Tavolàta - Boise, Idaho

scott watkins

Al dente!

Alex Mojcher

Wish I took better photos to match the quality of the food. Incredible pasta - we had the spaghetti with red sauce, and the rigatoni. The tiramisu was very good and our server was excellent. The space is big, open, and square, so sound bounces everywhere and it’s loud. With some clever acoustic treatment it could be better but definitely will be back here.

Kasey Kraft

Incredible service and great food. Super accommodating to one of our guests who was gluten, dairy and egg free. Only complaint would be it was pretty loud in there.

Thomas Woodall

9/18/24 Fresh from two weeks in Rome, Italy I returned to again. I ordered the Caesar salad. It was ok at best. I love a good Caesar. It’s just too bland for me. Added pepper- couldn’t save it. I didn’t even eat half. Tonight I ordered the Rigatoni with spicy sausage. The pasta was, once again, done to perfection. The sauce also outstanding. The sausage was HORRIBLE - virtually inedible, at least for me. Why? The ingredients weren’t mixed sufficiently - at least that is my opinion. The first bite was overpowering with fennel. Another bite was bland. (Maybe it just needed to be mixed better.) The next bit was overpowering again. Enough. I ate the pasta.

Tonight the service was excellent. Another Diet Coke was brought before I finished the first. The whole staff was super attentive. The problem was the kitchen was behind. The time tags on my photos showed 33 minutes between the salad and pasta and as I said, I didn’t eat much salad so it was a good 25+ minutes. (But I spent it on my phone.)

Here is a tip to the staff, when you clear plate (I had set it on the other side of the table) and notice a patron hasn’t really touched a significant portion of it - ask why. I was texting and it was away before I could say anything.

I will be back. More to try. Never judge a restaurant by one dish or one experience. I’ve had enough that has been excellent to keep coming back (because I love good pasta) but on each visit there has been a major disappointment. (But on my first visit the server noticed and offered another try, else it might have been one and done.)

7/23/24 I had the Caesar salad (good, not great) and the Cacio e Pepe (see photo). The first batch had too much pepper for my taste and I sent it back. The waitress (Emma) was awesome and she agreed with my opinion so obviously that’s how they make. The tonnarelli pasta was cooked to perfection and the second dish of it was excellent. (Wish I hadn’t eaten as much of the first batch.) I’ve had a lot of Cacio e Pepe as I once lived in Rome so I can safely say the first batch was too strong but the second batch was to me - PERFECT.

So, if you order and find the pepper too strong, send it back.

My server Emma was outstanding. I’m going back tomorrow for another dish. (I’m not local but I love good pasta and am anxious to try the gnocchi alla Romana, which Emma says is her favorite. She says it has a little kick - which to me sounds good.)

Aug 2024: I returned and tried the gnocchi. What a disappointment. First, the portion size of 6 large (sea scallop size) gnocchi was too small and the amount of cheese was so insufficient as to be almost nonexistent. The marinara sauce, that has a little kick, was outstanding but it couldn’t make up for the other faults. I got the focaccia bread, which was the worst I’ve ever had. It was WAY too oily. (I learned to make this in a culinary school and this was horrible.) The cook, who couldn’t have been a chef, that made this must have thought more oil is better. Not so.

Service tonight was OK, but non existent when my Diet Coke needed a refill. When you’re paying an OUTRAGEOUS $5 for a soft drink they should bring you another when your current one is half full.

I downgraded my rating across the board due to this experience. I’ll try it again. It’s really hard to judge a restaurant on two meals. I see a lot of potential but tonight was disappointing.

Roxana Curtis

First time eating at Tavolàta, and was pleasantly surprised. Nice atmosphere, courteous service and delicious food. Prices are on the spendier side but worth it in my opinion.

J B

It was my girlfriend's birthday and she wanted this place. Last weekend, I was in Belltown and walked by this place. I heard good things about it and when I told her, this is what she requested here in Boise.

The day of her birthday, I emailed the restaurant to let them know she requested this place. I never heard back, so I called around 5pm to confirm. They put me on hold and went to check their email. Matt, the manager advised that it went to their spam folder for some reason and couldn't accommodate us at the time we requested. He said, "they would make it special." Reluctantly, I took the time they said they could do. Luckily, her son had made a reservation which saved the day, but nothing "special" was done at all. Just a regular dinner.

We were a party of 4. They gave us a table behind the curtain which blocked us from cold coming in the front door. The seats were extremely uncomfortable, no cushions on the bench or chairs.

The restaurant had a classy ambiance. We ordered a couple bottles of wine that the Somalia helped us choose and we each ordered a meal to enjoy. I chose the Gnocchi alla Romana and it came to the table hottt and was delicious, but not what I expected. We all enjoyed our choices.

Akhila Yennam

I went to celebrate my birthday last night at Tavolata. This place lives up to the hype.
They do have a lots of seating but I would recommend to reserve it. Beautifully designed open kitchen concept you can see the chefs working.
Food was amazing we had focaccia, semolina gnocchi and ravioli.
The show stopper for us was the ravioli one of the best ravioli I have ever eaten. Amazing flavors great job with the flavor notes of sage, hazelnut, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. For dessert we had Zeppole kind of small donuts with chocolate they were good. The suggested cocktails were amazing.
Shaq was our server hands down one of the patient server I have seen in Boise. He was soo patient in explaining our questions various top sellers he was awesome.
I would definitely recommend anyone to make a visit to this place.

Vadim Rudoy

Had the spaghetti and meatballs along with an appetizer. That was enough for 2 people to get full with some left over!! To finish we got the affogatto which was an excellent way to end the night, super light and sweet. Service was fantastic and atmosphere was really enjoyable. I would recommend to anyone.