We came here for some drinks and appetizers before we hit the bars for a bachelorette party. Our waiter was very nice and attentive. We ordered the fritto misto and risotto mozzarella sticks with pesto (I can't remember the name) but both appetizers were really good and everyone enjoyed their drinks. Overall, a nice place to hang out outside. read more

Food was okay, but other than buying brunch the prices are pretty expensive. One of thr girls in my party got ravoli and the portions was extremly small especially with the $17.00 price tag. I ordered the eggs benedict with crab meat, it def was not fresh so again it was okay. The other people in my party got the hash ans that was decent. Overall i probably would only come back for the two dolloar mimosas and peach belinis for brunch but the food was nothing special. read more

Chance stop in for late afternoon lunch, gnocchi is so so so amazing!!! Focaccia served is to die for too just ask for the oil and balsamic separate before they bring it, it will work better trust me. Having dessert special expect it will not disappoint either. read more

Seriously top notch brunch! $2 bellini's and mimosa's were delicious, food on point and our waitress was phenomenal. The Taverna Hash was so good, brisket was excellent. Hubby got the Calzone and it was even better than calzones I've had in Italy! Of course Eggs Benedict you can't go wrong. Will definitely be back to try dinner at this place. Grazie! read more

Went in while in town with my daughter. Food, service and wine were impeccable. Great food at reasonable prices!

I love Taverna Happy Hour! Carpaccio, foccacia, pizza and red wine, oh my! Their service is great, it's nowhere near as busy as brunch or dinner, and the great food is so inexpensive but still super high quality. This is one of my favorite places to relax for happy hour in Austin. read more

I've only been here for Sunday brunch, but it was amazing! $1 mimosas and bellinis! I had the vanilla french toast with a side of bacon and it was amazing!!! The service was great, the atmosphere was relaxed and the food was amazing. And it was all very reasonably priced for the quality! Can't wait to try it for dinner! read more

We went here with a group of six and didn't have any issues getting in and sitting down. The service was good and the food was tasty. I'd go back. It was a welcome break from the normal Austin cuisine. I really enjoyed the patio atmosphere and warm weather. read more

the pizza was good, but i would die for the bread they serve when we first arrived. if i knew that it was that good, i would just order water. read more

My guy and I went to Taverna for brunch yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! We were there by 9:30 or so and the place was quiet. By the time we left (around 10:15), the brunch boozers were finding their way in so we're glad we had our peaceful and pleasant meal when we did. He's a teetotaler and I drink maybe two wine coolers a year, LOL. So, brunch...L had the make-your-own omelet and said it was very tasty, lots of eggs and goodies inside. He said it wasn't as fluffy as Waffle House, but you're not going to beat WH on that score! I had the hash with roast pork--minus the poached eggs--and it was incredible! Tons of meat, potatoes, and other veggies; tender and juicy; YUM. It's sometimes a challenge for us to find good brunch places with the eggy stuff he likes and the anything-but-eggs stuff I like, but Taverna was a winner. read more

I like Taverna because it's so close to my house. But the service, atmosphere, and food would be enough to bring me there even if I didn't live close. The food is tasty, and the servers are always nice and considerate. read more

I went here with a group of friends for dinner and wasn't impressed for the price. The food was decent, but not worth the price tag. I've been to several places lately where the atmosphere and ambiance is of a higher quality but the food just doesn't live up to my expectations or the price tag. Maybe I'm on a bad streak or maybe I'm a food snob now. Either way I give it a so-so as I pay for food first, atmosphere second. read more

We went here to have a special dinner and chose it, in part, because we read that they had a gluten free menu. The food was pretty good although not amazing. We got two risotto dishes. One with truffle oil and one with chicken and balsamic. The chicken one was quite good, but the other wasn't so hot. Also, these were quite small and didn't fill us up for long, yet we paid as much as one would expect for a full dinner at a nice place. read more

Taverna makes my list of favorite places to eat in downtown Austin. I think I have had almost everything on the menu and they have never let me down. I usually wait to hear the specials and like to try something new. The service is always great and I recommend asking for Matt. We enjoy the Happy Hour and try to make it a weekly tradition. It is also a great spot for Sunday Brunch. The wait can be long, but nothing a $1 Mimosa can't solve!! So far my favorite is their Risotto and Pizza (all of them). They use quality ingredients and portion sizes are perfect. I take every out of town guest for at least 1 meal at Taverna. read more

