This restaurant opened a few weeks ago. I think I am their first regular as I have eaten there three times since. I love sitting at the kitchen bar. The people working there are really sweet and friendly and welcoming. The owner recognized us from Bistro 5 and made sure to check on how we were enjoying everything. The food: I am floored that a previous reviewer did not like the Porchetta salumi? It was as good as the Porchetta my husband and I had in San Giminano, Tuscany. Crazy good. I am in love with the Chicken under a brick, crisp skin and tender juicy meat. I need to also mention the fruitti di mare. It is done with a white wine sauce and loads of shellfish with fresh buccatini. Just perfect! Overall, I am a big fan. I am glad to have a great new local spot. I will be back, frequently. read more

We always wanted to try A Tavola and finally had a chance. We ordered a few of the small bites-piattini and were super excited about everything. Especially liked the very light eggplant puree and melt in your mouth prosciutto di Parma. We had a mixed appetizer platter as well, which is a great way to try different items. Very nice chickpea puree and ricotta. Also had Sformationo, a delicious parmigiano custard, not to miss, and duck prosciutto. The only problem we had was, that there is no room on the tiny talbles. They brought out everything at once and could barely fit the plates anywhere. Next time we will order in different courses! (Staff should recommend as well...) Also, that table in front of the bar is right in the middle of traffic, choose one along the walls if you can for more romance! The main courses were ok, we were more impressed with the appetizer section. The pumpkin gnocchi with rabbit was a bit on the heavy side, I would have appreciated something fresh with it. Rigatoni bolognese had a bit of an extra bite to it. Desserts are definitely worth saving room for! Delicious ganache cake and salted caramel ice cream, yum! We thought the cheese plate was too strong for a dessert, a personal preference. Plus it was a huge piece of cheese and a smaller different one. Hard to cut with a regular dinner knife as well. Overall we had a nice dinner and would come back again, maybe in the summer and just have a glass of wine and a whole bunch of appetizers! read more

The food is amazing and the ambiance is great, but what really made my experience was the STAFF. They were all so kind and accommodating.

Beautiful restaurant . Can't believe I lived near this place but never got in before. The pasta is freshly made and made me remember Italian rustic restaurants. The salmon was a special of the day and was made to perfection. Highly recommended read more

Went on Valentine's Day and had a great time! We had a reservation but were not seated until 10-15 minutes after our reservation but I understand it is not the best night to go out to dinner. My only complaint was that I did not know it was a price fixe menu that night but should have assumed. When we sat down we were greeted with a little champagne and a tomato soup shooter, both were a very pleasant surprise. The appetizer we chose was the Fondu which had a good variety including asparagus, potatoes, quail egg, mushrooms and a veal meatball. Shortly afterward we got our entrees, a juicy and tender chicken dish with a white bean puree. It was very good! The best was obviously dessert, a tasty plate. On the plate came cheesecake with cherries, coffee ganache and poached pear. All were delicious and complemented the meal very well. The ambiance is delightful - very cozy and inviting and a great neighborhood place. I would like to go back and try the actual menu. read more

Great food but slow service. I have been here a few times and the food keeps bringing me back but the service is usually slow. I thought it might be just the busy weekend nights but on a Tuesday night for my birthday I had the slowest service. That Tuesday I could count the other dinners on one hand and still we waited 20 minutes after they clear our appetizer for the meal and that was the first time the waiters had come back. The only time I have seen fast service was on my wife's birthday. A nearby table who had just ordered desert caught my attention when they were questioning the busy boy as too why there was a candle in their dessert. I wanted to shout across the room but they already started eating. 40 minutes after ordering our dessert came out. It was well over 2 hours in total and we had to go home to the babysitter instead of going out after. The food is very good. It changes and there are great pasta dishes and other unique items. They always have a seafood dish and fresh local options. Overall a 3 because of 1 star service and 5 star food. read more

Felt like i was on the agricola (Italian farm) Julie was a great waitress, food excellent. Met 3 women celebrating 60th b'day and a Brazilian /Italian expat- who was off to Milan and offered to buy us a gnocchi board ! read more

i always enjoy coming here for drinks & dessert! Lacey always recommends the best wines for my meal and the whole staff is friendly and knowledgable of their menu and where everything is coming from...like their garden right to my plate! watching the kitchen cook is my favorite! request Lacey she's the best! read more

