La Tavola — Restaurant in Grandview Heights

We decided to try La Tavola based on a family recommendation. The inside is smallish, but lovely. The host at the door was friendly, if not confused. The place was nearly empty, 1 table of two and one table of 4. The remainder of the space was empty, save a guy at the "bar" that overlooks the kitchen. The host asked if we had a reservation. Did it matter? No. The place was empty. We went at 5:00 PM on a Sunday night.

Our service was passable. The "water" delivery for four came with three glasses. We didn't get silverware to eat the starters until after 3 were on the table. These are simple things that make people go hmmmmm when they are getting ready to eat.

the kitchen is open - so, you can see what's going on.

The menu was spare, they were out of a few things, not great when there are 4 entrees on the menu and a couple of pizzas. We all ordered something different. One of the dishes (mushroom ragu) had crunchy noodles, but was eaten because it was 25 dollars. The house salad was explained as mixed greens with pine nuts and citrus vinaigrette. The salad was all bitters with chunky of onion and grapefruit. That level of bitter needs balance, cheese, bread, something. People didn't eat the salads, unfortunately, the food was wasted. The service staff noticed and offered nothing.

The meatballs are full of bitter fennel (greens). If you don't like black licorice, you may not like the sauce. The noodles are obviously handmade, so expect an al dente experience with dense noodles (nonna noodles). The garlic crostini and antipasti were the best things on the menu, and the saltiest experience I've had in a while. The olives were the best thing on the board. No explanation of the weird stuff was given. There were pickled grapes? 5 kinds of meat and a mystery red paste that looked like pate. Explanations are required for food that varies, a food allergy was averted at the table with an ingredient that was out of place based on the dish.

After the food came the server was much more attentive to filling waters and asking people if they wanted more food. The server did not ask if we wanted any desserts, drinks or extras (and that was a missed sale).

Service - C - food - B

Note: A nearby couple said our experience was out of place and the menu was very sparse and "weird" in comparison to a...

My husband and I made a reservation here for our four year anniversary after researching the top date spot in Columbus. We decided to sit outside given the pleasant weather and to be able to have a more intimate dinner setting together since inside the restaurant was kinda small. ❤️ The hostess and server were both very friendly and welcoming.

We ordered our drinks, appetizers, and entrées shortly after we were seated and the first round of food arrived within a reasonable timeframe. My husband ordered the Peroni beer to drink and he said loved it. 🍺 I ordered the ambrosia negroni cocktail which was alright. I was hoping it would have had more of an orange flavor. 🍊

We both ordered the arugula salad and wow that was a massive salad. 🥗 🤣 I think we would have been better off sharing one instead of getting two. You definitely get your money's worth with that option. Also, the bread and oil they serve was divine. 🥖

For entrées, my husband ordered the chicken parmesan and I had the gnocchi parmadora. He said the chicken was good but the gnocchi was somewhat cold. My meal was much smaller than I anticipated but the red sauce was palatable - not too acidic like some places.

We wanted to end the meal with tea, coffee, and dessert but they didn't have espresso and only had chamomile tea. Both disappointing but my husband ordered a regular coffee and I'm a weirdo and had an Earl Grey teabag in my purse. 🤷🏻‍♀️😂 They brought out a teapot with hot water for me and it was so so so cute. For dessert, my husband had the tiramisu and I had the chocolate cake. The cake was a bit dry but overall okay.

The entire experience was good but it lacked in some aspects. Service was slow, the price for the portions is questionable (our end total was like $97), and the limited tea and coffee menu was disappointing. The food was good but nothing to rave about. The outdoor dining area was definitely cute and the atmosphere was romantic. I'd love to come here again...

I was traveling to Columbus for a small vacation. While we were there I wanted to take my mom out for her recent retirement. I called and asked the restaurant if they could help me with a surprise. We talked to 3 individuals over 3 days to coordinate and confirm it was happening. They went out of their way to purchase what was needed for this and all 3 people were amazing! We were seated quickly for our reservation and got our drinks and ordered an appetizer. Unfortunately, after 45 minutes and being told it was "right behind" the server our app never showed, but our food did. Our server had passed us several times during the 45 minutes and she was not that busy. When our food was served we explained they could tell our server we no longer wanted it. Our dinners were incredible though! We all had imported pasta and not the house made and it was still great. The chicken parmesan is fantastic! Our server came up to us with the app and asked if we were sure we didn't want it. Honestly, she was a bit snarky and passive and it was off-putting but she seemed that way most of the night so that may have just been her personality and nothing to do with us or the situation. We ordered dessert and the surprise was handled wonderfully. Our server executed it well and even said my mom's dessert was on her for the earlier mishap. Now, whether she truly paid for it, I don't know, but either way it was a very kind and appreciated move on her or the restaurants part. The canolis were good, the Gelato was and chocolate torte were great! I would highly recommend this restaurant for any occasion! The food alone is worth the trip, but with management that is willing to go the extra mile, it's even more so...