As I am writing this, I wonder if they even deserve a 3-star rating. I've eaten at a lot of Italian restaurants, in Austin, in the US, and elsewhere... and Taverna is seriously ho-hum, average fare. Their pizzas while trying to be thin crust, are overly cheesy. And the gnocchi I had today was so chewy, I almost wanted to send the food back and say, get me something else. I've eaten there several times and it's just like a chain Italian restaurant. The only redeeming factor is their service level and their outside seating on a nice Austin day. read more

From Phoenix visiting... This place didn't have the curb appeal I was looking for but the food was excellent and service was on it! Highly recommend.. Especially enjoyed the outside seating with all the Formula One fans... Then walk across the street into Austin City Limits for amazing night of music and beautiful Texas locals! read more

Went out for a late brunch on a friday. Wandered around and was looking for someplace with an outdoor cafe that had some decent and healthy style food. I ran across this place, looked at the menu, and saw that they had salad and salmon. Bingo! I asked my server (Marco-very professional and knowledgable) if the salmon was Pacific or Atlantic and he told me that it was Scottish and it was sustainable (kudos and multiple points). I ordered that it was truly delicious on top of the mediterranean salad with a vinaigrette. I was blown away. The service was great, and the food was top notch. I truly enjoyed my food experience. Thanks, Marcos and thanks, Taverna! Tim Larkin (from San Francisco, Ca) read more

Love their salmon entree with mango salsa. Surprisingly the pairing is very tasty. Go here for girls nights and brunch. Brunch is by far best meal with frittatas and $1 mimosas. read more

Have been to Taverna twice now for brunch and absolutely love it! My first time I had the Eggs Benedict with crab...yum! The sauce it just perfect. Today I had the Brisket Hash and whoa! The eggs mixed with the pepper and of course the brisket was so filling and full of great flavor. I will definitely be getting that dish again. I gave it 4 stars because I have never had dinner or lunch there but I can only imagine it being just as good. The atmosphere is great for a group or even a nice couple brunch. Staff always friendly and fast. read more

Good food and good service. Get there early on a Sunday. They filled up quickly. 2.00 mimosas or Bellini. I had the Risotto with seafood. Awesome. read more

Food was way overpriced for what we got. Small portions and a cramped space did not add to the experience. Risotto was good but meatballs were salty. Don't think I would return until I hit lotto. read more

For me not being picky, they get 3.5 stars. For my friends, they would've given them...1 star? I think this place is a little overrated, hence the long wait which becomes a negative when you just want some simple brunch. I could've made some of the food myself at home. In short and all honesty, this is how it goes down. TIME- We literally spent around 3 hours at the restaurant with the wait, wait for food, and check. For my friends that wanted to leave early, that was unexpected. FOOD - I even tried the recommended food on yelp and it wasn't all that great. It came out cold. I'm sure they were busy, but that's no excuse. And that makes their food not worth the price. They do get credit for their bombdiggity sauces for some of the dishes. Well seasoned and tasteful!! DESSERT - Tiramisu was a little soggy for my taste. But pretty uniquely good. PRICE - Overpriced for the quality of food I ate. DRINKS - Brunch special mimosas and belinnis $1.84. I guess that's a plus. SERVICE - I thought the server was ok. But due to her just doing her job barely and not top notch, my friends didn't like it that much. However at the end, I didn't like the fact that she didn't give us our change until we asked. I mean we were going to tip her that much but it is just rude to not give it back and just assume that we were going to give her that. read more

I really like Taverna. My go to is the Scallop Risotto, but the Gorgonzola Pear Pasta is great too. The offer a gluten free flat bread which is really yummy! The only reason I give it 3 instead of 4 stars is that the last two times I've eaten there I ended up with a gross stomach ache... it may or may not have been the food, but whatever, it's so good it's worth a few cramps. read more

The risotto is awesome!! I'm not sure where any review can compare to Olive Garden, that's hilarious!! Mustn't eat out much!

Just had a wonderful Father's Day dinner & Glenn took great care of us. Lobster risotto and gnocchi with short ribs was excellent!!