I was so pleasantly surprised by this place! Really good food and service. Felt super safe during covid (only 4 tables of customers when I went). Highly recommend! read more

The starters, wine and dessert were very good. The entrees were OK, but not as good as I had hoped. The ambiance is delightful - very cozy and inviting, even on a very, very cold night. We started with the oysters and the mussels -- both were very fresh and fantastic. I also had the beet and burrata salad, which was good - although it is a lot of beets for one person. I had the tagliatelle and shrimp for an entree. It was OK, but not great. Very salty, which hid any other subtle flavors that may have been going on. My husband had the chicken, which he said was fine. The polenta was quite tasty. For dessert we shared the chocolate torta, which was fantastic. It came with some salted caramel gelato and the pairing was wonderful. I would lie to go again and give another chance, but would try different entrees. read more

I must have eaten here 300 times in 5 years and looked forward to coming back. Never a bad meal but I was not pleased with the meal had in June and the service was so so. Homemade pasta with truffle and mint (boring overwhelming mint pesto) asparagus soup (served lukewarm) and vanilla panna cotta (half a biscotti, strings of rhubarb and white strawberries), a glass of prosecco was $75. The menu and wine list have scaled back to nothing interesting, must have to appeal to a crowd with minimal expectations. I won't be returning and will miss the way it was 3 years ago. read more

Note the following review pertains to our Valentine's Day experience; we have been to this restaurant and its sister Bistro Five many other times and have never been disappointed. At both establishments, the staff is uniformly professional, caring, and courteous. Valentine's Day, we started a tradition to go to Bistro Five and or A Tavola. This year we ordered the Special Valentine's Day dinner at A Tavola. The is turned out to be a 2.5 hr waiting extravaganza as apparently the kitchen had trouble coping with the crowd and maintaining the quality of the food. Normally I love long leisurely dinners but there were often long stretches between the five courses where there was literally nothing to eat but some cold bread ("Warming up the bread might realistically take 15-20 mins", we were told. Are you kidding me?). The worst part is watching all the other diners who ordered a la carte come and go while we waited. And Waited. While the menu was very good it was not spectacular, did not quite approach last year's menu it terms of culinary delight (Duck Roulade was overly fatty) and certainly not worth waiting for. Next year, no tasting menu; it's a la carte for us! read more

Really delicious appetizers with a large portion size. However, it would have been nice to see one more vegetarian option as an entree.

The food is absolutely incredible. It's a tiny place with an open kitchen that never disappoints. The menu is small, but seasonal, and always with specials of the day. And everything I've ever had from here has left me raving. I wish they did a cocktail program, but the wines pair wonderfully with what they serve. I can't love this place more. read more

My party of 9 had a mixed experience. The food service was very slow throughout the meal, and when entrees finally arrived some were lukewarm and some were steamimg hot. Also, a couole of entrees were lackluster in taste. when the entrees were finally delivered, i asked to order dessert, so the dessert menu was brought but the server disappeared. We flagged down the hostess who took our order to have someone come back a few minutes later to saw they did not have what was ordered. I got the impression that this small farm to table restaurant, which also had a party of 10, in addition to regular size tables, was just overwhelmed by the number of people being served. Perhaps like a lot of other restaurants, they are struggling to find staff? Based on this experience alone, it gets a C grade. The menu had some interesting and tasty sounding items, so it might be worth a second chance, but not soon. read more

