La Tavola Italiana Restaurant

Reviews 4

WI

William Kucmierowski

When in the Pittsburgh area, its important to take the time out of your schedule to view the amazing history that runs throughout the city... one of your stops MUST be La Tavola Italiana! The good folks at La Tavola have been serving the public for the last thirty years and they dont plan on stopping anytime soon! An incredible location that overlooks the city itself, they seem to have everything from great food to outstanding service! The only thing that they dont have here is a liquor license; but feel free to BYOB (they do charge a corking fee). A quaint and extremely busy family run restaurant, the menu had a variety of different flavors that are sure to make your taste buds explode. As there was SO much to choose from, we opted to have their Chefs make the choices for us (a trend that we learned about recently in Austin, Texas). While waiting for the food to arrive, we were treated to fresh, warm and crunchy Garlic Bread that was full of garlicky love. SO delish! Shortly after ordering, the food began to make its way to the Food Hounds table... and all was right in the world. The Carmela House Antipasto (named after Chef Carmela) was a generous helping of cold antipasto with fresh mozzarella, artichokes, red peppers and olives that packed in a ton of flavor behavior! One of my favorites was the Pizza Margherita, made by fifty-year pizza biz veteran - Poppa Giaramita! First things first, the sauce was BOSS ruling the overall vibe of this pie. Small and mighty, the pizza was off-the-hook; the light use of basil added a touch of flavor that made my buds go bonkers - soft, tasty and a perfect starter! The Calamari Diavolo (fried calamari) was spicy; but not overbearing - crispy texture while drowning in a red sea of spiced tomato cream with bits of tomato that added a refreshing juicy sweetness that evened out the steady heat. Already starting to near the stuffed zone - out came the entrees; one bigger than the next! The Tortellini was stuffed with shrimp and crab; then drowned in a beautiful roasted red pepper cream sauce! Wow! Slight spice felt in the rear of your throat; but light, creamy and bursting with tremendous taste - not fishy at all, we savored every bite! WIN! The Stuffed Porchetta Milanese was a healthy portion of lightly breaded and fried imported ham, cheese and a simply magnificent light and buttery Milanese sauce; lightly crispy and full of meaty goodness - very recommended. The Terra Sole was a heaping mound of what would be best described as Old School Italian cooking at its finest! Another slightly spicy dish, there was a peppery pop in every bite; paired with al dente fuscilli and a hefty portion of sausage that literally falls apart in your mouth... tasty and terrific! During a visit to our table by the lovely Momma Giaramita (who has been engaging their diners since the grand opening years ago); we were treated to Pops homemade Meatballs which were uber-yummy! Baked to perfection using the highest-quality beef; you can taste the hints of garlic, parsley and imported Romano cheese. As if things couldnt get any better... out comes a sampling of their tremendous desserts! Everything is made in-house from the sauces, to the breads and right down to the tasty-treats that had been bestowed upon us. The Dolce Amore was a heavenly chocolate cake that was sweet, delicious and delectable - drizzled with a sweet cream and doused with a flambé of FOUR types of berries (strawberry, blueberry, wildberry and raspberry). Better known as the dessert of love - it is true to its name. The Tiramisu was light, creamy and fantasmic; the dried, sprinkled cocoa adds additional greatness to an already perfect finisher... take some home with you! We had an amazing experience at La Tavola Italiana - everything was so satisfying that we are sure to visit again.

WI

William McKibben

Went to the restaurant with reservations for five couples on a Saturday night. We all arrived arrive on time and were promptly seated at a table of eight. To correct this situation, they brought two more plates and proceeded to SQUEEZE us into a very uncomfortable situation. We had one person on a corner of the table and another seated at the end of an aisle. Of course, no napkins or eating utensils with these plates and we needed to remind the waitress that complete place settings were necessary. We complained, but no correction of the seating situation was forthcoming, except for weak apologies. We ordered appetizers and a main courses, and in both cases, the food was delivered in a untimely manner. We were completely finished with one appetizer, and the next one was delivered almost when the main course was also being delivered. Our main course was so untimed, that the person that had the first delivery of food, was almost completely finished by the time the last person had received their food. The food was a 50/50 affair. 1/2 liked their entrée and the other did not. Soggy pasta was the main complaint. To top off the evening, one of the couples charge card was charged double the amount that should have been entered. What an experience to get this corrected! We have patronized this establishment before, after this experience we will be choosing to go elsewhere.

CA

Carl Jones

Good Service. Overpriced. Questionable freshness/quality. Made daughter sick. Will not be returning. I live in the area (walking distance) and heard good things so I decided to take my teenage daughter there to treat her to a "fancy" Italian meal after spending a long day out and about. The waiter was very good, nice, and knowledgeable about the menu. We ordered a fried calamari appetizer and the he recommended upgrading (+$4) to the diavolo sauce. We enjoyed it. Not being a fan of red sauce, my daughter wanted chicken Alfredo, which, at the time, was listed on the online menu. However, after not finding it on the menu, in restaurant, we were told they no longer make Alfredo sauce. The special was swordfish and she opted for that over pasta with a white wine sauce. I went with the chicken marsala. I finished mine and she ate half of hers. By the time we arrived home she was suffering from severe intestinal discomfort. Within a couple hours she had purged the entire meal (from both ends) and was relieved. I felt terrible for her and was quite disappointed that I spent $30 on a meal that ended up making her sick. I suspect the swordfish was less than fresh, and therefore on special. All in all, my food was OK, but I dont feel it lived up to the $80 price (including tip) for an appetizer, two dinners, two cannoli, and water (it is BYOB). I will not be returning.

A

A Private User

This is my first restaurant review. The main reason I am writing it is to let people know that they should check their credit card bills after visiting this restaurant. Even though I left a $21.00 tip, when I received my credit card statement I discovered that someone at the restaurant added an extra $5.00 to the total. Assuming that it was simply a key punch error, I contacted the restaurant no less than five times since October to have the $5.00 refunded. I talked to the owner four times and the owners son once. Both apologized for error and promised to investigate the problem, refund the money, send me a check, send me coupons, etc. My last attempt to have this fixed was about two weeks ago. The owner apologized again and told me that he would immediately send out a check. Now, two weeks later, I have not received a credit card refund or a check. I contacted the owner again. He assured me that he put the check in the mail after we last spoke. I told him to take it up with the credit card company. I called the credit card company and disputed the charge. The credit card company said they would immediately credit my account $5.00 and take it up with the restaurant. I gave the restaurant a poor rating for the above reason. Other than that, the food was good but over priced and the atmosphere and service were OK.