TÁVOLA Restaurant — Restaurant in Melbourne

I am extremely disappointed with my experience at Tavola. As someone who values supporting local businesses, it pains me to leave this negative review. A reservation was made through their website, and unfortunately 2 out of the 6 patrons, had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances. However, to my utter disbelief, we were charged a cancellation fee of $40 per person ($80 total), which was not clearly communicated during the booking process.

The website's interface is incredibly misleading, and it's almost impossible to notice the cancellation policy buried deep within the fine print and below the "fold" of the booking page. It's disheartening to see Tavola resort to such tactics, especially when as a community, we try to support our local establishments.

Today, prior to leaving this review, I tried to address my concerns directly by calling the owner, but unfortunately, the situation was exacerbated by the waiter, who served us. His rude and dismissive attitude only added insult to injury. It's truly disappointing when a local business not only fails to meet customer expectations but also demonstrates such disregard for constructive feedback.

I understand that businesses have policies in place, but they should be transparent and prominently displayed for customers to see. The lack of transparency and the subsequent unexpected charge, combined with the unpleasant customer service experience, have left a sour taste in my mouth. Regrettably, I will not be returning to Tavola nor recommending it to anyone in the community.

I urge potential customers to beware of this hidden fee and think twice before booking a reservation. It's disheartening when the actions of a few overshadow the hard work and dedication of the local business community.

It's important to note that the meals enjoyed by the four of us at the restaurant were of...

We had a fantastic evening at Tavola this February (24/02/2024). Diego was our waiter, and he was so friendly helpful and all round lovely. The food was on point and perfect for any Italian food lover. The atmosphere was ideal, not to dated nor too modern and not noisy! My only issue was that the cotoletta was not crunchy and was a little damp, but it tasted great anyway We ordered: fritto misto, prawn arancini. Lamb striploin, pork cotoletta and a side of potatoes. All very tasty. Can't wait to return!

21/12/2024 Another lovely evening served by Diego with the restaurant being professionally run by Massimo the Sardinian.

Ordered a wonderful bottle of Sardinian wine and enjoyed this with the rigatoni ragu, pork cotoletta, fries, beans and cannoli.

Like last time, the pork cotoletta was still not crunchy and looked 'wet' but it tasted fine. Very odd, as most other restaurants serve cotoletta's slightly crunchy.

The ricotta cannoli were amazing. Service very friendly and professional. Car parking is easy to find too!

31/08/2025 Ate here as part of a birthday party that had the entire restaurant booked out. Heaps of food with a range of entrees and all super tasty. I had the barramundi for main which a few others around me had a range of pasta dishes, the chops and the cotoletta. All were great dishes and did not disappoint. Will be back...

What a gem on Centre Road! When did this place appear? Very happy it did.

White tablecloths, always a nice touch. Only issue is its very small and a little too cosy, though we were there on a Saturday night and whilst full, it wasn't too noisy, I'd say just too many tables in one small area. Not a deal breaker but prefer a bit more breathing room.

Staff were exceptional and many who were Italian. Knew their stuff re food and wine. Suggestions welcomed and very satisfied.

I had the seafood linguine. Only complaint, if it was that is there's never enough seafood. Always the shells but not a lot else. Yes some prawns, scallops, calamari, but it appears the shells were decoration because I could only find one mussel and a tiny amount of vongole. It didn't disappoint even though I'm critical because the huge tastiness of it made up for the lack of seafood.

Had to have tiramisu. It was ok. Probably 3/5. Not exceptional as I would expect in an Italian restaurant, then again I'm so used to loads of mascapone, coffee & sweetness this was a little lacking in all areas. Maybe it was more grown up than I'm used to.

I can see I'm critical yet I still give this 5/5 because it was an unexpected find and felt like I'd walked into a trattoria in Rome. ...