La Tavola Italiana

Food was good. Service was great (we were there on Mother’s Day). $ 5 corkage fee for each bottle of wine seemed steep.

Excellent food and personalizd service. We were treated like old friends although the first time there. Tucked away on Mt Washington. Highly recommend. BYOB with a corking fee.

Amazing food!
Walked in to an empty house with only a few guest. Quickly seated and treated by a really nice waiter. He was well versed on the menu options, some of which weren’t listed on the menu.
The bread the bring to the table is garlicky and super delicious. Our food was just as delicious as it sounded on the menu. My chicken was perfectly cooked with generous portion of cheeses. It was perfectly spiced with a nice crunchy outer crust. Can’t wait to go back!

A favorite amongst my girlfriends and family. Fantastic authentic made from scratch menu in an intimate location. Excellent service. Feel like family while dining. Unpretentious. Owners are a delight. It’s a neighborhood secret. An absolute delight. One that shows its value and quality by withstanding the test of time.
I am obsessed with their Parmesan style dishes and tortellini. I have trouble deciding between the Chicken Parmesan and Eggplant Parmesan. Not a lot of places do Eggplant right, so when you do find it house made done correctly it’s a must.
And then there is the Tortellini in the red pepper sauce. Oh. My. Goodness. Wow. I could drink the sauce. If they served it up in a wine glass, I’d shamelessly indulge. It’s THAT good.
Friends and family have said their rack of lamb and half rack are a must order. (I’m not a lamb eater)
I can say that I don’t even like Chicken Masala but I do like theirs. That’s saying something!
The real treat is what’s going on beyond the dining room. Cooking classes and tasting dining. My friends have been taking the cooking classes. I am so thankful. Now our friends are bringing cooking techniques home with them and inviting us to dine at their homes & sharing! With the way it’s benefited them, I can’t wait to find some time to take a class!

This is my first time back at this restaurant and my wife’s first visit.
The special vodka sauce and penne pasta with prosciutto look like it was served in pink dishwater. The place was full of drunks.
NEVER COME HERE!
You will get better Italian food at the spaghetti warehouse for a fraction of the price.

This place is BYOB which I LOVE and I remember coming here and loving it in the past — this trip was, unfortunately, not as great as I remembered. We walk in and there are a total of 4 customers in this huge restaurant and that’s including the 2 of us that just got there — yikes! I guess it did fill up with 2 more tables by the time we left though… Our server Yanni was great — we were his only table so we got lots of love from him which I appreciated. I wanted the food to be better than it actually was especially since the prices were higher than I remembered. The bread they give you is a garlic toast that I couldn’t stop eating — so good. Our apps of the breaded eggplant and the artichokes (served cold) were a great start. They were a little heavy handed with the vinegar on the salad which is when the meal started to turn. I got my penne in vodka sauce which was so incredibly salty. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE salt but I couldn’t figure out if it was super salty from the prosciutto or just from it being overly seasoned. Aside from it being distractingly over salted it was just ok-​the sauce didn’t blow my mind. My husband’s lamb chops ordered medium rare had to be sent back due to them being too rare. Honestly, if the restaurant were slammed it would be more forgiveable but we were the ONLY customers they were cooking for — how’d they get it wrong? I guess the lamb chops were delicious once they came back the 2^nd time around. Maybe it was an off night but we were disappointed — especially for it being more pricey than I remembered and with so many places to go/​try in Pittsburgh we will, sadly, not be back.

