So last time I was at Ava (2018)I wrote a review on brunch. Well I'm back and just had dinner here. We were seated. Seemed like there wasn't a server for our table as no one even brought water. The manager looked over said someone would be right with us. Well Anthony was worth the wait. Attentive and polite made our evening very pleasant. We ordered spinach and date salad which they split for us on our own plates! Loved it! Then meatballs and spaghetti for the hubby and chicken parmigiana for me. Both were excellent. The house wines were good, a red blend and a Pinot Grigio especially after a day of dog sitting. So now that I am a resident of Florida I will be back sooner then later then before. read more

Ava - Italian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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My first time trying octopus and it was amazing, it had a perfect char flavor to it from the grill and was perfectly tender. Was nervous to try because a lot of people say octopus is chewy and I'm not a fan of chewy but it was delicious! I had gotten the rabbit (first time trying) was not a fan of the rabbit or the gnocchi and gnocchi is one of my favorites, I would not recommend. The oxtail (another first) was amazing I would definitely eat it again. read more

Ava - Grilled octopus - Italian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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Everything was great about this place except the tiramisu French toast. Very dry and tasteless. The pizza and Benedict's were delicious and bottomless mimosas are only $15. read more

Ava - Tiramisu French Toast - Italian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

Ava has a great atmosphere and great food! I like their homemade pasta and drink menu! The pizza they make is delicious as well as the grilled octopus appetizer! We loved our food! It was delicious and you got a perfect portion! Not too much and not too little! Despite the good food and nice ambiance Ava's service and hostess are lacking. My partner and I arrived on time for an 8pm reservation. The hostess informed us that there were no open tables and that they were waiting for people to leave. We waited 30 minutes before we were seated. The whole time there was an empty table not being utilized to seat anyone. The hostess looked flustered as more people started arriving with reservations. They offered us a table at the bar but I made a reservation for the restaurant and not the bar. Ironically my partner and I were seated at the table that was empty for 30 minutes. Our waitress was nice but was either overwhelmed or needs more training. Our appetizer came out before our drinks came from the bar. Drinks were not her fault as she did not make them but our waitress should have checked on the status of the drinks. Also, the waitress took our appetizer order and left. We could not find her to order our entrees. We wound up sitting at the table with the appetizer, no drinks, and menus. By the time our waitress came back to take our orders our appetizer was almost gone and we had a long wait until our entrees came out. Come for the food but beware that you will not be seated in a timely manner even if you have a reservation. read more

Not what I was expecting, particularly the service provided. Yes, happy hour is a plus. The pizza I ordered was OK. It literally had only one piece of sausage on each slice. The lady who was serving could have done so much better. I needed to call her attention several times to get my drinks refilled. Ah, the place was empty so it was not about being too busy. The place is in a great location but I will simply try other places and will not be coming back to this one. read more

Ava - Came to try pizza: La Bestia - Italian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

The atmosphere and vibes here are unmatchable. Highly recommend sitting outside if you can tolerate it! The cutest photo prop setup inside

Okay this place was so good I got two entrees LOL. I got the French toast and the eggs Benedict and wow the eggs were to DIE for I'll be thinking about them for the rest of my life. Was with two other friends and everyone loved their food as well, they got white and red sangrias and enjoyed them as well. I would go to this place everyday if I could. read more

Ava - Italian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

We were pretty excited to give the Howard location a shot after seeing an amazing pizza come out of the Armature works location. In summary: not worth it. Other reviews talk about the burned crust which the pizza has spots of black crust which isn't uncommon with a traditional oven. However two things contributed to our experience and rating: greasy pizza and absolutely sub par service. The two pizzas we had were too greasy to even hit the halfway point (and we love pizza). Our waiter? Well he was more concerned with standing by the open kitchen and being on his phone. When he wasn't, he simply stood with his arms crossed with three others doing abosiutey nothing. Didn't come by to check how the food was after it was delivered (had two chances given we had salads), drinks were I refilled until I asked and I'm able to write this longer review because I've been waiting for him to grab my credit card for just over 11 minutes so far! My tip: the pizza is nothing special, the prices are higher than they should be and with the low lever of service you could really choose anywhere else! Still waiting... ! read more

