A Tavola

After looking forward to crossing A Tavola off my food bucket list for several years, I was sadly left with a bitter taste in my mouth after dining there on Sunday night, and it wasn’t my Campari soda.
After battling with Bondi parking, I showed up late for my 7pm booking ahead of my family, including my recently hospitalised father, still all bandaged up. After waiting a few minutes at the front counter as the maitre d’ and a waiter wrapped up their conversation, I apologised for my tardiness and asked if we could still be accommodated. I was surprised to be met with condesending and infantilising remarks about my lateness and was asked if I still actually wanted to dine there. I must have just been stunned into acquiescence as I followed him to our table and waited for the rest of my family to join.
The rest of the night went smoothly — our section waiter was warm and efficient, and our entrees were delicious, though the pasta mains weren’t quite al dente.
A Tavola means to the table so that’s where I’m bringing my beef — this should have been a four star review but you can’t season your food with disrespect and expect to get happy tummies.

Das A Tavola haben wir aufgrund der Unilocal Bewertungen gewählt. Ein Volltreffer. — Das Essen: Die zartesten Calamari überhaupt. Und ein sehr leckerer Salat. Und noch einer. Die Karte wechselt häufig und ist übersichtlich. — Der Service: ausgesprochen freundlich. Und schnell. — Man sitzt entweder am Rand oder an einem großen Tisch in der Mitte. Aus langes Verweilen ist das nicht angelegt, aber das ist eben das Konzept. — Fazit: Wer hier italienisch essen möchte, ist bestens aufgehoben.

Good:
— relatively interesting menu going beyond the usual «Italian»
— service, which was prompt and efficient and relatively considerate
— designer interior is both clean and well thought out
— the grappa sour is genius. Grappa really works within a sour.
Not so good:
— everybody thought the food was oversalted, across all dishes
— pasta is not cooked al dente. It’s mushy. That it is freshly made in-​house is no excuse (I make mine too, with a rolling pin, not even a machine, and it never tastes this mushy). Again, everybody in the group independently reached this conclusion. Perhaps a reflection of the local market.
— ingredients are not to the level of what is implied by prices, the interior and the service. They tasted, at least to me, identical to what you find in most supermarkets.
— the dishes are simple, again perhaps a little too simple for what is implied by the prices (for example, fusilli with cherry tomatoes and mozarella is listed for $ 25). Considering the ingredients, this is not different from what you can whizz up at home.
Clearly Bondi disagrees with me as the place was packed.

This place serves fancy pasta and fancy dishes! If you would like to celebrate something special or have a nice treat out this is the place to come. The chefs have a particular attention to detail and aren’t afraid to try interesting elements to watch flavour come alive. I ordered the cheese which came with grapes and celery to name a few ingredients but it tasted good. The wagu pasta was their signature dish which was also my favourite. Not to heavy but full of flavour. The pasta is also home made.

A Tavola is Italian for «Bring it to the the Table». Does it deliver on its promise though.
Established in Darlinghurst this space in Bondi Beach is a little larger in space. The venue is fancy so ideally perfect for those looking to impress someone special or just if you feel you need a bit of pampering for the palette.
A Tavola has long style communal tables for dining but don’t worry your not on top of one another. The restaurant offers fine service with most of the wait staff Italian and dressed in style to match the Italian stereotype of well groomed.
The menu is described in beautiful Italian accents to you and they are clearly very passionate about everything they offer. After the lyrical description of the menu I decided to go for the Wagyu Rump Steak. We all shared the red cabbage salad as an entrée because it’s one of their signature dishes. It was simple but beautiful thanks to the balsamic vinegar.
The Wagyu was an awesome dish. It was cooked beautifully and served with some mushrooms and a small portion of puréed potatoes. The steak was medium rare and just worked perfect with the sides. I was impressed. My friends all opted for pasta dishes which looked amazing and they cleared all their plates too. They were good portion sizes too.
Great venue and ideal to go for any special occasions.

I am taking off a star for a poor greeting as I waited at the door for quite a while before anyone helped me but the food was great and the waiter was pretty good too. The menu is a bit confusing as it uses a lot of Italian words and I wasn’t familiar with many varietals of wine they served but our waiter made great suggestions and was pretty thorough with his description of the menu.
I went with a friend and we shared a mushroom pasta that was amazing and a shrimp and zucchini pasta that was also great. We were super full by the end. The complimentary focaccia and spicy oil was also a nice touch and came out right away.