I have been to De Blasio’s, Bravo Franco, Alla Famiglia, Arlecchino and Joseph Tambellini to name a few! Me and my Wife enjoy good food! No expert by any means but love the taste of great food! It’s an opinion! We arrived early at the start of opening and were the first customers and obviously sat immediately! Our Server was polite, groom and well manner with a pleasant character and knowledge of the establishment. We had an appetizer of Calamari Diavolo which was great in taste but average in tenderness! Don’t ask me but I have had Calamari that was tender? But if you weigh price to quality then it is still a gem! Next our meals were Tortelini Crab and shrimp spicy roasted red pepper cream sauce that was a home run! Had personality character that made it special to ME but there was the Pasta Con Frutti Di Mare scallops, shrimp, clam and Calamari that was bland with no personality and what I mean by personality was in a blind fold taste what separates this from other similar meals? THE TRUE SURPRISE was the ½ Rack of Lamb which I’m pretty sure isn’t their signature meal and not really known for but it was so good I was mad that I didn’t get a whole rack! When the server took the bones away I almost cried it was so good! The rosemary and garlic worked to perfection! It was allowed to breath/​sweat before serving it to me! It was perfect! Price, character and quality it was a STEAL! It was so good I don’t wanna order it again, fearing it was a fluke! Overall this place Rocks! Quality and Price it’s a Gem!

Now that I’ve eaten at La Tavola I can’t believe all the good reviews it got. The calamari was very chewy although the flavor was good. the sauce did not stick to the pasta and the grease used for the veal was not fresh. The only thing memorable was the rack of lamb. We all agreed it was very good. Service was adequate. Ambiance was terrible.

Made our reservation for ²⁄₁₄ Valentine’s Day a few weeks in advance for 6PM. No problem. Go into the restaurant on time, get seated by the hostess way in the back, in front of the curtain that looks like an in/​out entrance to the kitchen. Fine, it’s Valentine’s Day and your cramming your restaurant full of tables even though there are still empty ones. Get seated, get bread and water, and then we SIT FOR 30 MINUTES without ANYONE coming to check on us or take our order. Walked out and told the hostess this was ridiculous. Terrible service at La Tavola. After walking out we went to another Mount Washington establishment, was able to get a great table, great service, and a delicious meal.

Went here with my husband and 3 other couples last night. The food was excellent. The eggplant appetizer and calamari diavolo were delicious. All of us enjoyed our entrees. I had torteloni with crab and shrimp… Loved it although I will say I wish the waiter Yanni would have told me it’d be spicy. Homemade tiramisu and limoncello were fantastic. Service was a bit slow… Some at the table minded but I loved relaxing between courses and enjoyed my friends’ company… Looking forward to returning

First time that I have had Eggplant Parm that was not breaded and fried. Incredibly delicious.

Amazing service! The waiter gave great recommendations and made us feel right at home. We ordered the Calamari Fritta as an appetizer and it was incredible. The calamari was tender with a light, crispy, and slightly spicy crust. For dinner, I ordered a full rack of lamb (8 ribs) which had plenty to share. The meat was perfectly medium rare and very tender. For dessert, we had cannoli, limoncello sorbet, and chocolate cake with a berry reduction, all of which were delicious. The bill was very reasonable considering how much we ordered. We’ll definitely be back!

My husband and I have been coming here for 6 years on our anniversary. This place has a special place in our hearts… This past anniversary we came here twice. The first time was for a regular dinner. The second was for a cooking class. Now, the four stars is not for the food or service, as both are and have been on point with great service and tasty dishes. It is for the draft from the cold outdoors the last time we were here. After even asking them to close the door, they opened it back up just a few moments later. I needed a hot coffee, pronto!. But the pasta is always fresh. The meats and herbs are all fresh and cooked just right! The class we took was a bit pricey, but we were very entertained and the portions were generous. Even the regular dinner dishes are so big you will definitely have lunch for the next day! The BYOB is always my favorite anywhere I go. Over all a huge thumbs up! Just make a reservation prior and make sure it’s not by the door!
P. S. They accommodate big parties and make it very comfortable for them!

