HDS

8.6 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Drinks  8      Ambience  10      Service  9      Value  8     

The food gets an 8 from me, I had the most delicious steak there this week which was cooked just as I ordered and was lovely and juicy and charred, but my partner said his piri piri chicken burger was pretty dull, so I'm averaging the score out. They used to do a really good mixed grill there, but that seems to have dropped off the menu.

Ambience gets at 10 on Tuesday nights in winter. Reta's trivia is hilariously entertaining and the open fire is just lovely. Fix up your burgers, bring back the mixed grill and otherwise keep up the good work!

Aug 12, 2011

9.8 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  10     

I honestly struggle to find something to criticise about my dinner at A Tavola. It was a special evening for my partner and I and the A Tavola experience made it even more so.

Waitstaff were friendly, knowledgeable and attentive without being in your face. Our drinks were always replenished, food was well paced, and questions about the menu (we had a few as it was so creative and detailed) were answered with an evident passion for the food.

The food! A Tavola has been touted as having 'Sydney's best pasta', and I think it deserves to wear that mantle. But that shouldn't stop you from checking out the rest of the menu. For entree we had a velvety jerusalem artichoke soup with generous shavings of musky black truffle and a carpaccio of veal tonuge which was so tender that it melted in your mouth, which was amazing when coupled with the fruity, tangy dressing and crisp, fresh garnishes.

Coming back to the pasta, which we each had for mains, it really was like nothing I have tasted outside of Italy. The pasta itself was so flavourful and al dente. Then, there was the pork neck ragu which accompanied my partner's papardelle, so rich a meaty in the best sense of the word, or the light, fluffy ricotta, mint and pea stuffing for my rotoli which were then panfried in brown butter, quite simply heaven, I can still taste it days and weeks later.

I had been slightly inclined to skip dessert, as we had eaten very well by that stage, but had heard that they were really good and so couldn't quite resist a taste and then finishing the plate! We shared a couple of desserts, and they were so well balanced, either creamy or fruity without being too sweet. The flavours all went so well after the rest of our meal, especially the coffee icecream with walnut praline and the toasted brioche with baked quince and nashi pear.

The wine list was a little tricky for me, but only because I don't know a lot of Italian wines, and the wine list covers these very comprehensively. My partner advises that the range of boutique Italian beers was great, and something interesting to add to the general excitement of the meal as they aren't beers you see often. I certainly enjoyed more than one sticky wine at the end of the meal, delicious.

For the quality of the meal that we had, and the calibre of the service and general ambience of a relaxed but slightly special good time, I certainly feel that we had good value for money on our night out, and we will most definitely be back more than once.

Aug 04, 2009

8.6 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Drinks  8      Ambience  10      Service  9      Value  8     

The food gets an 8 from me, I had the most delicious steak there this week which was cooked just as I ordered and was lovely and juicy and charred, but my partner said his piri piri chicken burger was pretty dull, so I'm averaging the score out. They used to do a really good mixed grill there, but that seems to have dropped off the menu.

Ambience gets at 10 on Tuesday nights in winter. Reta's trivia is hilariously entertaining and the open fire is just lovely. Fix up your burgers, bring back the mixed grill and otherwise keep up the good work!

Aug 12, 2011

9.8 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  10     

I honestly struggle to find something to criticise about my dinner at A Tavola. It was a special evening for my partner and I and the A Tavola experience made it even more so.

Waitstaff were friendly, knowledgeable and attentive without being in your face. Our drinks were always replenished, food was well paced, and questions about the menu (we had a few as it was so creative and detailed) were answered with an evident passion for the food.

The food! A Tavola has been touted as having 'Sydney's best pasta', and I think it deserves to wear that mantle. But that shouldn't stop you from checking out the rest of the menu. For entree we had a velvety jerusalem artichoke soup with generous shavings of musky black truffle and a carpaccio of veal tonuge which was so tender that it melted in your mouth, which was amazing when coupled with the fruity, tangy dressing and crisp, fresh garnishes.

Coming back to the pasta, which we each had for mains, it really was like nothing I have tasted outside of Italy. The pasta itself was so flavourful and al dente. Then, there was the pork neck ragu which accompanied my partner's papardelle, so rich a meaty in the best sense of the word, or the light, fluffy ricotta, mint and pea stuffing for my rotoli which were then panfried in brown butter, quite simply heaven, I can still taste it days and weeks later.

I had been slightly inclined to skip dessert, as we had eaten very well by that stage, but had heard that they were really good and so couldn't quite resist a taste and then finishing the plate! We shared a couple of desserts, and they were so well balanced, either creamy or fruity without being too sweet. The flavours all went so well after the rest of our meal, especially the coffee icecream with walnut praline and the toasted brioche with baked quince and nashi pear.

The wine list was a little tricky for me, but only because I don't know a lot of Italian wines, and the wine list covers these very comprehensively. My partner advises that the range of boutique Italian beers was great, and something interesting to add to the general excitement of the meal as they aren't beers you see often. I certainly enjoyed more than one sticky wine at the end of the meal, delicious.

For the quality of the meal that we had, and the calibre of the service and general ambience of a relaxed but slightly special good time, I certainly feel that we had good value for money on our night out, and we will most definitely be back more than once.

Aug 04, 2009