I will never eat at this restaurant after the aggressively rude way we were treated this weekend. I made a reservation through Open Table for a party of two to eat at A Tavola on Saturday night. When we arrived, the hostess told us that she wouldn't seat us because it wasn't really a reservation, just a "priority" seating. The "priority" we got was to be listed as the third party of two waiting for a table, with a wait time of at least 30 minutes. She just waived her hand airily and said "oh, that was a mistake in the system, it was supposed to tell you that we don't take reservations." Another server also chimed in to agree that Open Table reservations weren't accepted, as if we should apologize for thinking that our reservation would be honored. We asked for the manager, and when we spoke to her, she told us the same and then walked away. The hostess then offered us two seats at the bar, and we agreed to take them. Before we could sit down, the manager returned to tell us that they were setting up a table for us. We happily thanked her and waited for the table to be ready. When the table was set, the hostess seated another couple. Then she seated yet another couple at the only two open seats at the bar. We waited, and then asked when our table would be ready. She said there was no table for us, because the other two had "priority" ahead of us. We were angry, told the hostess that, because she obviously was not able to handle the situation, we wanted to talk to the manager, who had promised to seat us. When the manager returned, she told us that we were not welcome there, and she would not ever seat us. Apparently, asking to be seated at your designated reservation time at that restaurant is just too much for them to handle. I will never go back! read more

"D or D minus." "This place won't last long." "The best part was the wine. (ie: food not so great)" --- These were just a few of the comments made by my guests last night at A Tavola here in Winchester. This will probably be the nicest 2-star review you'll ever read here. I try to give every new place (or every place I go to) the benefit of the doubt, but given our experience last night (see comments above), we'll never go here again. Chances are it won't last long anyhow (new restaurants in general don't last long on this street, so I've noticed). --- A Tavola is a cute little place - small. "Cozy" I suppose you'd say. I liked the antique-wood tables that have been refinished just-so, I liked the antique farm tools on the back wall as decoration, I even liked the goofy fork-and-spoon chandelier thing over the hostess station. --- Our waitress was nice enough and explained how the menu worked. The upper part of the menu is "Piattini" which means tapas-style items. She stressed that we should get some, but we just wanted dinner, not a bunch of teeny-tiny stuff to fight over or discuss. We ordered drinks: But you can't get a glass of wine here: they serve like a little carafe of wine (which is like a glass and a half) - so it's more expensive but I did like that idea. I think that's the perfect amount for me for a dinner. The waitress did let us try wine before ordering a mini-carafe of it. You'll notice they only serve Italian wines here. And when asked for a Sprite, "We only serve Italian sodas here" - so, you can see what this place is trying to do: It's Italian, but not that everything-drowned-in-red-sauce Italian that you're thinking. This is more high-end cuisine. --- So, a little snobby about the sodas and wine (even the bottle water is, of course, from Italy), so let's move onto the food: As we began to place our order for dinner our waitress exclaimed "SO Nothing to start with then?" ie: "you're not ordering our Piattini and my tip won't be that big so I already hate you". We all ignored her: I got the chicken - it's cooked pressed with bricks which is a technique I've heard of but never tried), the others got the steak and the clams. (look up their menu online for detail, kids, I know I'm boring you). Food took longer than expected to arrive. Chicken was - well - a big piece of flattened chicken. It had this sad teeny-tiny pile of mushrooms crammed under it in one corner. It was cooked nicely, and had a strong crispy-chicken flavor going on - salty - which I was ok with. I didn't taste the "rosemary" the menu claimed. It tasted like salted chicken to me. It had a couple greens on top, and I took a bite of one of them and BAM it was like someone had soaked it in SALT - I literally gagged and grabbed my water. The other greenery was OK (the other single piece) but that shocked me. Strange. Steak - cooked as asked and nice but - it was just a steak. Nothing to write home about and for the money I've had much better. The sides it came with were just small - you don't get much for your money: If you order the chicken, you get a piece of chicken. You order steak, here's your meat. No pasta, no salad, just BAM: MEAT. The person who had the clams was appalled and really hated that dish. I tried the a scallop from that dish and liked it. I'm not a seafood guy but wow - they really were upset with that dish. --- Still hungry (I guess we should have gotten that "Piattini" the waitress was so upset about!) - I ordered desert. This "donut" thing - 3 balls of undercooked fried dough in a small bowl with a weak chocolate sauce thing and 3 miniscule slices of strawberry. -- The chef came over to talk to us, as we were putting on our coats. No one said anything to him, because they weren't happy with their food. What do you say to the chef in the middle of a cramped restaurant as you have your coats on ready to leave? I wasn't about to talk about all the various things we didn't like - it felt awkward to be cornered by him like that. I said everything was good and fine until he left us alone, and we bolted for the door. --- Still hungry. I actually had a snack when I got home. It's not often I drop a lot of money at dinner, and still have to eat afterwards. --- None of us were impressed by the food. Like my friend said above "This place won't last long". read more