House made, fresh pasta is a big part of Italian cuisine for me — probably the biggest. You’re not getting that here. Sadly — most places don’t take the time and effort to do so.
But pretty high marks for the other elements. The sauces for the Carbonara, spicy roasted red pepper, Carmela, and others are all tasty.
Service is above the line — although can be a little rough around the edges, but they’re all very, very nice. And it’s BYOB — although there is a cork fee.
Takeout menu is solid, too. Good pizzas, both Sicilian and rounds. Calzones are huge and packed.
They have a great space for private events and cooking classes, including an outdoor patio when in season.
Best part is easily owners Joe and his lovely wife. Excellent, kind souls.
I think it’s a great neighborhood institution — and I wish there were more of them on Mt. Washington.

Party planners BEWARE! We had our sons and daughter-​in-​laws rehearsal dinner here in October and when I received the bill I had asked if the gratuity was included and was told no so I tipped but two days later when I questioned why our bill seemed so high we called the owner back and was told that the tip was in fact already added to the bill (this resulted in me paying almost $ 600 tip on a $ 1000 bill.) The owner at that time apologized and told me she would refund me immediately. It is now almost 2 months later and she has yet to refund me despite my repeated calls. She at one point flat out lied and told me she issued a credit to my credit card. Very unprofessional not to mention against PA consumer laws. Makes me wonder how often she does this to unsuspecting parties.

This place was recommended to me by a number of people and always looking for a good local Italian restaurant. My first annoyance was trying to make reservations. You cannot make them online although I did email them through their website of course with no response. I called twice with no answer and was able to leave a message one time. 2 days later I got a call back and made the reservation for 3 people. There is not a lot of parking and it is not located in a great neighborhood so be warned. We were seated quickly and I read reviews that the service was slow but we ordered in a timely fashion and our food was served in no time. The restaurant is great for large parties as the have lots of seating and big round tables. The garlic bread they serve was delicious and I also ordered a bowl of Italian wedding soups one of my favorites. The soup was the real deal! All the entrees include a salad which is a great bonus and the salad had lots of toppings and comes served with a house dressing. For my entrée I ordered spaghetti and meatballs. It very tasty and the meatballs and red sauce were exceptional. Those in my party order the salmon and scallops and raved about how delicious they were. Almost to full for dessert but room to take a bite of a homemade cannoli. Also would have loved to try a homemade rum cake. My biggest complaint of the evening was the BYOB policy. One person in our party brought rum and they charged a $ 10 corkage fee and for the coke. We also had beer and they charge $ 1 per beer. Beware of the high corkage fee. Luckily the excellent food almost made up for this