The only good thing about this place was the nice server. The food was dry and not very good. The desserts seemed to be pre-packaged. Definitely will not return. read more

I went here for brunch with my friend today and it was great! We both got the Vanilla bean french toast with mascarpone and fruit. It was delicious! Great experience! Would definitely suggest this place. The atmosphere is nice too! read more

Leila is an amazing hostess, her customer service is exceptional, I would definitely come again. First timer and definitely not the last! Thanks Leila! read more

Excellent service. Great bread. Pizza ok. Over priced for quality basic stuff nothing special

The $1 mimosas and belinis is enough for me to return when I go back to Austin. The breakfast potatoes were to die for. I can't remember the name of the dish I had but it was two pan fried eggs with garlic toast, 2 breakfast sausages, and breakfast potatoes. I added spinach and fontina cheese to my eggs for a different flavor. I was very happy with my order. read more

Stumbled here before attending an ACL show 6/10/11 at Moody Theater. Foccacia bread slams, cesar salad is very good as well with fresh sliced parmesan cheese. I forgot what I had eaten was called but it was out of this world! Pasta stuffed with cheese and pear in a cream sauce. You must try this for sure. I saw 1/2 price bottles of wine on tuesdays so I may be back soon. read more

i moved to Austin 3 months ago...and this is the best Italian food in the city. my parents were in town visiting and my wife and I took them there. Everything was amazing including our waiter who made some great suggestions and each one was a great choice. Here is the meal we had App: it was a ostrich special, house cured smoked ostrich on wrapped with boratta cheese in the middle. It was really good Dinners: I had the pasta special which was linguini in a vodka sauce with lobster meat and shrimp, tasted amazing Wife had the sea bass that was cooked perfectly parents had the pasta with meat sauce which was simple but tasty and the fish special that tasted great as well. ended it all with Tariamsu which had choc chips in it, great touch. wine selection was great as well.. read more

Visited Taverna for the first time on a Thursday night prior to seeing a show at the Moody theater. I was with work colleagues from out of town, and they were footing the bill. The atmosphere and service were fine. Our waiter was friendly and competent, and he made sure that we were fed and paid up in a timely manner. Now about the food. Austin still has a shortage of quality Italian restaurants, so I was interested to see what Taverna had to offer. I was disappointed that there wasn't a larger selection of salads, and the antipasti offerings weren't very compelling. We ended up with the fritto misto, and it fell way short on calamari, which was disappointing. The vegetables were unidentifiable strips of carrots, etc. Not a food crime, but it could have been a LOT better. For the main offerings, I knew I was getting risotto, but I was prepared to be swayed by the pasta dishes. Something just seemed "off" about the descriptions and combinations. I was suspicious that they could really deliver on some of them, and based on previous reviews, I think my instincts were correct. Good Italian food involves a lot of fresh, seasonal, high quality ingredients and if they really existed in Taverna, they would be represented in a larger salad offering. My risotto was delicious, but in a "macaroni and cheese" kind of way. Risotto is supposed to be creamy and rich, but not heavy. Taverna's version was heavy. The only real crimes that Taverna committed on my visit were the prices (way too high relative to the quality of the food) and the FOCACCIA. What they served as focaccia was basically a thin crust pizza sprinked with parmesan. I was just....stunned. I'm from Boston, our colleagues were from Santa Barbara and while we were all too polite to say anything at the time, we had a good laugh about it afterwards. My search for quality Italian food in Austin continues... read more

Great food. They have a lot of good seafood choices. Awesome desert. Menu titles are in italian, but the waiters understand you better if you just say the english equivalent. I've been twice. Very friendly waiter staff one of those times. Price is high, and will keep me from visiting again for a long time. read more

The food as well as the service was incredible. We had dinner on a Tuesday night and took advantage of their half-price bottles of wine to enjoy a bottle of J. Lohr Cabernet Sauvignon with our meal. I had the Risotto all'Aceto Balsamico con Pollo which was simply amazing and the Butternut Squash Cappellacci was equally enjoyable. Complimentary Focaccia and very knowledgeable and attentive wait staff made it a great bookend to a long holiday weekend. I have yet to try the brunch or lunch but will definitely recommend this place for dinner. read more

