've had in Virginia. It's a small place and it was packed 5 minutes after opening, there was a huge line. However, my gf and I got our food in less than 10 mins of ordering. The wait staff was fast and friendly. It was definitely a little bit pricey (but worth every penny), I believe the lowest average price was around $15. Our bill came to something around 40 for the two of us. We just got dinner, water, and split a dessert. I highly recommend going, if you can afford to and if you can afford to tip. :)

Maggie McVerry

Love this place! Some of the best pasta in town! Great service!!

Kamran Pirasteh

Solid food, good specials. Cheesecake is really good!

Ed Stockwell

Our favorite date night place. Meals are excellent, and the staff - always - like family.

Eric Kim

The hidden bar in the back is a quaint spot for a few drinks and some nice appetizers.

Howard Smith

2017-06-27 Server (Stephen) was very nice, food and service was excellent. Appetizer and entree was unique and tasted really good. Flourless chocolate torte was not the best, I was told that it is made earlier on and cut up and served like a pie. Like most places in downtown Charlottesville, you may need to park on the street and walk to the restaurant. Bathroom had a nice new toilet and older looking sink, plenty of napkins on the back wall in the bathroom.

Tony Gribbins

The food was Authentic Italian and delicious. We had a party of 20 in the back room and service was excellent.

Ken Dabkowski

Favorite dining experience in Cville. Fantastic staff, food, and atmosphere. Can't wait to go back!

Erika Collazo

Delicious food and service!

Patrick McCarthy

Great food and Service very loud at times

Hawkins Dale

Small, intimate (but fun!) Italian restaurant in Charlottesville's Belmont neighborhood. Not a stuffy dark traditional Italian joint. Innovative "rustic" Italian from an inspired chef.

Mira

Food was great. Service was fantastic. Awesome staff. Wait was too long. Overall, I will go back and recommend the place to my friends.

Hannah Cohoon

My favorite Charlottesville restaurant. By far the best Italian in the area

Jeff Kehl

Excellent food. Try the back bar if they're crowded

Jeffrey Brockmeier

Delicious burrata appetizer

C'ville Moodys

The food was quite good and the service friendly. Prices comparable to other fine restaurants. No reservations, though.

Daniel P

Great food and gourmet cocktails. One of my favorites if I don't mind spending a little extra!

Rupert C Ryker

Dining area was filled with a cooking haze while we ate. Left smelling like cooking oils. Nasty. Food was OK. Extra star for the cocktails, those were good though.

Sara Berry

Tavola is fantastic the atmosphere is welcoming. The drinks are amazing. They grow many of there items behind the restaurant. They make the best sun-dried tomatoes.

Hyung

Expensive wine but good foods

Steven L. Johnson

I had an excellent meal at Tavola this evening. It was my second visit in two months and both times the food was delicious. The bruschetta is excellent and, as a vegetarian, I appreciate their flexibility to serve a vegetarian version. The eggplant parmigiana is exquisite--much lighter and delicate than most restaurants serve it. To finish things off, the tiramisu is fabulous. It's a nice, light, dessert that is big enough to share.

Jose Hickey

Best Italian restaurant in town. Great food and fantastic decoration and vibes here are awesome. My mom loves Italian food so every week i'm here with my family for Dine and always gets Satisfied.

Travis Cole

Amazing!!

Jim Gaul

Outstanding Italian food and wine in a small intimate space in Belmont. Fills up quickly and does not take reservations; venture accordingly.

Jordan Kuhn

Delicious food

Cheryl Gillispie

Lovely authentic Italian food and nice ambience. The desserts were fantastic too, loved the option to make your gelato an affogato!

Reese Hertel

The best Italian food in Charlottesville. Although it's a little pricy it's worth it. Not to mention in a great neighborhood.

Jared Davis

Flawless dining experience. Atmosphere is fantastic. Service was amazing. Everything we had from the drinks, appetisers, to entrees was fantastic. Would recommend to anyone.

ann clark

Amazing true Italian food and excellent service!

James Reid

Had a great experience tonight. Top not service! The wait is quite long so they have created a bar area where they serve amazing cocktails and appetizers. After a pleasant hour wait we were seated and had an incredible meal. My only complaint, my vongole pasta was a little salty. My other 5 people in my party had no complaints. Fabulous experience.

The Wandering Hen

Wonderful, simple fresh Italian food made with great seasonal ingredients. Quaint atmosphere.

