Review Tavolino Ristorante Italiano - Tucson

Since I was doing some business in Tucson, I thought I would try this place out. I sat at the bar and ordered from Brandon. Very nice guy friendly helpful. Their bread tasted fresh. I ordered the seafood pasta it it had shrimp, scallops, calamari, and there was some fish in there. I sprinkled a little red pepper to have a spicy sauce. The sauce had a nice flavor. And one of my things when I go somewhere I hope to get a really good iced tea. This tea was good as well. I asked Brandon how the tiramisu was. He said it's great we make it fresh everyday. And he was right it was excellent.

Very good lasagna and top notch house salad. Positive, chipper staff made walking in a welcoming experience and my server Brandon confidently gave some great recommendations. The space is large and welcome decorated making this a place I'd go back to if I find myself stuck in Tucson again.

I want to share with the world how wonderful Tavelino Ristorante truly is. The Sherman family recently celebrated our Mom and Dad's 70th wedding anniversary. The service was impeccable and we thank everyone involved in our celebration from the bottom of our hearts. The food was out of this world. My branzini was absolutely dreamy everyone enjoyed their gorgeous dishes, just every moment was made special by all the attentions and the spectacular food. This is the place to go if you want an intimate setting, careful and thoughtful service, and seriously the best food in Tucson that I've had in the several years that I've lived here. Everything was absolutely perfect and no stone was left unturned by the staff at every moment to ensure that our evening was spectacular, and that's it was. We are so grateful as a family for the evening we shared in celebration at Tavolino.

Food 5; Service 3. Great food; not so great service. There was a large private party in for dinner last night, and they seemed to suck up all the help. Two of the three of us ordered a glass of wine when we ordered our appetizers; one glass arrived. We had to flag down a waiter to clear dirty appetizer plates, and to bring the other glass of wine. I order a second glass of wine to have with the remainder of my dinner (all 3 dinners took quite a while to reach the table) and dessert - had to ask twice for it. At the time we ordered appetizers and dinners, we asked for a dessert menu. We had to ask again after we finished our meal. The server who introduced himself to us when we sat down, but we rarely saw him, though he did make sure that slight changes to the food we ordered (gluten-free veal) were made. I understand that many places are having a hard time finding employees. I would rather have been turned away at the door, than be annoyed by lousy service, especially when we were treating a friend to dinner. Last time we were here - a few weeks ago - we sat at the bar. Maybe that is the best location.

Just what we were searching for! Great food in generous servings, unlike so many places these days whose plates have shrunk. The ambience was pleasant and the service very attentive. They even serve our favorite uncommon Italian wine, Sagrantino di Montefalco. A delightful evening and we're definitely be back.

Our visit to Tavolino on the occasion of my wife's birthday was quite enjoyable. The restaurant wasn't very busy on the Sunday evening. Service was attentive and well paced. Our meals were good, in particular the bruschetta appetizer. Will definitely return.

In a shopping plaza. Atmosphere is nice but not intimate. Charred octopus appetizer was unbelievable. Went back next day just for this. Cauliflower soup with crispy prosciutto was also outstanding. We usually go to Vivace for Italian, which is still outstanding, but this may now be our favorite for Tucson Italian.

Fantastic service. Very helpful/attentive wait staff. Our meal was delicious, everything tasted fresh! I was pleased with the number of vegetarian friendly dishes they had available!

Highly recommend. We came here for a late lunch and we had a pleasant experience. The staff was super friendly and professional. Our food was delicious. I highly recommend the caprese appetizer. The focaccia that came with it was delicious. Our entrees were really well made and authentic and the tiramisu was also very well made. Great espresso. If you are looking for a quick dining experience, then this is not the right place. The food did take a while as well as the appetizer, but this is typical of an authentic Italian restaurant. You definitely get to experience how it would be like eating in a restaurant in Italy.

This was the best itialian restaurant I have eaten in since leaving Buffalo 5 years ago. Every dish was packed and very delicious. The wine was primo and the grappa was spot on. Both the chicken and ribs were done to perfection and the smoke flavoring was spot on. The pasta was cooked to perfection and the mushrooms were a ten on the flavor chart. I will be back.

Restaurant was very busy due to a convention and struggling to keep up. Service was good although one server refused to accommodate a special request claiming that the kitchen was very busy. Food was OK. Not outstanding. My portion of the home made pappardelli was rather small however other meals on our party were very generous. Overall a very nice atmosphere and friendly service.