Please don't review unless you understand and at least try the concept. It is created as an experience in regional food and customs. I treasure Chef Ettore's exceptional skill with his menu and pairings, but most notable is his time consuming devotion to procuring locally grown produce, supporting the farm to table culture. This is an authentic, eclectic Italian restaurant. This authenticity is carried right through to only offering Italian soda, not Sprite. This isn't snobbery, it is a genuine attention to detail, embracing the intent of A Tavola. The portions are perfectly balanced and a reflection of a hand made product, cooked to order. When I am dining I am mindful of the quality, not the quantity, it is all about savoring the flavor. We started with 4 pitattini, the portions are generous for a lovely tasting and the presentation is wonderful. The Roasted Eggplant arrived in a cast iron pot, it was earthy and topped with just a touch of shaved cheese which melted and gave it a rich taste. Homemade Ricotta, celeste! Truly fresh and delicate, with a full bodied olive oil and just a hint of lemon. The Boar Prosciutto and Yellow Fin Tuna arrived on a rustic wood platter with an array of artfully arranged baby carrot. We were delighted to slowly share each bite, the tuna was exceptional, sushi grade, both sweet because of the freshness and tart from a perfect balance of seasoning. The staff were accommodating, just as if we were guests in someone's home, and that is another exceptional quality Chef Ettore cultivates, knowledgeable, gracious staff. When we couldn't decide between two wines, they brought us both to taste, and the quartino, or carafe that's offered are from very good selections of wine. Our waitress was a professional, attentive and the pace each serving was timed perfectly. We chose the Pollo al Mattone, a marinated chicken. It arrived on a sizzling, rustic pan served with a a buttery polenta, greens and mushrooms with a soft, woodsy flavor. The meat was seasoned with a citric flavored salt and complimented the subtleties of the sides. We also tried Cacciucco di Cozze, sauted mussels with a very light tomato broth infused with ginger and chile flakes and served with crusty crostini. The ginger was something we've never tried with mussels before, and it was wonderful. For dessert, we tried the Bomboloni, three house made doughnuts, light as air with a frothy chantilly cream with a hint of vanilla, and velvety, melted Nutella sauce. We selected Grappe to finish, and a nice touch was an elegant, tall stemware it was served in. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening at A Tavola, and will be back to try all the other offerings of the menu, especially enjoying each selection of seasonal fare, and definitely more of their house made ricotta! read more

Cute feel to restaurant, good concept! Good appetizers and service. We were not too impressed with 25 dollar pasta entree, expected a little more flavor for the price. read more

5 stars for food, 3 for location. I came here for the first time last night with three friends. We had a 7:45 reservation, and when we arrived, the place was PACKED. The restaurant itself has a nice ambiance (lots of candlelight and a nice decor), though realistically, it is also very cramped. We had to wait about 15 minutes for a table to open up, and when it did we were seated at a table in the corner near the bar that overlooks the kitchen, which I think was among the most cramped spots in the whole place: the woman behind me had her chair pushed back so far I could barely pull mine out, and the aisle next to us was so narrow that I kept getting brushed by servers passing back and forth from the kitchen all night. I had to be very careful when taking bites and sips so I wouldn't get nudged, and dining is definitely a better experience when you aren't worried about someone hitting your elbow and making you accidentally impale yourself on a fork. That said, the food here was so amazingly good that I'm not even sure a fork through the lip would have registered -- my mouth was too busy wishing that the meal would never end. The four of us shared the duck prosciutto (which came in paper-thin strips and needed to be savored, but was incredibly flavorful) and smoky eggplant puree (which had a much richer flavor than I'd expected -- it almost had the consistency of pate. Really tasty). For a main dish I got the bistecca, which was out-of-this-world delicious. It was done perfectly medium-rare (a lot of places overcook steak these days), and the vinagrette tasted amazing over both the steak and the potaotes and brussel sprouts, which were also incredible. My friends got the porchetta (to die for), the rosemary chicken (amazeballs), and the rigatoni (which was gluten-free yet also delicious, which my gluten-intolerant friend was VERY appreciative of). For dessert I got the apple pie, which -- and I'm throwing a gauntlet here -- was hand-to-heaven the best apple pie I have ever had in my life. I'm not even generally a pie person, but I would eagerly make the 30-minute drive back to Winchester just for a serving of this stuff. Oh my god, was it mouthwatering. Other desserts at the table included the gelato and the EVOO, and while I heard mutterings that they were also excellent, I was far too invested in my pie to really listen at that point. I'd marry that pie if I could. As for the service itself, our waitress was very helpful (I was unfamiliar with the entire wine list, basically, so she asked me what kind of red I usually like and made a great recommendation based off of it), though she did seem a little rushed due to the sheer number of tables she had to attend to. Overall, though the location leaves something to be desired, I would still rank A Tavola among the best meals course-for-course that I have had in Boston so far. The food is so top-notch that I will absolutely be back, cramped space and all. read more