From the brunch sandwiches to the pastas at dinner, Ava has become one of my favorite places to eat in Tampa. Yesterday, at brunch, I had their smoked turkey sandwich with grits. The grits were incredibly fluffy and had great taste. I was a little hesitant to order a sandwich because I'm not a big fan of sandwiches in general, but this one exceeded my expectations! It had so much flavor. If you're there for dinner, order the cavatelli! You will not be sorry!!! It might be my favorite restaurant pasta dish. Great atmosphere and service as well! read more

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Love the place probably eat there once a month. I guess it must be the chip shortage but $30, when you add tip $36, for a plate of pasta Bolognese is just silly. It's a big plate two people can share it fine. Maybe a smaller serving and charge something reasonable relative to a casual dining spot? But hey the mark up on the wines are pretty conservative to their credit. read more

The server was great. She had quite a few tables but she did great! Now here's why I gave it a 3 star. The food was not great! $30 for a small over cooked steak was not worth it at all!! We sat next to the host stand and the curtain fell on us. Did s manager apologize or discount anything no. Overall the restaurant is pretty but I will not be going back unless it's ti sit at the bar and have a drink! The food runners were all leaning on the expo line. The guy cooking the pizzas kept clicking something that was very disturbing. Overall not a great experience read more

Amazing food, good service. We ordered the breakfast bowls, avacado toast, and bottomless mimosas, not one complaint. I added a photo of the brunch menu!! read more

Ava - Avocado toast with over medium egg added to it - Italian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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We went for Valentines Day. I was not impressed at all and won't be back. The server was ok, the drinks were good. I asked for bread after seeing a table across from us have some and we were told they weren't serving bread. Italian restaurant and no bread? But clearly another table had bread. The fish chowder was NASTY...just look at my picture, you can clearly see the separated oil! And it was served cold! So gross I didn't even eat it. The grilled octopus was ok, not sure if it was supposed to be served cold or hot but it cold which made it hard for me to eat. The potatoes under were great. The shrimp ravioli was ehh, there was no actual shrimp in the ravioli but on the side. The sauce was very thin as well. The surf and turf was ok, steak cooked perfectly but the lobster tail was 1/2 raw. We told the waiter and after some hesitation he brought me another one which was better but still some areas were raw and you can tell this was sitting in water. $220 for dinner and cocktails for 2 and I was starving when I left. read more

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I came in on Valentine's Day and there was standard $79 fee per person for a 4 course meal. We had to ask to receive bread which was stale and each course was not even sufficient. The food was served cold and the portions minuscule. This was robbery one and too terrible service. I've never been to an Italian restaurant that barely serves food and you have to beg for bread. I will not be returning holiday or not because this was a holiday scam. It's clear that they just wanted to take advantage versus provide a great meal. I don't eat chocolate or espresso which left me with no option of dessert and the original menu was not even an option. read more

New Year's Day brunch was terrible. Service was slow and inconsistent. Food came over a 20min period after waiting about an hour. Drinks were not checked on. The avocado was rotten for two of our dishes. Zero presentation, and had to ask for silverware a few times as well as water. Really disappointed, the manager did comp the bill but I'd rather have the quality that I've seen before. Do better and please work on your vegan options. read more

Absolutely awful food- got a flatbread that was literally floppy and soggy and it was $22. Waiter told no one in our party that gratuity was included. read more

Writing a review on behalf of my sister's bf because he asked me to. My sister's bf and niece went into Ava for pizza last night. Initially my sister's bf thought the server was messing with him. Nope. They were really out of pizza dough. His thoughts: How are you going to be a pizza place and have no pizza dough? Stephanie, the server, was awesome. Hence the 3 stars. read more

this place is a scam. $60 for mimosas and a small breakfast bowl. it is a scam. do not order or come here.

