Ava's Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in Kenilworth

Ava's has a lot going for it. The interior has an edgy rustic farmhouse feel (it reminds me of The Barrow House in Clifton), and the menu has a gastropub/Neapolitan pizza parlour vibe, with some hipster mixology options to boot. It has something for pretty much everyone, and it's only two minutes off the Parkway with plenty of parking options nearby.

My Millennial Chum and I came here for dinner this past Friday around 5:30pm. We'd only decided on this place in the late morning, so an attempt to secure a reservation on OpenTable was unsuccessful because of the time crunch (not a regular OpenTable user, so not sure if that's their policy or if that was specific to the restaurant). As a result though, we didn't have the option of sitting at a table and instead supped at the bar. I'm usually pretty ambivalent about eating at the bar - the service tends to be better and you can easily develop a rapport with the barkeep, but it can be a little awkward logistically if space is limited. This experience was no exception. We had a very good bartender and no service issues, but because it was crowded, I kept bumping elbows with the guy next to me. Everything is a balancing act.

I opted for the Red Pie, which was just a standard Margarita pizza. It was pretty good, but I wouldn't classify it as great. I'm a big fan/consumer of Neapolitan pies and I think there should be an expectation that the crust is going to be a more significant presence than with mainstream pizza, but this was too much - there were slices where I literally had two or three bites with cheese/sauce, and then 10 bites of just crust. That's not a winning formula, in my opinion. It's tasty but could be noticeably improved by adding another inch of toppings around the perimeter.

The Millennial Chum (who earlier in the day made a big production about how she was going to behave and barely eat) ordered the wood-roasted brussels sprouts and the wood-fired chicken parm entree. She liked the brussels, though some of them were soggy/soft, and also enjoyed the chicken parm. For the price though (about $22), she felt it should have come with a side, and I agree.

The star of the show was the cocktails. If I see someone behind the bar who looks like they listen to the Arcade Fire in their spare time, I know I'll be in good hands. Ava's has a great happy hour special where, for $9, you get the bartender's choice of cocktail. This is the kind of place where that ends up being close to a 50% off deal, and it's tough to find Happy Hours that a) include cocktails and b) include all of the normal cocktails on the menu, not just their plain Jane, generic rum and cokes. The bartender probably made an educated guess on the palate, saw my unruly hair and edginess, and made an Army & Navy, which was delicious. It tasted like the love child of a creamsicle and a roasted Starburst, and consisted of gin, lemon, orgeat syrup and angostura bitters (I had to look those last two up). I had a second one after Happy Hour was over.

Definitely a place I'd come back to. The pizza was good enough where I'd have it again, but not good enough where I wouldn't keep my options open as to the rest of the menu. Worse case though, they have...

I'm not looking for any sort of handout or compensation, but I feel sharing this feedback is important. I'm pretty sure I'm all out of reasons to continue frequenting Ava's. I work down the street in Kenilworth. A lot of us would go there for lunch, but after many poor experiences with food taking 40+ minutes, servers disappearing, and orders being prepared incorrectly (or forgotten about completely in one case), many of us have stopped going. I continued to dine there because I do enjoy your pizzas and the atmosphere. Last Wednesday, my girlfriend and I went in for dinner. The bar area was packed and the dining room tables all occupied. One or two of the booths looked to be in use, but there were at least 4 booths available. We were a party of two, and were sat in the middle table near the prep window. There was a couple on a date directly to our right, and you can immediately sense that they weren't thrilled to have two people sat directly on top of them. I myself wasn't comfortable with how close these tables are. Couldn't have been more than two or three inches between the tables. We were just as much a part of their conversation as they were of ours. I understand you're in a small space and aim to serve a certain number of covers, but the seating arrangement is unacceptable, and I can assure you that couple won't be back based on their obvious discomfort and frustration. We decided not to stay either. I asked your host if we could be moved to one of the several available booths, and we were denied, stating that booths were for parties of 3 or more only. I asked the gentlemen if an exception could be made, as I'm here on a date, and even offered to get up and move to a standing table in the bar area should the booth end up being needed for a larger party. Once again I was denied. He stated that the owner "watches him like a hawk and would be livid if this exception was made". I asked one last time, making it very clear that if we couldn't sit at a booth, we would leave, and wouldn't be back. He apologized and watched us walk out the door. Now, I'm not typically one to send emails like this, but enough is enough. Your host chose to lose a regular customer in lieu of accommodating us with one of the many available booths. I can't bring myself to go back again unless some serious changes are made. The two stars are for the times I've dined there and enjoyed myself, otherwise this was a zero star experience. Thank you...

We heard so much about Ava's and were eager to try it out.

First all the good things... Great beer menu with a ton of local offerings Great atmosphere and decor Great service - we were going to order the celery root tagliatelle and were gently directed elsewhere. I love a server that knows what the kitchen executes well and what they still need to work on. Good food quality - we had the 5 Cheese and Sausage Pizza and the Cauliflower Kung Pao to start with. Also added 2 arancini (rice balls) which were excellent.

Now the items that need some attention... We dined on a Wednesday night around 5:45. The sun was glaring into the restaurant so any seat facing the street was blinded. The windows need retractable shades. Really small portions and prices that made dishes not such a good value. 12.00 for Cauliflower?? Come on guys...it's what...1/2 a head of cauliflower?? We'll never order again. The pizzas were good but very light on toppings. I don't need a pie that lands with a thud but at 18.00 for a 12" it just wasn't a good value.

And this was what was really annoying... When we arrived, we were greeted at the door by a host or manager. Nice guy. We were directed to a VERY small 2-top and asked to be seated at a larger table. We were refused. I can understand if this was a busy night and the restaurant was on a wait. But this was 5:45 on a Wednesday and we were 1 of only 3 tables. There was more staff than customers. We sat at the 2 top and quickly realized it was too small. We resat ourselves at a longer table in the bar area - which had been offered at the beginning. Honestly, if the bar table hadn't been available we would have left. The 2-top would never have held 2 water glasses, 2 beer glasses, 2 plates, 2 pizzas. This is a pizza place - not a sandwich shop.

Bottom line...glad we went and we will return. Maybe for a drink in the bar or a burger but the experience wasn't as great as I was expecting and we aren't...