I'm still giving 5 stars on A Tavola because I love the restaurant so much, but I had to write a quick update about our experience last week. We made a reservation for the Friday night after Valentine's, and showed up on time. We were greeted at the door by the friendly hostess, who told us that our table was being readied and that we'd be seated shortly. We noticed there was another couple by the door who had the look of a "we didn't make reservations, but we're going to wait it out" attitude. The bf and I were eager to be seated and to get our Valentine's day started, and the hostess left to make sure everything was ok. The table was perfect: a cozy table next to the window in a nook. I watched as she instructed another host/server to seat the couple. He came over, grabbed a couple of menus, AND THEN LED THE OTHER COUPLE TO OUR TABLE. I was dumbfounded. As he walked away from a surprised, but pleased seated couple, I saw the hostess grab his arm and whisper hurriedly in his ear. I also saw his eyes widen with dismay, flick in my direction, take in my face, and make eye contact with me. What he did next made me write this update. He came over, started to make mumbled excuses about how EVERYONE had shown up late for their reservations, and how they were SO BUSY. Dude, you just gave our table away. OWN UP!! He told us it would be a 15-20 min wait, and that we could stand there or wait by the bar and have a drink. Uh, ok..... Granted the bar is cool. It overlooks the kitchen, where you can see them carve thin slices of duck prosciutto, serve out beautiful dollops of ice cream, and garnish entrees that make you want to eat everything on the menu. We were finally seated in the middle of the restaurant, between two other tables, and my back was to a pillar. Not really a problem, since the restaurant is small, and eating near others can be a communal experience, but compared to our intended table, it was a bit of a letdown. I do have to disclose that we were comp'd nicely. I was given two free drinks and a free salad, but my problem is that I wasn't told why. The whole evening I had random employees come up to refill my water or serve and casually mention how busy they were that night. The host knew he'd made a mistake, and he knew I knew. Thank you very much for the drinks and salad, but a simple "my bad" would have sufficed. Oh, and I'll be back. Last Friday, you ran out of the pork loin. I nearly died with sadness... until I had the fish special, which made me a little less sad. read more

Very enjoyable dinner at A Tavalo with 3 friends I know through work. We arrived at 6:00 and were the first ones there, but the restaurant filled up, even on a Tuesday night. A bit of a tight fit between tables when the restaurant is full, but cozy and welcoming. The appetizers are tapas-style - small dishes to share. Although 2 per person were recommended, we shared 3 - enough for a few bites each. Eggplant was delicious with parmesean & pine nuts - could have used more toasts to go along with it. Porcetta was also excellent - thin slices of flavorful pork, not something I thought I would like, but I did. Roasted peppers with goat cheese were good, as expected and nice paired with the rolls. We had to ask for rolls - which were good, but could have been something more/different - a mixed basket perhaps. My entree was the gnocchi with shrimp in a citrusy sauce - the gnocchi was delicious and light, not the way some gnocchi can be. The shrimp was good, but I think the dish would have been delicous with scallops as well. My companions enjoyed their dishes as well - chicken and pasta bolognese. Our waitress was personable and explained things well, including recommending a wine. We ordered a bottle, but they also have "quartino" sizes which is about a glass & a half, which is a nice idea. The chef came to our table afterwards and was genuinely interested in our feedback, shared some info about the restaurant and himself and was very interesting. This type of communication will make A Tavalo a winner. read more