There is an immediate outer body experience when you bite into the chewy, gooey goodness of the la bestia slice. Sooooo good that you have to give in and just buy a large pie. read more

Ava - Large La bestia...... absolute best and freshest pizza I've ever had - Italian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

I had a co-worker in town from corporate visiting several of our clients throughout Florida. Before they flew out we decided to grab a late evening meal at the last minute. I absolutely selected Ava as it is very, very consistent in not only having extremely fresh and creative Italian-Mediterranean cuisine but also a great staff and an atmosphere that is sheik, sophisticated, but at the same time charming and not an overproduction. This recent experience was truly special; the grilled octopus was outstanding, and I asked our wonderful server Anna to communicate that to the kitchen. My guests were very pleased with the overall accommodations and I still highly recommend Ava and keep it in my repertoire of restaurants. FYI great for take out too! read more

Food is pricy but definitely good, the pizza is definitely the best. If you go late a night sometimes you will get turned away if you don't have reservations. read more

Went here for brunch, something that we've done many times, and are usually happy with the consistency of the food. Unfortunately this was not a time where they put their best foot forward. My girlfriend got a flavorless Bloody Mary (didn't know that was possible) and I got the worst Monte Cristo I've ever had (also the breakfast potatoes were undercooked). I politely returned my food and explained I would still pay for the dish but it just wasn't good at all. They took it off the check but what inspired me to write this review was the lack of an apology from our server and neither did a manager come and do whole "Hey sorry it wasn't good, hopefully you'll give us another try" (for example). Basic customer service cost you some customers. read more

Came here with my family for the first time. This place looks like it's great for larger groups and has plenty of seating to accommodate. They actually had a birthday party in a back room and it was so nice they were able to close the door to cut down the noise of a bunch of kids having what sounded like a blast. We got a few appetizers and pizza for 3 and were throughly stuffed! The meat and cheese plate had very traditional options and would be great for anyone. The margarita pizza was fresh but unfortunately not as crispy as I prefer. I have no complaints about the taste, it was very good! The crab ravioli were flavorful and the sauce on top elevated the dish but do not let it get cold (very overwhelming crab flavor once it is cold). Overall, the food was good but a little pricy to be ordering a pizza here regularly. read more

Ava - The meat and cheese plate - Italian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

My first time going and was really excited. My date had been a few years ago and said it was amazing food but terrible service, but he was willing to try again. I can see how this would be a nice happy hour joint, especially since the prices drop substantially. First thought - hmmm, service hasn't improved. We were shown to an outside table that hadn't been bussed which was okay, but then it took too long for anyone to come clean it off. Dead and dying plants by the fireplace outside- what?! As a gardener, this was disturbing. It takes so little to have nice plant material - do it or don't do it, but don't leave your dead plants out like they add to the atmosphere. Food: too expensive, came out too quickly to have not come from a vat, and mediocre quality. Huge bill with two pasta entrees and four drinks. This could be such a great place for a dinner date- but it isn't. Pass. read more

Came for a relaxing girls' get together of drinks and dinner. Service was great, attentive, consistent supply of water and to check when we were ready for our next cocktail, and food was ready fast! Highly recommend their pizza, it was soooo good, the crust was perfectly crisp but with a little softness, and the cheese was perfect! Can't wait to come back here! read more

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I don't even know where to start. The service here is a joke, the hostess was just weird and rude, cannot even believe she has a job there. They always have attitudes and look miserable... not a cute look. Moving on, I have never once had a nice waitress/ waiter there. They also look miserable so there must be a theme/trend. Management and the owners need to teach their staff basic etiquette... or how to pretend to be a normal and respectful person. Takes about 30 minutes to get served just for the utensils to be filthy to say the least. Maybe they should look to hire a new dishwasher considering the silverware and cups are never clean, disgusting. There has to be health violations left and right. When I looked over at the kitchen they all looked pissed like they didn't want to be there...(get a new job?), specifically the two men at the pizza oven... shaking their heads in disgust and annoyance. I didn't realize how hard it was to place a mediocre pizza in a oven and take it out. If you are looking for a nice place to eat.. AVA... is not it. Another tip, if you are younger than your server, do not expect good service, they will look down on you as if your presence is not welcomed. They also get automatic gratuity, so they quite frankly do not care about how they treat you. Entitled workers are taking over this establishment, I am not even sure how this place is still in business. Will not be returning and neither should you. Disgusting, rude, dirty, unenjoyable. Do better. read more

