A Tavola - Winchester

My wife and I visited A Tavola for the first time tonight for our anniversary dinner. It was fantastic. The atmosphere was romantic, inviting and comfortable while still family-friendly. I could see myself coming here with friends, too. After just one bite of the bread I knew that the food was going to be great – and it certainly was. There was care put into the details like the beautifully thin slices of mortadella on our antipasti board, or the amount of torch on the s'mores dessert. The ragu bolognese and tortellini both hit all the right notes as well. This will sound like a ridiculous exaggeration, but I literally teared up at some point before our mains came out. I grew up in an Italian-American family, and the smells, tastes and textures brought back intense memories like going to buy fresh bread with my grandfather and eating homemade Sunday meals. You won't need a childhood like mine to enjoy A Tavola, but please trust me when I say that this is Italian food done right and at a more than reasonable prices. Bravi to the chef and the whole team. I'm looking forward to dining in again soon.

10 stars out of 5! This was the first place that my husband and I ate at mid pandemic, after recently moving to Winchester. And it was such a great experience that we've never stopped going back no really, we're there at least once a week. It's got a small, family vibe with staff and food quality that rival much bigger, fancier joints with higher price points. Fresh ingredients, thoughtful and creative menu planning, family friendly, reasonable prices, options for those with food allergies, engaging cooks and servers that know us like family and all of this right in downtown Winchester! They also host amazing wine dinners where you get the chance to sample a range of lovely beverages that aren't easily found in liquor stores, and have done a fantastic job catering for our family holiday meals and parties. We honestly never expected to find a place like this in the Boston area, it's a true gem and a source of community, and we take all our friends there. Dietary restrictions: I have a dairy allergy and A Tavola has never poisoned me! They treat food allergies and intolerances very seriously, starting from making the reservation through the entire experience of checking in, ordering, serving, and eating. You can sit at the bar I mean the chef's counter! and literally see everything that's going on. And they cook food exactly the way I would at my own home obviously much higher quality, because I'm a horrible cook but with the right techniques to keep it dairy free. Moreover, they've innovated dishes so that I don't have to miss out on all the good stuff. I'm used to avoiding dessert when I eat out, because it inevitably has milk, cream or butter but A Tavola has a couple of amazing options that are completely dairy free and also delicious. Parking: Lol it's Winchester, so you really don't need to worry about parking. We have never once had trouble finding free street parking within a 1 minute walk of A Tavola. Kid friendliness: We have kiddos with special needs, and we rarely take them out to eat except for A Tavola, where we go frequently. The staff couldn't be more friendly and accommodating and our children LOVE their pasta. Win win for us, because we love the adult food and beverages ; Just had our 5 year old's birthday dinner there.

Can't speak highly enough of Chef Joe, David, Rachel, Andrew, and the entire staff at A Tavola. We've lived in town for several years and it became our favorite spot quite quickly. That's not just because the delicious, innovative, and seasonally fresh menu. The entire crew goes above and beyond to make you feel like family whether you're sitting at the counter on a casual weekday or having a date night. They never miss and we are so stoked to see them grow into the new space!

My View: Never, ever order take out from this restaurant. Antipasta terrible. Not provided with bread. Restaurant solution: offer to take bread off ticket. My solution. Reduce amount of charge by 20% tip and lose my patronage. The octopus was tough. I am throwing away the antipasta since no bread provided to properly enjoy. Service and quality of food have gone downhill in last year…….. as for atmosphere, tables were about 25% full when there 5/3/24 which may reflect declining service from full house formerly found there. This once was a great family restaurant.

Nice little place. Good Italian food, great service. More tables than space. A little pricey. Parking: Metered parking out front, with a larger free lot around back maybe 125 yards away. From the lot, there's a backdoor entrance but it's no longer used.