First what I did like. The chicken under a brick was delicious, crispy, with wonderful mushrooms and was a good size portion. The decor is lovely and the restaurant is friendly and intimate with knowledgeable wait staff. Now what I did not like. There is no wine by the glass; you need to order by the "quartino" which is a glass and a 1/2 making me pay more and get more than I really want. The small plates should be called tiny plates. Though the waiter does warn you to get 2 each, each one is hardly enough for 2 people to each get a good taste. The whole pig lightly smoked a table side sounded divine by the description, but somehow was actually boring and bland. With all the effort that must go into that dish I was actually amazed at how uninteresting it was. The menu also is very short with only one entree special. I would be willing to give the place another chance but my first try was not the greatest. read more

Very disappointing dining experience. My wife and I were looking for a nice Italian restaurant to take her parents while they were visiting. A Tavola had great reviews and was close by so we decided to try it out. I don't know what the worst part was, the food or the service. It took 20 minutes just to bring us our drinks because apparently their computers were down. They don't have a liquor license so don't bother trying. I don't understand how the computers effect their beer taps. We were ready to order our food and a second round but the waitress was nowhere to be found. Finally she came over and took our order. The food was terrible. 3 of us ordered pasta dishes and the other a steak. The steak was cooked fine but lacked flavoring. All 3 pasta dishes were so dry and tasteless. Send it back you're thinking, right? Wrong. The waitress didn't come back for 20 minutes and we were completely fed up by that point. They asked if they could take it back but at that point we were ready to leave and never return. The cherry on top was when they charged us for an extra drink. We should've taken them to the North End where they can actually back up the word "authentic" read more

Completely unlike our visits in the past, we were greeted by a slightly grumpy and unwelcoming hostess. In the past, the restaurant had a lively, festive atmosphere; that was not the case on our first visit with the new chef co-owner. Most importantly, the food was very disappointing. Among the four of us, three had dinners that were not good enough to finish. The restaurant is somewhat expensive; it definitely needs to improve the cooking to warrant the prices or even a visit. read more

First visit to the restaurant tonight food was outstanding. Had the cheese plate followed by swordfish and shrimp risotto. Food was excellently cooked and the flavor was delicious. Enjoyed and apple crisp and vanilla ice cream accompanied by a cappuccino. The dining experience was excellent. Looking forward to my next visit. read more

Usually like this place quality wise but the quantity and prices dont add up. Left hungry numerous times after $40 pp bills. Check out the recent calamari takeout app. Seriously. One tube cut up? They cost like $0.25. Why not cook up a few for the patron. Pasta quantities dont make sense either. Pasta is not expensive. I hope to see some improvement because i would like this to be my main spot. Menu should get changed up every so often too read more

A Tavola - Check out the recent calamari takeout app. Seriously. One tube cut up? They cost like $0.25. Why not cook up a few for the patron. - Italian Near Me - Winchester, Massachusetts

Sunday brunch 5-8-16 was superb, one of the best I've ever had. We sat at the bar watching the crazy hive of activity in the small kitchen. Foodies should ask for a bar seat, b/c the chef's are so friendly--when not busy. I had an arugula and goat cheese salad, a delicious frittata, and donuts for dessert w/donut holes, a pot of chocolate, another of Creme Anglaise. Left feeling full and very happy but not stuffed. Been for dinner many times but brunch may be even better. Servers efficient, helpful, know the menu. Hostess very professional. A Tavola is a gem! read more

Our party of 4 had a great time. Had a bit of a wait to get a table but worth it. The small plates were all great but the roast pig was the best. Good wine list with some nice suggestions made by the waitress. the pasta was al dente and full of flavor and the ragu special was full of flavor and meat. The steak, pork ribs and rolled pork entrees were cooked perfectly even if they took a little extra time. Coffee and dessert rounded out the meal and left us smiling. read more

