La Tavola Italian Eatery — Restaurant in Burlington

This is one of those hard reviews to write as I was torn if I should write it or not. La Tavola is a hard restaurant to get into, we tried three times and the earliest we could get in was 8:00 pm. The struggle with writing this review was why would I want even more people to know about this place because we are definitely going back and I want a table. We went during the week and saw at least 4 groups turned away, La Tavola is a small intimate place that is big on excellent food. Typically I would be annoyed by the fact that there was only one waiter but ours was fantastic, he knew the menu inside and out, which is very refreshing. We were so wide eyed we ordered two appetizers the bruschetta, which was good and the garlic knots which could become a problem, buttery on the outside, just a little crust, moist and flaky on the inside. The only dilemma was do you eat them strait or dunk them in the marinara? After the appetizers and the salad the anticipation for the entrées sat in. I remember telling my wife I hope our main dishes deliver as this could become my favorite place to eat in Burlington, and they did. My wife had the Tortellini alla Vodka Sauteed chopped onions, peas, and Canadian bacon with a splash of vodka finished in a pink cream sauce tossed with cheese filled tortellini pasta. I’ll admit this was a little weird as she hates peas and she used the word smoky (which she never uses) when she ate it, but absolutely loved the dish. I went with the servers favorite, the Gnocchi Gorgonzola , served in a Gorgonzola cream sauce. I now know what perfect Gnocchi tastes like, so good and rich. We spent the evening eating out of each other’s bowls trying to decide which one was our favorite. Eventually we gave up and asked for a box; the portions are very generous. Even though the appetizers were very good we were sad we ordered two when we saw the variety of desserts leaving the kitchen, next time we plan on saving some room. After we paid our check we visited with the chef/owner and were impressed by his wiliness to visit with us and his obvious passion for his food. Well...

Overall the food was more or less above average. Not quite as good as I thought it would be because if the reviews.

However, the pizza was exceptional.

The salad was just wilted iceberg lettuce with a few slices of red onion and two cherry tomatoes. Pretty underwhelming.

Alfredo was good with a huge portion.

Bolognese was pretty good- could use a little red wine I think.

We also went there because one review said they do something special for birthdays but the waitress said they don’t.

The overall experience would have been better if the service wasn’t nearly offensive. The server made us feel SO rushed. Asking us after a minute of being there what we wanted and coming back two minutes later and taking the order from our four year olds before we were even really ready. They also can’t read and obviously we do the ordering for them.

She asked if we wanted dessert, my husband said he didn’t and she walked away before I could even give my response that I did. So I guess we will never know if the dessert is good or not? It was just overall unwelcoming.

The bathroom also needs a very good cleaning. The toilet was so stained.

We get much better service at Cafe Dodici in Washington and feel very welcomed there. Kind of put a damper on...

Lunch w the salon owner I work for & coworker, party of 3. It's a small dining room but the 1st waitress told us we had to wait for a table, while we waited I observed 2 tables for 2 empty and 2 4 top tables w only 1 person seated there & 2 at other table. I even offered to squeeze in at a 2 top table, and the waitress said the owner said no, we couldn't do that! Luckily Casey was the second waitress because she saw what was happening, and she stepped up and asked the 1 person sitting at 4 top tables to move 2 tops, and we were then seated. He didn't have any problem w moving so we could eat our lunch also. Casey waited on us, and her service plus the food was 5 stars. The waitress... & apparently, the owner should be aware of the seating because if not for Casey being aware and proactive, we would have had to leave b4 lunch hour was over. Thank You Casey U changed my hangry side to 😊I had the seafood combo pasta, which was...