Tavola Rustica — Restaurant in Lambertville

This was a disappointing, but not entirely awful experience. I booked a reservation for a casual dinner after a show at the Playhouse. With 4.8 stars on Resy and 4.6 on Google, I thought the place would be worth the walk over from New Hope. While I wasn’t looking for a big to-do from the restaurant, I did mention that it was our wedding anniversary in the reservation and minimally expected decent service.

Not only didn’t they mention the reason for the reservation, they made us feel rushed or as though we could’ve been at any run of the mill pizza shop in the Delaware Valley.

I didn’t hate the atmosphere, but the dinner went south quickly when they sat us add a side table in the corner behind the waiters service station. Not exactly the quiet, quaint, romantic ambience on display in their photos - also not exactly the setting I’d imagined for even a casual anniversary dinner. We sat and waited for about 20 minutes for a server to notice us, which was a little frustrating, considering we were immediately behind the service station, when a stressed out, waiter quickly turned around and plainly / bluntly asked us “what would you like?” as though we walked up to the counter for a slice. No introductions, recommendations, specials, or even greetings - just straight into it. After that we felt even more rushed and a little unwelcome, but I chalked it up to a busy night at a popular restaurant, and thought the 4.8/4.6 star food could still make up for it.

Turns out I was wrong about that too. First we attempted to order a bottle of wine. They were entirely out Red Wine, so we took that on the chin and ordered the Rose. Then we ordered the Burrata appetizer and the waiter quickly ran away. He never mentioned that we should consider ordering some bread (something I would assume to be a rather commonplace addition to a burrata appetizer).

When he came back, I was kind of shocked that there wasn’t any bread included with the dish. I can never understand when restaurants opt to not give you something to spread that gorgeous cheese on, but Tavola Rustica wanted another $16 for a bread appetizer (a ridiculous price in my opinion), and we were hungry so we pressed on. Aside from the cheese itself, everything else on the board would’ve been practically tasteless if not, for the addition of a drizzle of balsamic reduction.

Into dinner, the Caccio e Pepe tasted more like buttered noodles with some pepper than anything else. The addition of figs did nothing to liven the dish, and left me feeling hungry for something with flavor. The Pappardelle was okay, but certainly didn’t roll my socks up and down. It tasted like the most basic and unadorned Ragu - something I would expect from basic roadside, Italian, but not from a nicer establishment. The portions were small, and poorly priced, considering the quality.

All tolled, I can’t think of a reason why I would go back and I’m not sure where the 4.8/4.6 came from. I know they market themselves as a Cucina Povera concept, get their prices certainly aren’t poor, and the only concept on display was mediocrity. We’ve eaten at some of the upscale places in the area and I’ve always thought the reviews were fairly accurate, so I was excited when I found this place. It was nice to think we could add another spot into our New Hope / Lambertville rotation. In hindsight, I wish I had booked a true 4.6/4.4 over an - inaccurate at best, misleading at worst - 4.8. That’ll be 2- Stars Across the board from me. I guess the place is fine (while overpriced) weeknight fare if you’re a local, but there’s no reason to go out...

For the most part I truly did love this place, it has a wonderful location with every opportunity to be an outstanding spot. The vibes, the decor, location...all of it adding up to the perfect place to go for a date night, a friends get-together, or even a spot to host a private party.

The unfortunate thing is while I was there, I was asingular table seated in a corner, and I felt like I was not being paid as much attention to as my near-by table neighbors.

Mind you, I wasn't being impolite or rude, in fact I was very patient and just allowed the evening to roll on as it might...however service for me was rather slow. There was even 2 adjacent tables who were seated after me that ended up being served and paid and left prior the end of my completed dining experience.

In general I wasn't in any kind of rush, so I didn't care. However I do believe that I need to express this factoid as a fair review.

As for the food: The Papperdelle Short Rib tasted amazing, melting in my mouth with the dollop of creaminess mixed into the sauce which the meat married from slow-braising in. That dish was devine, and I'd go back for (and wait endlessly for) time and time again.

The Butternut Squash Soup, that had an interesting flavor and texture. I wouldn't personally get it again, as I prefer a thicker, creamier version of it, but if you wanted a light lunch with a soup that won't weigh heavy on your stomach--the way this was made would be perfect to pair with a small salad and still have room for dessert. It was very thin/watery, but had all the flavor you'd want from a Butternut Squash soup. It just needed to be more dense and creamy for my own liking.

Anyways, in general this place is beautiful, and I can see in the warmer weather that the front-facing windows (floor to ceiling) open to the street, allowing for air and potentially extra service on the sidewalk.

If they add in Live music or simply just play some nice jazz while the doors are open...I would think the vibe during warm spring & summer nights would...

Positives: Warm, inviting and up-to-date atmosphere. Quick and friendly to-go service on a busy weekend night.

Negatives: The pizza. I know - that's a pretty big negative. The space used to be home to "Liberty Hall," which I'd frequent for brick oven pizza. After it closed, I started driving to Acqua e Farina, which is pure mouthwatering deliciousness done Naples style.

At Tavola Rustica, the pizza was not up to snuff for the price. I think our personal pies were about $21 each - which is fine for brick oven when it's amazing. But these were dry, chewy red and white pies that lacked taste. Perhaps they have better pasta meals and salads. I'll stick with the regular local pizza joints.

After looking them up now, I've found that they are the same restaurant group as PJs Pancake House. Now it all makes sense. It's the same situation with PJs: high prices + "eh" food. But there are plenty of people on here rating Tavola Rustica at 4 or 5 stars - so I understand that it's personal preference. Or maybe the other diners never had authentic wood fired pizza before!?

Fingers crossed for the restaurant and customers that it was just...