We had a wonderful dinner celebrating my husband’s birthday. The patio was a perfect setting. Our waiter Alan was great. We wanted to take our time and we never felt rushed. Calamari was delicious as were the 2 salads we ordered. The short rib was amazing as was the pasta. Drinks were great. W we will be back.

Outstanding service and quality food. The pizza was fresh and well made, though not the napolitan style im used to. It was baked perfectly with fresh quality toppings put on after the pie was baked. The garbanzo bean soup with chicken, paired with chicken salad from the happy hour menu at 4pm, was well done as welll. The house made lemmonchelo was the best I have ever had, along with tiramisu which was among the best as well. The staff was quick and attentive and the atmosphere made the meal one of the most enjoyable we had in a long time. Prices were surprisingly lower than expected for such a high end experience.

Excellent meal all around. Delicious by the glass wine selection-- avorite was the Super Tuscan. Cheese plate is the chef's selection served w/ candied walnuts, traditional Italian jam and honey--2 of the cheeses were excellent, but didn't care for the authentic fontina (didn't like it when we were in northern Italy either). Focaccia was perfectly chewy with the right amount of salt. Gamberoni alla Griglia was a great combination of flavors; the mint vinaigrette added freshness to an otherwise decadent antipasti. Insalata Tricolore was a well-balanced combination of fresh greens and gorgonzola, though perhaps a tad too much fresh lemon juice in the dressing; less juice and a hint of fresh zest may have pulled it off better. Insalata di Barbabietole had tender and juicy roasted beets with the right balance of acid from the red wine vinegar. The seafood in the Cioppino ala Ligure was tender and flavorful; couldn't have been prepared better. Were disappointed to see a TV playing football in an upscale restaurant--a serious detraction from the ambiance. Service was impeccable. Overall, highly recommend.

One of the worst meals ever. I have been to Tavolino before and always thought it is one of the more unique restaurants in Tucson until last night . You had made our reservation online for 5 and we arrived about 15 minutes early. When we arrived the were about 20-30 people in the restaurant and a sea of open tables. We were told our table was being prepared and yet there were at least 3 other 5 tops scattered throughout the restaurant which were set and ready. We watched the staff clear and set "our" table , located in a very nice central location in the room. During this time 2-3 other parties arrive, some of them larger than ours and they were greeted and led to their tables nearly immediately. We were finally asked to go to our table and were lead right past the table which we had been waiting for and taken to a small round table in the "back room" in the corner , up against a wall right in front of a large tv screen which was not turned on. I stared at a red wall for the whole meal. Realize that we are all a part of a community which, at times, has been marginalized. We could have been golfing buddies on vacation but all being gay felt we were being sequestered away from the main space. It wasn't a good feeling. Our drink orders were taken. I ordered the Tavolino Lemon Drop which came in a small martini glass about half full. I think the bartender put the lemon in and forgot the vodka. I mentioned it to the waiter and he told me he wasn't responsible for the Way drinks were poured. We ordered our food. 2 in our party ordered the salad and found it nearly inedible as the taste of vinegar over powered the dressing. Our main courses appeared. One had ordered pasta and the pasta was under cooked and had the hard ends. My pasta funghi was a mess of mushrooms and pasta hidden in a brown mass with little taste. Others ordered the lasagna and enjoyed although they all mentioned that it a had a bitter flavor. No one finished their meal and we all declined to have anything boxed. The best part of the meal was leaving and getting gelato at a nearby store. It helped us to lighten the mood and feel more mainstreamed. Sadly, we won't return or recommend Tavolino to any friends.

The restaurant itself has very elegant and romantic ambience yet comfortable enough to bring the whole family it's very inviting very exquisite. I think I will keep this our Italian restaurant to go to.The food is to die for, very well seasoned and cooked to perfection, they pay very close attention to keep their recipes, presentation and taste Italian, they bring a bit of Italy to Arizona, and the service was wonderful, very warm and attentive very exquisite place to dine. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone. We will continue to visit and dine here.

Some of the best happy hour out here! Some of the best food and craft cocktails out in Tucson for such a great deal. I love how the manager, Karla came by and talked to all of the guests to make sure everyone was happy with their experience. Will definitely make this place one of my regular go to spots for authentic Italian food.

Haven't been in years but decided to give it another try. The food was much better than the last visit and the decor is still very nice. My wife had the Tilapia special and I had the menu salmon. Great variety of wine by the glass. I'm not sure if they wanted my table for two for something but both the support staff and server were on a mission to get us moving. It was done politely, but I really felt like some reservation mixup happened and some VIP wanted to sit at our table. Very odd.