Taverna — Restaurant in Dallas

What a beautiful place! I felt like I was on the streets of Italy. The sidewalk dining was charming with the lovely railing separating you from the traffic. The awning is a nice touch, but it felt more homey sitting in the patio on the side of the building. The trees had little twinkly lights and the birds were flying around (not too crazy). It was super nice. You could turn to speak to someone at the next table and feel like it was one big gathering if you wanted to. Now for the service: Our server was attentive, professional and knew his stuff! He checked on us often and gave us time when we were indecisive. His suggestion of the Lagardia wine was excellent ($36 for the bottle). We began with the mussels ($18). Loved the sauce - even more than Trulucks. The accompanying bread was perfect for dipping. Mussels can be tricky - these were wonderful. I ordered the seabass ($34) and my sis ordered the Tavera burger ($19). She loved her burger!! Couldn't finish it, of course (see photo). I stole a couple of fries & had a tiny bite of meat. It was very good. My seabass was cooked perfectly and the sauce was the same as the mussels, so I was happy. The shrimp was full of flavor, yum!! Be careful of the lemon garnish on top - I wasn't paying attention & ate a bite - wow! LOL Alexis (our server) didn't have to twist our arm to much for dessert - we split a chocolate mousse. Divine!! Overall, the experience was very nice and I would recommend this place. We got in at a great time - no wait - but it got really busy before we left (7pm...

Before mentioning the food I must say the employees here are AMAZING! We were warmly greeted upon walking in the door and the love continued throughout our visit. Every person we interacted with made us feel welcomed and valued as a customer. Round of applause to the hiring manager and trainers - great job.

And the food did not disappoint. At all. The table bread was an excellent way to start the meal and is served with EVOO & balsamic. It is warm, lite, crispy and garlicky. Yum! I was having an extremely hard time deciding what to order so I went with our servers suggestion of the carbonara and my friend went with the lasagna. Then we made the mistake of ordering side salads too... The portions were so generous we could barely finish it all (good problem to have!). The ceasar salad was really good and had the perfect amount of dressing and freshly shave parm. And despite only being able to put down about 3 fork-fulls of my pasta, it was absolutely delicious - I am so glad she suggested it.

We ordered tiramisu to-go and had cappuccinos while we waited on our dessert and leftovers to be boxed. They serve Illy coffee here which is one of my absolute favorites. Capp did not disappoint.

On the way out we noticed they have weekedn brunch too! I am visiting and my flight doesn't leave until Sunday evening... Needless to say, we're going back for brunch before I head back home.

If I had another hand I would give Taverna 3 thumbs up -...

Tried to visit on a Sunday for brunch but did not have reservations. They were packed! So if you're planning to do brunch, make reservations. We came back on Monday for a late lunch and were glad we did. The atmosphere is interesting. Casual with open kitchen, dining room concept. Could you use a fresh coat of paint and a little updating of Decor. Our waiter was pleasant and attentive. For starters, we shared the beet root salad and meatballs, both excellent choices. The generous portion of meatballs (which could be a meal itself) are legit Italian. You can taste the savory herbs and spices in the delicious homemade gravy. For our entrees, we had the special risotto with crab and shrimp and salmon. Both were wonderful! Shrimp was a bit overcooked, but over all, dish was good. We had 2 desserts, the Cannoli, which was obviously homemade and tasted wonderful. The clear winner was the flourless molten lava cake. We shared a bottle of wine, the special seasonal Spritz and Cappachino. All the food tasted so good that we just had to get a specialty pizza to go for later! Glad we did, it was wonderful!Definitely, for the cost of the meal and the experience, it is worth the cost, which was reasonable for the value and quantity!! You definitely won't leave hungry. We highly suggest you visit and will definitely be back as we have now found our special date night...