Tavolino

Reviews

Name: Mark Economou 
Occupation: Media Relations Manager
Lives In: Coral Springs
Restaurant Pick: Tavolino Della Nonna/: Tavolino Della Notte
Reviewed: Tavolino Della Nonna/Tavolino Della Notte

We went to Tavolino on a Saturday night. We were a party of four and had 7pm reservations. We arrived a little early to sit at the bar and have a drink first. We love the bar and their light up drink menus. After having our drink we told the host we were ready to sit. Immediately the waiter came over introduced himself and told us he would be right back for our drink order. I had a glass of Chianti and my wife a French Rose.

While getting our drinks our table was served bread and 3 dips, which were fabulous. When he brought our drinks we put in our appetizer order. We ordered the Escarole and Beans and the signature appetizer, Pear Pasta. Both came out hot and delicious. The Escarole and Beans had just the right amount of creaminess; the beans were not over cooked. The Pear Pasta was delicious.

We then ordered our dinners. I ordered Veal Parmesan, my wife ordered the special, Filetto di Manzo Diane Style. Our friends ordered the Snapper Oreganato and a special Lobster dish. Everything was timed perfectly. The dinners came out hot. The Veal Parm was enormous. The Filetto di Manzo was a Filet Mignon and was almost fork tender. Our friends Snapper was amazing as was the Lobster.

For dessert we had the Cannoli Tower. This was a take on the original cannoli. Instead of a tube, the cannoli shells were thin disks with layers of cannoli filling in between. This was to die for.

Being a Saturday night, there was live music playing as well. We were never rushed and the waiter was phenomenal. After dinner we went back to the bar for another drink. The price point is slightly higher but it is a white table cloth restaurant and worth the price for the quality of food.

Name: Angela Shlyakhov 
Occupation: Litigation Paralegal
Lives In: Fort Lauderdale
Restaurant Pick: Tatiana
Reviewed: Tavolino Della Nonna/ Tavolino Della Notte

If this is truly grandma’s table, [Tavolino Della Nonna] then grandma should be a bit more welcoming to her guests. The server told us that he was having a bad night, so was his service and attitude; and ultimately, so did we.

The restaurant’s signature appetizer, Tavolino’s Signature Pear pasta was brought out cold and the pears seemed like they were just cut from the fruit and put on the plate instead of being roasted as the menu had described. I had ordered lasagna as an entrée. It was quite large. The Bolognese sauce could have had a bit more meat in it, but the ricotta was delicious. My friend ordered the Italian Feast, which had meatball, sweet Italian sausage and braised pork over spaghetti with ricotta cheese. The meats in this abundant dish were spiced well and flavorful. The best parts of our dinner were the Calamari Ala Tavolino appetizer which was crispy and perfectly spiced with hot cherry peppers. The side of basil marinara was a perfect complement to the appetizer. The creamy artfully presented cheesecake stuffed with cannoli was a great finishing touch. These were the definite hits of the night. I would give this restaurant another try with a different server. The server definitely makes the experience in a restaurant.

Name: Neosha Jones 
Occupation: Student Affairs Coordinator
Lives In: Miami
Restaurant Pick: Boteco
Reviewed: Tavolino Della Nonna/ Tavolino Della Notte

The restaurant was easy to find and we easily slid into a parking space near the front entrance. Everyone was welcoming and the atmosphere was great. While you could tell that it wasn’t a casual restaurant, it wasn’t a pompous atmosphere. We had an RSVP for around the time of the Wednesday night comedy show and were seated quickly and facing the stage but cozily along the perimeter. As we were being seated I visited the restroom and it was clean and arranged very tastefully as was the rest of the restaurant. When I returned to my seat I began looking at the menu and was amused to find that the drink menu lit up.

I originally selected a rose from the interesting white wine section but eventually landed on a Bellini and later a white zinfandel which were both very good. While I appreciated the variety of the menu, nothing novel really grabbed me and the menu only offered one steak option which was disappointing. While I realize that Tavolino is not a steak restaurant I was expecting more than one steak entrée. While I was reviewing the menu I partook of the bread and dipping sauces (garlic, a tomato sauce, and olive oil) which were yummy and I eventually landed on the Caprese Salad (mostly to try the 20-year old balsamic vinegar drizzled on the salad) for the appetizer and the Chicken Florentina with the chardonnay cream sauce. I also ordered Sautéed Broccoli and later a side of Penne Pasta with Vodka Sauce since the Florentina did not come with a starch. My boyfriend ordered the Veal Marsala.

While we were waiting for our food to arrive and the comedy show to start, there was a guitarist on stage which was nice. The comedy show started about 15-20 minutes after 8 and our food arrived shortly thereafter. When my side of pasta arrived, I combined the Florentina and the remaining Buffalo Mozzarella and tomatoes from the Caprese Salad with the Penne Pasta as a meal and all of the flavors combined wonderfully. I was surprised at how large the side pasta was and it turned out to be a very inexpensive addition. Also, the vodka sauce was very good, in fact it’s probably the best vodka sauce that I’ve had in a while. I wound up getting full very fast and had enough to take home for 2.5 meals and my boyfriend enjoyed his meal as well. I’m not much of a dessert person but my boyfriend ordered the cannoli. The waiter offered a kind of deconstructed cannoli but my boyfriend opted for the traditional preparation and it was very good.

The comedy show lasted until about 10:15 and we left shortly thereafter and it was entertaining. Our waiter Jesse was great and the ambience was nice. I would go back for a nice romantic dinner without the comedy show and I’d recommend the restaurant to anyone in the area that’s looking for a nice meal.

Restaurant Information