Sorry, Olive Garden, I think when you said, ‘when you’re here, you’re family,’ you actually *meant* to say, ‘when you’re at La Tavola Italiana, you’re family,’ because seriously, that’s what having dinner here is like.
I want to ask, ‘why haven’t I been here before??’ but the answer’s pretty simple. This is not what you think of when you think of ‘Mt. Washington Restaurants.’ It’s a low-​key sort of place that’s on a back street and you’d almost miss it if you weren’t looking for it. But inside, it’s like you walked into a big family dinner, and all your favorite relatives are there.
When we arrived for our 8:30pm reservations, the dining room was PACKED. There were several giant parties (one of whom turned out to be host to a surprise engagement!), but we were seated right away, and from the moment our server Chris approached our table, I knew we were in for a treat.
While Chris was opening our wines (oh yes, lest I forget to mention, IT’S BYOB!!) we chatted with him about our mutual love for the Food Network. This all began to make sense as soon as he described the night’s specials to us. It is a wonderful thing to have a server who is passionate about the food he will be bringing you, and that’s exactly what we had with Chris. He described every dish to us in detail as if he was a chef on Chopped and he had just prepared it for the judges.
The decision was tough, but eventually my two dining companions and I settled on our meals. We started with an order of the antipasti — flavorful and fresh, but not so huge a portion that you spoil your appetite — and the fried zucchini. OH that fried zucchini! Crispy, savory, just lightly fried, and accompanied by a wonderful chunky marinara sauce. And at only $ 8.95, you can’t go wrong. Promise me right now that when you come here, you will order the fried zucchini!
We were having a celebratory dinner, so we were taking our time, and Chris really helped that happen. The pacing of the meal was just right: we had enough time to enjoy each course before the next arrived, and there was no pressure to choose our meals too quickly even though the restaurant was crowded.
We enjoyed their crispy, buttery garlic toast alongside our house salads (excellent house Italian salad dressing!) as we waited for our entrees.
Here was where the little snag came in: my girlfriends’ meals came out first, and my chicken parm was nowhere in sight. Chris quickly explained that something had gotten mixed up in the kitchen and it would be just a short time. Since we were taking our time chatting and pacing out the meal, it wasn’t a problem.
But even though we were in no rush, Chris wasn’t satisfied with our having to wait for my plate to come out separately from the others. He not only comped my meal as a courtesy, he treated all three of us to desserts on the house! I realize that mistakes happen in restaurants, especially on busy nights, and I always try to be understanding, but this extra step just meant so much to me. It really showed how important customer service is to this restaurant and its staff and how far they are willing to go to make a mistake right.
Now. About that chicken parm…
Let me just say that it was WELL worth the wait! I am a little picky about red sauce, but this was off the charts. Hearty and savory and spiced just the right way. Whatever you didn’t fit on your fork, you just HAD to dunk your garlic toast in. The breading on the chicken was light, the meat was cooked perfectly so that you barely needed to use a knife to cut the chicken. To be honest, I reeeeeally regretted my decision earlier in the night that I would take half home for my husband to have for dinner!
From start to finish, our dinner at La Tavola Italiana was wonderful. Great service, excellent food, and an atmosphere that made you feel welcome as soon as you walked through the door. I am SO glad my friend insisted we have our celebration dinner here, because I might never have found this place. And now that I have, I know that I will be back for sure!

La Tavola is my absolute favorite place to go. Byob and the best Italian food you will ever eat! The service is a little slow, but I think that’s mostly bc all of the food is homemade and made to order. Love their house dressing on the salads. The spicy crab tortilini is my favorite and you MUST try the lemon sorbet dessert. This place is truly a diamond in the rough. I would certainly recommend La Tavola to everyone.
It’s also great for groups/​rehearsal dinners.

Walking into the restaurant threw me off a bit. There’s no one at the door to tell you where to go so it took us a minute to realize we were suppose to seat ourselves. The bread they give you at the beginning is really good. The side salad was also really good especially with all of the cheese crumbles. We ordered the calamari diavolo and that was very good. My boyfriend ordered the ½ rack of lamb and he said it was amazing. I ordered the pasta Carmela. It was good but I wasn’t overly impressed. For dessert I ordered the pumpkin tiramisu and again it was good but I wasn’t overly impressed. My boyfriend got the dolce amore chocolate cake with berries which was pretty good. Overall it was a nice experience. The waiter was very friendly. It was a little more expensive than we normally spend on a night out but we were on vacation. We would probably stop in again if we were in the area.

After a bad experience at TGI Fridays, my boyfriend and I decided to check out more local restaurants to support local business as well as open up our taste buds to things other than chain restaurants. Having family in Mt. Washington, I pass it occasionally so it’s always been a place I’ve wanted to try. This was our first stop…
The food was excellent and a great start to more of a finer dining experience. It’s fancy, but not suit-​and-​tie fancy, so if you want to come in a nice pair of jeans and a dress shirt — you’re good. The food was great! We ordered the Pasta Carmela and it was enough to take home. The garlic sauce was light yet satisfying and had a zing of spice which perfected the meal. We also were served garlic bread and a salad with a wonderful house dressing that reminded me of an Italian/​Balsamic mix. Also note that the place is BYOB. Enough said… The place itself sort of crammed which was one of the only downfalls, but overall the experience was pleasant. Service is great, too. I definitely would like to come back and allow others to experience this gem.