I have been here on 3 different occasions over the past year. It is the only restaurant that ever has any open tables last minute and there is a reason why. The service is just terrible. 2 of the 3 times appetizers were forgotten. On my last visit, I had a table of 9, but they gave me a table for 8. Although there were MORE than enough table to move around, the waitress and hostess couldn't figure it out. The food is actually very good and that I would recommend. I hope they can start to get it together or train their staff on customer service. Such a great place, but until they fix it, go somewhere else. read more

First time here and wasn't sure what to expect for happy hour. Wow, amazing happy hour and service. 8inch pizza for $5 was much bigger and better than I imagined. I will def be back here. Great and cozy atmosphere. read more

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Unfortunately this restaurant did not live up to expectations. We were greeted politely and seated even though we were early. We fully expected to spend time at the bar, so pleasantly surprised. The wait staff started out very well and the young lady was attentive getting our drink order, appetizers and then meal order after the appetizers arrived. Where things fell short were during the dinner. In an upscale restaurant I really appreciate when appetizer plates and utensils are removed before the dinners arrive, but if not at least clear the table when the food arrives so the dinner plates have room to be set. Instead we ate with all the dirties. Appetizers were delicious. Scallops and bruschetta. 2 of the dinners (the salmon and the sirloin) were excellent! The chicken parmigiana was really not edible. The Sangria was also excellent!!! Given the number of restaurants in the area, I don't think I would return. Total bill with 20% gratuity was $240 for 3. read more

My daughter and friends went here to celebrate a birthday. From what they said service was so-so. It was difficult to get a basic menu item correct. For example, chicken parm had a white sauce. Specifically, my daughter is gluten free. She had initially planned on ordering steak. They suggested gf pasta. What she received was a pile of gf lasagna noodles with ricotta. Very strange. Also, their online menu didn't reflect the in-store menu. read more

Yes, only two stars and the food is actually very good. The bad is the same as the other reviewers here: they seem to skimp or ration food and serve dishes with very little "there" there. Just like other reviewers we had the experience of ordering the yummy Salume plate with two types of sliced meat, a potted pork, mustard and another spreadable meat and only two slices of bread!! Only two! When we asked for just one slice of bread to eat the spreads, we were told: No. The chef says you can buy a whole plate of bread, but you cannot have one slice. What??? This negative experience colored our meal. We let it go of course, and enjoyed our meal but afterwards when discussing our experience the stupid bread thing is what came up. Very short sighted Ava. Also, our mussel pasta dish may have had 3 to 5 mussels on a large bowl of noodles. The beet salad was beet in name only. After dinner we all thought the others ate the beets. I doubt we had but 2 pieces. At 7:20 they had run out of all fish. They must have been short on bread too because that was as rare and valuable as diamonds. Too bad. The atmosphere wonderful, the food tasty, and the service pretty good for a new restaurant, but It seems like the management is high on a new restaurant buzz, the bread-stingy chef seems arrogant and is forgetting that the novelty will soon wear off and they will need to earn repeat business. The food is good, but not exceptional in a town with great food. For the best pasta in town try La Terrazza in Ybor City. Five stars here on yelp, a fraction of the price and the cute little Italian owner will give you all the bread you want to sop up the delicious sauce. Ava management: if you read this please know that I'm rooting for you. I want you to succeed and fulfill your promise and potential. The food is yummy but you have work to do on customer experience. Mine is only one voice of many here trying to tell you the same thing. This is tough love. Diners: when you make a reservation demand extra bread or hang up. They will get the message. read more

Ava - If you squint, you can see a mussel... - Italian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

I don't use this app and hate giving bad reviews. Like food is food I'll eat most things... but man this was the worst Italian food I've ever had. One of the first times I remember like not being able to finish the plate of food because it was that bad lol. Feel like it's hard to mess up pasta but genuinely could've heated up chefboyardee and it would've been better. Was hard, plasticky, and tasted rotten and sour. Weird lol. Even the wine we ordered tasted like I could've gotten it from Publix. Maybe that part was on me but yeah, trying to save whoever reads this some money and time lol. Maybe I just got a batch of bad food not sure. But we were laughing because it was so unbelievably bad. read more