Ryan Duffy

Excellent cocktails. Pasta dishes were delicious and had great portions (not too huge). Would definitely come back.

Sam S

Molto bene! Felt like I was back in Italy. Comfortable astmosphere & such a fun experience tasting all they had to offer. We had app, dinner & dessert without breaking the bank.

Liz Duckrow

Would have given Tavira a 10 if I could! The people are amazingly professional and friendly. You are greeted immediately upon entrance ,which sets the tone for the evening, and the glorious smells emenating from the open kitchen make you eager to begin your meal. I loved the fried artichoke hearts, the fresh green salad and the perfectly cooked rock fish. It was a delecious meal from beginning to end accompanied by an excellent orange wine recommendation. Thank you to the folks at Tavola for a lovely dining experience !

Sarah Jarrell

Delicious food, Good music, Great personal service!

Cole Thorp

Went to the back bar. Great for a huge selection of craft cocktails and light bites. Bartenders were friendly and knowledgable.

Charles Appich

I've been to Italy and this place reminds me exactly of the food and dining experience I had abroad. Classic dishes with a local flake. Tirimasu was on point. I suggest they add cappacino to the dessert menu

D Canfield

Great meals of spicy pasta and scallops over beet risotto complimented by wonderful wines.

harith khlaif

The food was really good, specially the mint zuppa

Thomas J. Reid III MD PhD FACP

Outstanding experience - we had the rehearsal dinner for our son's wedding at Tavola. The food and wine were outstanding. The pasta made for 45 people was exceptional - I have no idea how they did this. The service was superb - kept the momentum. Without reservation, I highly recommend Tavola in Charlottesville for individual dinner or large events.

Lee Miller

The bartenders at Tavola are fantastic and consistent. Hands down the best old fashioned I've ever enjoyed.

Killian O'Connell

Had my birthday there, very nice and accommodating. Drinks were wonderful (dealer's choice was spot on for everyone).

amy bucchi

Love this place! Yes the wait is long. No reservations! Some of the best carbonara I have ever had!!

Henry Hannon

Amazing food and wonderful atmosphere. A gem of a restaurant.

C Miller

Went with a bunch of women and our party showed up about 1.5 hours early to get our group on the wait list and to visit the back room bar. An hour and half later, we were still waiting. Another 50 minutes and we were seated. Instead of pushing two normal sized tables together, we were given a huge table, so wide that I could not converse with the person across from me. Way to noisy and loud, too. Will not return due to not accepting reservations. Also, this restaurant is expensive, although the food is worth it. Our wait staffer was wonderful. Table bus staff seemed too pretentious for my liking. I did appreciate that the table was cleared between salads and the entrees, which is hardly seen, anymore. I see mostly 5 stars in the other ratings. Maybe it took so long to seat us because of the size of our party, or because, and I hope this is not the case, due to having all women in the party.

Vibe Riot

Great food! Great bar! Great staff!

Christina Hodgeman

AMAZING FOOD!!!

Mariela Reyes

Get here early food is worth it

Betty Brubach

Best restaurant in Charlottesville! No reservations, so go in the main door, put your name on the waiting list, and then continue on to the bar in the back for a drink, bread and olives while you wait. They have good small dishes in the bar too, and signature cocktails. The owner manages the kitchen and you can watch them cook your dinner. It is a bit noisy in the main restaurant.

James Beeman

An outstanding Italian restaurant. One of the best I've been to anywhere! The food is amazing and the service is spotty on. Try the capellini frutti di mare "fra diavolo," the best I have ever had. The pappardelle ragu is also outstanding. If you have to wait in line - it's worth it. Mangia, mangia!

Kayla Amenta

Amazing Italian restaurant. Great pasta and amazing wine. The staff is friendly and attentive and had great recommendations. Highly recommend eating here while visit Charlottesville!

Martin Lightsey

Super good Italian food. Try the roasted fennel!

Doug Britton

Best Italian on this side of the Atlantic that I've ever had.

Patricia Bedard Lenhardt

EXCELLENT, OMG, Everything, absolutely everything everyone in our party ordered was to Die for Delicious. I will definitely be back next time I am in Charlottesville.

Hunter Harris

Best restaurant in Charlottesville. Great service and amazing food. Get the Fra Diavolo. It will change your life.

Brad Armstrong

If I had to choose a last meal it would be drinks from bartender Steve Yang and a never ending plate of Tavola's carbonara. I absolutely love this place.