Well, consider my maraschino cherry well and truly popped. I hope maraschino is an Italian word otherwise that intro makes no sense.
A Tavola was worth the wait, special shout out to the blonde waitress who spent ten minutes explaining both the a la carte menu and the special blackboard menu not just to us but to every table in the joint without ever losing her friendly enthusiasm, total superstar. They do a few things and they do them really well, the 12hr beef shin red wine pappardelle is their signature dish and they crush it, this dish made me wanna sit up and beg for buttermilk and the other pasta, the green sauce one with the gambinos (that’s prawns, foo’!) was equally as good and they were real big servings, giant size almost, which you don’t often find at spendy restaurants.
The red cabbage salad laced with blue cheese and walnuts and the salt and pepper calamari were top class entrees, the anchovies were a little bit lost on their croquette bases and my beef tr-​tip was a liiiiittle on the silverside end for my liking but that serves me right for not ordering pasta at a place famous for their pasta, what was I thinking? Not a lot, clearly.
Can’t remember what red wine we had but it was a real treat, as was the prosecco we kicked things off with. Italians sure know how to eat and drink.

The food is good but not exquisite, and it is quite pricey. I’ve come twice with two fairly large groups of friends and have tried several dishes. They are best known for the duck papardelle which is very good although everything else was average. This is Australia’s modern version of Italian food — you’re better off getting better pasta and salads elsewhere.

Dear lord everything here is delicious, on top of being a gorgeously, and immaculately decorated space.
We were exploring Bondi on a rainy, Australian fall evening and ducked in this restaurant as it looked nice, and we were starving.
They have communal dining along one massive table down the middle, and bar seating around the wall. Despite being sat at the bar against, the floor length window (which we initially detested, and felt like were sat in the corner) we were entirely comfortable as the setting is very intimate. So intimate that at night I believe most of the light in the place is provided by candlelight, or very dimmed lamps. It is notable that as busy as it was, that it didn’t feel unbearably loud, we could definitely chat with ease.
When you walk in you can see the fresh pasta, the doorway to the kitchen is open and you can peek back and see everything that is going on. I love a restaurant that doesn’t try to hide anything.
Have one of everything! Get two appetizers, get two, or three dishes, (assuming you’re eating in a pair), have the recommended wines, get dessert, and have your limoncello. Share everything with your party, make sure you taste everything!
I’m surprised no one had to roll me home after eating here, I was so sated.
Our waitress was lovely, knowledgeable, had the perfect amount of presence, and even was Italian which added to the ambiance.
Coming from Austin where good food per square km is more prevalent than McDonalds, we were impressed at the food we had in, and around, Sydney.
A Tavola or «the table» (aptly named) really sets the bar for modern, Italian dining, and dinner service in general.
Gluten Freers: They make their own gluten free pasta in house and are very accommodating when it comes to their celiac/​g-​free customers! Put this on your to-​eat list now!

A delightful place with excellent food and a great vibe.
On the suggestion of my husbands coworker, we had dinner here after walking the coast and viewing the sculptures on the sea exhibit. The place was open and very comfortable and the wait staff was awesome. Our waitress had many suggestions that helped us decide on our meals. She had a thick Italian accent which only made the experience more endearing.
We started with the stuff olives which was different but good. We then ordered three pasta dishes so we could all share something different. All the pasta is hand made and can be seen hanging over slats against the wall. The menu is simple but the options are very good. The dress code was casual and beach wear. The prices were on the higher end but well worth it.
All our meals were brilliant!

Fantastic food, great service I would recommend to anyone who likes good Italian food. Good idea to make a reservation to make sure you get a table. The stuff Olives is a must and the signature desert is fantastic. (The layered chocolate one.)

Awesome authentic food, best italian ive had in sydney. great atmosphere. Menu is simple and changes constantly.

One of the best desserts I’ve had a in a long time!
Vibe: Open, airy and crisp. It doesn’t need much else, the freshly made pasta drying on the large 10.4m marble tavola (table) in the middle of the restaurant speaks for itself.
Will impress: Lovers of authentic premium pasta and hungry people in general. I was surprised to see hungry ‘little’ people (children, not dwarfs) slurping on spaghetti. Initially I wouldn’t have picked it for a family restaurant but A Tavola very much is. My boyfriend and I came here with his mother and her partner for Sunday lunch and we were all thoroughly impressed by the food and the staff who are incredibly knowledgeable, friendly and come with a charming Italian accent.
Spend: $$$ It was an expensive lunch — Thank you Denise and Searly for your generosity
Dress code: The place carries the casual Bondi vibe. Lunch was very relaxed and comfortable, I’m sure dinner would be along the same dress code.
Must try dishes: The pasta is freshly made every morning and left out on the marble table to dry. The menu changes daily and the specials are written on the chalk board, this is where you want to order from. We ordered (images clockwise) the mezzelune con piselli e ricotta (ravioli), Orecchiette Con Fegatini di pollo, Pappardelle con ragu di manzo. The ragu was my favourite followed by the ravioli. We also had the Calamari Fritti, very nice and soft. The baked olives was something I hadn’t tried before it was an arancini-​esque ball with a baked olive in the middle, really delicious!
The best part: The dessert! The tagliatelle con maiale in latte — so understated. Its served like a latte but it’s incredible, the table fell silent. You have to dig deep to scoop up all the layers of chocolaty/​cream goodness — MUST TRY!
Love Bangers x