By far, this hidden gem has the most diverse yet gourmet worthy menu I have experienced. Everything is fresh, and locally sourced, including a private herb garden. We have eaten here many times, but the real treat is sitting at the Kitchen Counter where they have room for six. You interact directly with the Chef, and get a rare view into how a scratch kitchen really works. Started with some small plates, including the Prosciutto, and their Calamari is totally unique and savory. We then had the Pasta Tasting menu, which was four amazing and different pasta dishes, each hand made, and included different styles, fish, meat, and sauces. Some other favorites of ours are the Porchetta (smoked pig, smoked under glass as it is about to be served), the Mafalde (ribbon pasta in a fresh pesto sauce), and their wines! And, to top it off, their deserts are all custom, plus amazing Capuccinos. Can't recommend this restaurant enough. read more

Just because a place is "farm to table" doesn't mean that it comes from a good farm or ends up on a good table. I ate there the other night with 6 people. The reserve list Italian red wine was ~75 degrees F, so I had to ask them to decant it and put it in the fridge. Their not inexpensive sliced tomato plate (we ordered 2) was bland and came with ~ 1 per 3 of a tomato per serving! Seriously, at that price it comes to about $30 per tomato. My father and my sister-in-law both ordered a seafood pasta dish that claimed to have baby octopus (should that be octopi?) in them. Neither dish had even a trace of a suction-cupped tentacle on them. My mother ordered some mysterious seafood plate that had the biomass of approximately 2 medium-sized goldfish. I ordered the steak, which was undercooked and laden with all kinds of connective tissue not associated with prime cuts. Finally, the rest of the table feasted on over-salted bolognese. This culinary assault cost over $300! There are too many fine dining restaurants in the vicinity to even think about wasting your time and money at this quaint, overpriced, farm-to-table-to-pepto-bismol dive. You will leave hungry, broke and looking for a bathroom. read more

Delicious, homey, creative, artisanal, and they were good to our two-year-old. The porchetta (lightly smoked pork roast) with roasted apple, braised kale and some kind of pickled pepper was wonderful -- the pork fall-off-the-fork tender, the apple and pepper perfect contrasts to the meat... My husband had broth with ricotta-spinach balls and a free range egg, very interesting. Both yummy and a warm experience! read more

Summary: the food was mixed and not worth the price, but the service and attitude is what sealed it for me to not going back. I'm generally reluctant to give a 1-star rating unless a place is one of the worst I've been to - not the case here, but overall performance was severely lacking. Started with a 25-minute wait to be seated after arriving 5 minutes early for a reservation. I understand it's a bit tricky to predict when tables turn over, particularly at a small-ish restaurant, but it's how the staff handle the situation that is the key here. No "oh we're so sorry, it looks like it will be 15 minutes or so". Instead what we got were half-hearted "it will be just a few minutes, we're setting up your table now" about 5 times over the course of those 25 minutes, served with a disingenuous and detached smile. How very nice. When we were seated, I did ask the hostess for the manager's name, and on the surface she seemed to do me one better - claiming to have the manager come over to us. How nice, I thought! Well, that manager would never appear - and actually, through the course of the dinner, there was nobody visible who even looked the part. Maybe that's part of the problem - no manager? Hmmmm. So the service itself was very spotty - took awhile for the waiter to appear, and he had an uncanny ability to disappear just as quickly. Water glasses were filled precisely once during the evening - at the beginning. Must be a water shortage in Winchester? Maybe some little-known after-effect from Sandy. At one point, our table (of just 3) joked among ourselves that we would have exactly one shot at ordering our food, so we better know what we want if we ever saw the waiter again - it's good to laugh about poor service when you're experiencing it. I'll give props to the waiter for one thing: he did offer one person in our group tastes of a few different wines because she was unsure of which one she wanted. Wish more places did that. The food itself was mixed. Bread was good, small plate of pork prosciutto was moderately good (would not go out of my way to get it again), cheese plate was a bit weak. Gnocchi was pretty good, Bolognese not so much. Flourless chocolate dessert was yummy - but what flourless chocolate dessert isn't? By far the overwhelming factor here is the service and attitude - frankly, it didn't seem as if anyone in the place really cared, let alone having any passion. Maybe they think that if they exist in Winchester, that's all they need to do. Very disappointing. They should surely know there are lots of choices out there - and a small business (restaurant or otherwise) thrives only if they're providing an excellent customer experience. Bottom line - plenty of other places to go, for same or less money, to have better food and to be treated better. read more