I came to Ava for brunch again this past weekend and had a disappointing experience. We were running late for our reservation so I called to let them know. Thankfully they could still seat us but would have to change our table to inside. When we arrived I asked how long the wait would be for an outside table. The hostess said she could put us at at high top on the patio which was fine for us. Once seated our server came by to take our drink orders and then a few mins later for our food orders. Our drinks came out a few mins later and so did our food. I don't mind getting the food quickly, but we were 100% being rushed. I wasn't even close to being done eating and our table was being cleared of our side plates, etc. She also brought our check while we were still eating. I completely understand if they needed the table for a reservation but that should have been disclosed before we were seated and it seemed like others around us were being rushed too. Food was decent, pizza a little burnt on the bottom. Not sure if we'll be back. We were so rushed that I looked at my watch when we left and it was less than 30 mins from when we were first seated. read more

Ava - Margherita Pizza - Italian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

3 stars is average, right? If so, that is exactly what I would give Ava. It's no better than carrabbas and double the price. The inside is well done-very rustic italian. I was surprised with the service though. I knew this wasn't fine dining like Bern's but the servers were all SO YOUNG. As in not even old enough to drink. For the price of the cocktails, I expect my server to be old enough to give me their opinion. Not reiterate what they were told in training. 2 of the drinks I ordered, they had sold out of-a beer and a wine. Ok...onto the next. I ordered a different glass of wine and it was awful. So I sent it back. I hate being "that table" but I hate paying for a drink I'm not going to enjoy even more. We ordered a margarita pizza and the cavatelli pasta with sausage. The pasta came out quick-within 5 minutes of placing the order. The menu showed 2 sizes. The server didn't ask, and we didn't specify which size we wanted. When I saw the portion I was hoping it was the small one. Nope. It was the large one. At $22, this was a rip off. There were 3 measly sausage pieces and the sauce wasn't any better than carrabbas. Now don't get me wrong. I like carrabbas and I liked this dish. But for $22 it was not worth it. Next came out our pizza. The sauce was extremely soupy and the crust was soggy in the middle. I would pass. The best part of the meal was the grilled crusty bread they served. It came was fresh ricotta instead of butter. By far the best part of our meal. Would I return? No. If I had to return, i would try their charcuterie platter, That actually looked quite good. read more

Ava - Fresh grilled bread served with ricotta - Italian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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Very stale and old bread served, which should have been a red flag already. Ordered pizza, and pizza was undercooked and flimsy. Ordered Gnocchi and gnocchi tasted like freezer burn. Ordered a pasta, and pasta was 90% sauce and 10% undercooked noodle. I feel a little sick after eating currently. LOL Now, given that covid is a b****, I totally understand the service being slower, and there's less workers, I get it. Service can be slower and whatever - but that isn't the issue here. It simply was just very awful food, not Italian at all, and should be taken more as a "bar with some little food to snack on when you're drunk" that's it. Not a restaurant to get stuffed over. read more

The absolute worst ever. Biggest rip off for bad food. We would have gotten a better meal at Olive Garden. We ordered take out, and it was so sad. The pizza came uncut, and when we did cut it, it was so greasy and soggy. When you picked up a piece, the sauce and cheese just fell off the soggy limp pizza. The tomato and mozzarella salad was basically mozzarella and three cherry tomatoes cut in half for $12. And the $22 pasta dish didn't even fill the bottom of the Togo container!! It was not even good. We definitely will not be recommending it or going back. Rip off! read more

Ava - A $22 full dinner doesn't even fill the bottom of a container. So sad. And so bad - Italian Near Me - Tampa, Florida

Went here for brunch on a Sunday. Our only option was high top seating, since they were booked with reservations which was fine... we sat at the outdoor high tops.. very cute! Disappointed in the service though. From drinks to getting our food and then trying to get the check the service was poor. The waiters had too many tables and the bar to take care of and they couldn't manage it all. The food was good. No complaints there, just took forever to get stuff. Hot sauce, ketchup, a refill it was a constant wait for everything. Good thing we weren't in a hurry read more

