La Tavola Italiana Restaurant — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

When in the Pittsburgh area, it's important to take the time out of your schedule to view the amazing history that runs throughout the city... one of your stops MUST be La Tavola Italiana! The good folks at La Tavola have been serving the public for the last thirty years and they don't plan on stopping anytime soon! An incredible location that overlooks the city itself, they seem to have everything from great food to outstanding service! The only thing that they don't have here is a liquor license; but feel free to BYOB (they do charge a corking fee). A quaint and extremely busy family run restaurant, the menu had a variety of different flavors that are sure to make your taste buds explode. As there was SO much to choose from, we opted to have their Chefs make the choices for us (a trend that we learned about recently in Austin, Texas). While waiting for the food to arrive, we were treated to fresh, warm and crunchy Garlic Bread that was full of garlicky love. SO delish!

Shortly after ordering, the food began to make its way to the Food Hound's table... and all was right in the world. The Carmela House Antipasto (named after Chef Carmela) was a generous helping of cold antipasto with fresh mozzarella, artichokes, red peppers and olives that packed in a ton of flavor behavior! One of my favorites was the Pizza Margherita, made by fifty-year pizza biz veteran - Poppa Giaramita! First things first, the sauce was BOSS ruling the overall vibe of this pie. Small and mighty, the pizza was off-the-hook; the light use of basil added a touch of flavor that made my buds go bonkers - soft, tasty and a perfect starter! The Calamari Diavolo (fried calamari) was spicy; but not overbearing - crispy texture while drowning in a red sea of spiced tomato cream with bits of tomato that added a refreshing juicy sweetness that evened out the steady heat.

Already starting to near the 'stuffed' zone - out came the entrees; one bigger than the next! The Tortellini was stuffed with shrimp and crab; then drowned in a beautiful roasted red pepper cream sauce! Wow! Slight spice felt in the rear of your throat; but light, creamy and bursting with tremendous taste - not fishy at all, we savored every bite! WIN! The Stuffed Porchetta Milanese was a healthy portion of lightly breaded and fried imported ham, cheese and a simply magnificent light and buttery Milanese sauce; lightly crispy and full of meaty goodness - very recommended. The Terra Sole was a heaping mound of what would be best described as 'Old School' Italian cooking at its finest! Another slightly spicy dish, there was a peppery pop in every bite; paired with al dente fuscilli and a hefty portion of sausage that literally falls apart in your mouth... tasty and terrific! During a visit to our table by the lovely Momma Giaramita (who has been engaging their diners since the grand opening years ago); we were treated to Pop's homemade Meatballs which were uber-yummy! Baked to perfection using the highest-quality beef; you can taste the hints of garlic, parsley and imported Romano cheese.

As if things couldn't get any better... out comes a sampling of their tremendous desserts! Everything is made in-house from the sauces, to the breads and right down to the tasty-treats that had been bestowed upon us. The Dolce Amore was a heavenly chocolate cake that was sweet, delicious and delectable - drizzled with a sweet cream and doused with a flambé of FOUR types of berries (strawberry, blueberry, wildberry and raspberry). Better known as the dessert of love - it is true to its name. The Tiramisu was light, creamy and fantasmic; the dried, sprinkled cocoa adds additional greatness to an already perfect finisher... take some home with you! We had an amazing experience at La Tavola Italiana - everything was so satisfying that we are sure to...

Went there for a large group business event on a Tuesday evening with a specific request to be in the smaller room with a specific table arrangement. I let the person who took the reservation know that this was a special event, and I did not want to be in the main dining room with a long table. The person who took the reservation said there would be no problem accommodating the request in the terrazo and, after taking my credit information, assured me that all was set.

When we arrived, we were told that the promised smaller room was only used for overflow and not available for special requests. Instead of the specific table arrangement in a quiet part of the restaurant, we were given a long narrow table in the middle of the busy dining room. The staff was not interested in fulfilling the original reservation and made no reasonable effort to fulfill the request to properly accommodate our larger group. Take it or leave it; they already had our credit card information with the required deposit for a large group reservation.

I was very disappointed in the switch and bait tactics and saddened by the lack of interest to fulfill our request. If you are planning a large event, don’t trust what they tell you in advance. If the staff working that evening aren’t interested in meeting your needs, it won’t happen.

When I inquired about speaking with the person with whom I made the original reservation (most likely the owner from what they told me when I gave a description of the individual), I was informed he was not on site and unavailable for any recourse.

I purposely made plans to have a large business dinner at this location because of the possibility to have a separate room. Next time, I won’t be supporting an establishment who is not interested or willing to fulfill...

Went to the restaurant with reservations for five couples on a Saturday night. We all arrived arrive on time and were promptly seated at a table of eight. To correct this situation, they brought two more plates and proceeded to SQUEEZE us into a very uncomfortable situation. We had one person on a corner of the table and another seated at the end of an aisle. Of course, no napkins or eating utensils with these plates and we needed to remind the waitress that complete place settings were necessary. We complained, but no correction of the seating situation was forthcoming, except for weak apologies. We ordered appetizers and a main courses, and in both cases, the food was delivered in a untimely manner. We were completely finished with one appetizer, and the next one was delivered almost when the main course was also being delivered. Our main course was so untimed, that the person that had the first delivery of food, was almost completely finished by the time the last person had received their food. The food was a 50/50 affair. 1/2 liked their entrée and the other did not. Soggy pasta was the main complaint. To top off the evening, one of the couple's charge card was charged double the amount that should have been entered. What an experience to get this corrected! We have patronized this establishment before, after this experience we will be choosing to...