I was a little skeptical of the food, just looking at the menu, but I'm glad we gave it a try. The two of us sat at the "chef's table" aka looking into the kitchen, which was great because we got to talk to the chef while we were eating! The eggplant appetizer was amazing, and the waitress didn't seem surprised when we asked for more crostini to eat it with. I didn't think I'd like the octopus-in-sausage-form thing, but I did! And the duck sausage small plate was take it or leave it for me - not a huge fan of duck. My boyfriend loved his pork dish, and I was a big fan of my bolognese and wine (delicious!). We'll definitely be back to try more! read more

WAY overpriced for VERY small portions. At first I thought they made a mistake when they brought our appetizer. It was a fourth or even a fifth of the size you would get in any other restaurant and it cost the same or more. Th entrees are likewise minuscule. I had to fill up on bread, and even there I had to ask for it twice. They didn't volunteer it. If the food were outrageously good, they could justify the outrageously small portions. But the food is just OK to good, not great. read more

My family and I had a lovely meal here on a Tuesday night a few weeks ago. We didn't know it until we arrived, but Tuesdays are when A Tavola does a three course, prix fixe menu paired with beer. (They do the same thing on Wednesdays, but with wine.) My husband and father-in-law both had the beer prix fixe, and really enjoyed their experience. The appetizers were all delicious, especially the burrata (YUM) and the charcuterie. My chicken was DIVINE...really, really tasty. And my mother-in-law had the trout, which was the special that night, and she loved that as well. Service was friendly and helpful, and the prices were reasonable. I had never been to Winchester before...it is so cute! Charming little downtown area, and the restaurant is so close to the commuter rail stop. Well worth the trip for an evening out of town, when you have done Cambridge and Boston umpteen times, and would like something tasty off the beaten path. Oh, and the chef told us that they source the majority of their vegetables from local farms...one of them right in Winchester! We will definitely be back. I just saw another reviewer commenting on the olive oil cake with basil gelato and realized that I had forgotten to mention it. Heavenly! I enjoyed it immensely, even though it wasn't chocolate, and that's really saying something. read more

Loved everything about this place. Great find for Winchester - homemade Ricotta, Bucatini with scallops, clams and mussels were as fresh as it gets. The Rigatoni Bolognese was the best I've had since Tuscany. read more

The food at A Tovola is absolutely amazing! Each bite develops in your mouth to 5 delicious tastes flowing gracefully from one to the next... Each plate has a fully diffined and different taste from one another. The wine list is perfect, and so is the service. I love the atmosphere, very European, but be aware that the tables are close to one another. It doesn't bother me, makes it all cozy, and I love the opening to the kitchen, seeing the cooks in action. We keep this one for special occasions. read more

I love this restaurant. The service is consistently very good. The food is always fresh, seasonal, usually local, and most importantly delicious. Its small so sometimes its hard to get a table last minute, but if you go earlier or book on open table, its no issue. Its really fun to sit at the tiny bar and watch the chef's in the open kitchen working. I love trying the variety of specials and they have fun offerings that are different than the standard suburban restaurant such as duck, squid ink pasta, rabbit. Its a little pricey, but totally worth it. The only thing I find lacking is the by the wine selection. read more

Been going here, this restaurant building, since it was Catch, then Parson's Table, now A Tavola. As Meredith, another reviewer, said it is a small restaurant with not much space between tables. But here you get to know thy neighbor. What you loose in space you gain when your food arrives. This is my middle son's favorite restaurant so we frequent it more then their typical guest. I have not had a meal here that I did not write home about, but it is relatively new but I don't foresee ever having that less then super meal. read more