Tavolo: Restaurant, Market & Caffe

I did not care much for this place.  We went for lunch.  Service just OK.  Nothing special about the lunch except the bread served as appetizer was excellent. The "potato salad" was just diced and seasoned red potatoes, but I did like them.  Everything else just so-so.  I work downtown and thought I'd try the bruschetta for lunch a couple of days later so ordered it as take-out.  It was horrible!!!  Half slices of bread - not toasted - smeared with cream cheese (way too much) and covered in diced tomatoes.

We went here before a show at the PAC. The bread they brought out before dinner was fantastic, but it went downhill from there. I didn't care for the food, I had the short ribs which were pretty dry. My wife's dinner was ok (I don't remember what she had, I thought it tasted better than mine). The prices were very high - most entrees were $20 - $35 - so I think the '$$' score here is incorrect. The service was slow - we had 5:30 reservations and hadn't gotten our meals by 6:30, fortunately the PAC was right around the corner or we might have been late to the show at 7:00.

So glad I tried Tavolo! First time trying a JTR (Justin Thompson restaurant) and it didn't disappoint! My boyfriend & I split the ricotta fritters & the bruschetta both were AMAZING. Definitely recommend! The bruschetta was my favorite & we had 3 different ones. We had the pomodoro, Gorgonzola dolce, & the chefs special which was salmon with capers. Amazing! The bread wasn't super crispy, but I actually loved it that way! It was perfect. For dinner we had the gnocchi & the build your own risotto. The risotto was out of this world! I had mine with Parmesan, mushroom, peas, & shrimp. The restaurant itself wasn't that busy which I was surprised by. Will be coming back here!

This is our "go to" date night and place to take friends from out of town. Must order: bruschetta, mushroom polenta and brussel sprouts. I would add salmon piccata to this list, but I never know if it's going to be wild caught or farmed. Disappointingly, tonight was farm raised. Still, love this place and will keep coming back. One suggestion: an Italian restaurant needs to play music that enhances the experience. Not Motown or 80s hits. ;-) Miss ya Angus!

What a find! My hotel was next door and I was looking for a nice meal that had to be wheat free. I had a fabulous piece of Sea Bass on a bed of risotto- fantastic!!!! Definitely coming back next time I am in town. Delicious!