I should preface my four-star rating with the information that I did my homework on Yelp before dining at Ava, and I knew what to avoid and what to expect. Being a pizza lover, it pained me to steer away from their oven baked pizza creations, but I'm glad that I did. THE SERVICE: Pretty slow. I expected this from fellow yelpers' comments, so it didn't bother me too much. If I had a movie to catch, it would have been more frustrating. BUT, the servers all had smiles on their faces and were very helpful. I have no complaints as far as service goes. THE FOOD: We started with the meatballs (3.5 stars) and the mussels (4.5 stars) and both were above expectations. The meatballs were tasty but a little bit basic if you ask me. Didn't taste too much better than store-bough frozen meatballs (which I happen to like and think taste good lol). I liked them, but they didn't wow me. The garbanzo-tomato puree they were served over added a nice touch, and brought them to life a little more. I wouldn't say DON'T order them, but if you are deciding between mussels and meatballs, go with mussels. The mussels impressed us more. Very generous portion, and garlic-laced broth they were served in was the perfect dip for the grilled crusty bread that comes with the dish. We were drinking that stuff up when we ran out of mussels. Like I said before, we knew now wasn't the time to order pizza, even though the Salsiccia (fennel sausage, san marzano tomatoes, ricotta) was calling my name. We opted for the BUCATINI ALLA VACCINARA (pasta with delicious oxtail), and wood-grilled vegetables instead. I'd give the vegetables 4 stars and the bucatini 5 stars. The pasta was clearly house-made, and reminded me why I avoid pasta UNLESS it's freshly made noodles. It was delicious. I looked around and saw that many other diners opted for the bucatini as well - must be a house favorite. The $12 glass of the super tuscan didn't disappoint either. read more

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It was just okay. The ambiance is cute but everything on the menu was so overpriced. We ordered a lot of food and I kept thinking that I've had better pizza and pasta at other restaurants in Tampa area. I recommend you try something else! read more

Ava's was okay (as long as you don't mind having to shout to be heard across the table), but the #1 restaurant in Tampa, it is not. I had been waiting to try Ava. Seeing the mixed reviews, I wanted to give them a time to work out the kinks. Maybe I should have waited longer. I knew I was in trouble when I saw that they had a bunch of tables for 2 in their foyer. I saw those tables and thought "those poor suckers who have to sit right by the door in a major thoroughfare." Guess who one of those suckers was? I cannot tell you how many times my husband and I were bumped over the course of the evening. My next tip off was that the restaurant was so loud that my husband and I couldn't hear each other unless we shouted. And it was so dark that my husband had to use his cell phone to be able to read the menu. Our waitress was very nice and enthusiastic, if not the most professional. She had a lot of recommendations for us regarding the menu. She was less well-versed with the wine list, but that was okay. She was willing to run to the cellar to check on years (I have no idea why the wine list has the years for only some of their bottles). I liked my 1919 mule (although they must have run out of copper mugs; mine was served in a short glass), but my husband did not like his drink. Our wine was much better, a 2010 Cyrus that was quite reasonably priced. I was relieved that they had some California wines instead of an all-Italian wine list. We started with the salume plate. The pancetta was excellent, and I loved the pot of duck fat and pork belly (made perfect with a little spicy mustard). The liver pate was okay but would have been better served in a ramekin rather than pre-spread on the bread because the bread became soggy and was hard to share. The picked vegetables weren't as acidic as I'd like. The prosciutto was utterly forgettable. I didn't have a chance to try the other items on the platter because an enthusiastic busboy cleared it before I tried the soft sausage and the cheese. Humph. We then had the pork belly. The egg yolk wasn't quite runny, and the pork belly wasn't crispy. I liked the flavor combinations, but the dish was more potential than actual delivery. We also had the tomato and mozzarella salad. It wasn't done Caprese style. The cheese was in large cubes, and the tomatoes were halved cherry tomatoes (my pesticide-phobia hopes they were organic). It was a good dish but not especially innovative. For my main course, I had the fish of the day, a hog snapper. It was perfect. The fish was delicate, simply seasoned with sea salt, lemon and garlic. It was served over some crispy fingerling potatoes and under a simple salad of arugula. I have no complaints about that dish at all. My husband's dish was less successful. He had the pork ribs, and they were not tender at all (he had to request a knife -- they took his away with the previous dishes). I liked the acidic apple served with the pork, but the pork itself was just blah, a little under seasoned and improperly cooked. I think the food has the potential to develop into something great, but the loud atmosphere (and my bruised shoulder from the cramped seating) makes me hesitant to return. read more