I went for my birthday with my family and the food was amazing but like other people have noticed the service was lacking. Service was very slow and the waitress did not even pick up glasses after refilling a diet coke. This was my first time here for dinner (I normally do brunch) but was pleased with the food. I will go back again even though the service was poor. read more

I've been to Taverna twice - the first time for dinner, and the second time for lunch. I have to say that my first experience was better than my second, which shows me that this restaurant isn't top notch in consistency. Regardless, I'll talk about both experiences. When I went to Taverna for dinner, it was at around 10:00 p.m., and the place wasn't too full, which meant that I was seated immediately. I wish the waiter was a bit friendlier, but perhaps that's nitpicking on my part. I ordered the Fritto Misto as my appetizer, and the Risotto all'Aceto Balsamico con Pollo as my entree. I'll describe both dishes below. The Fritto Misto - a seafood basket of fried calamari, shrimp, shallots, zucchini, and carrots. They were lovely. The zucchini and carrots were lightly fried, and both the shrimp and calamari had nice breading. The taste was delicious. My only complaint is that there were more vegetables than seafood in the appetizer, and I'm looking for more of the seafood. The Risotto all'Aceto Balsamico con Pollo - Balsamic Risotto with Chicken Rollatine. The risotto was cooked beautifully, and the texture was just right. However, the balsamic didn't work for me, because it was overpowering the natural taste of the chicken. The chicken was cooked very nicely, and had very good flavor. I would recommend slightly lowering the use of balsamic. The second time I went to Taverna was for lunch. I thought they had a lunch menu with cheaper prices, but apparently Taverna changed that. Everything on the lunch menu is now priced at dinner-level. Be careful of that, and don't get fooled. I ordered the Scampi al Forno con Polenta as my appetizer, and the Risotto ai Frutti di Mare as my entree. I waited for about 15 minutes for my appetizer, and a whopping 30 minutes for my entree. It took much too long for me. Scampi al Frono con Polenta - parmesan crusted shrimp with spicy lemon butter on top of crispy polenta. I thought that they combination of shrimp and polenta was genius. I loved the taste of the polenta, where the grainy texture of the cornbread goes so well with the crunchiness of the shrimp crust. The shrimp was slightly overcooked though. Risotto ai Frutti di Mare - Saffron Risotto with Mixed Seafood. I thought this one was going to be a huge hit. Once again, the rice was cooked wonderfully, and was definitely al dente. I love how Taverna nails the rice all the time. However, the seafood was a huge disappointment. The mussels were on the rancid side, and so were the clams. I enjoyed the squid more than I enjoyed the mussels and clams. It was disappointing, because here we have a mix of amazing rice with disappointing seafood. It killed the dish for me. All in all, Taverna is a not a bad Italian place to go to. I wish they would be more consistent in their food, and better with their service. For the prices I pay, I'm expecting more than that. read more

I love the neighborhood that Taverna is in, after too many days spent on 6th, this place was a welcome relief. Stopped here for brunch on Labor Day, we were happy to see that they would have brunch and brunch drink specials for the holiday. $1 bellinis and mimosas, sign me up! While it is an italian restaurant they seem to have quite the variety of food, I ordered the chorizo/manchego omelet which came with potatoes and toast even though the menu doesn't say it does. Everything was really good! It was really busy with the holiday, but we were seated right away and didn't have to wait too long for service. There were a few times when our server went MIA and getting a refill on water was difficult, but overall it was a good experience! read more

I would give this place 5 stars, except for the mediocre service! The waitress was inattentive, slow to get us our check, just not up to standard with the yummy food. I ordered the risotto with truffle oil and parmesan, oh my, it is delicious! Highly recommend it, one of my table mates ordered the risotto special which she said had a little too much saffron, but otherwise was good. So all in all, I would try it again, hope for better service next time, as the food is worth the trip there. read more

Had my little sister's 21st birthday dinner here and it was perfect. A large table was seated right before us so we had to wait a bit for our waitress to come to our table, but she was very sweet & apologetic and paid us lots of attention after that. My husband and I are gluten-free and they had an AMAZING gluten-free menu, which was completely unexpected. Great atmosphere and great food - the risotto was fantastic. Definitely worth a return visit! read more