Tavola Rossa

12/14/09

Karma Was Hungry Too!

by mirojuhn at Citysearch

I had dined there once before after they had first opened and had an excellent time. I walked in and was seated during a weekend with no reservations. My date and I enjoyed ourselves, and I also ordered a very expensive bottle of wine which was absolutely divine.

A couple of years later, I take my girlfriend there, only to be met by a very snobby and rude receptionist who literally turned up his nose at us when I stated we did not have reservations. There seemed to be plenty of seating there, yet the male receptionist made such a big deal about not having reservations that we never went back.

I hear that Tavola Rossa is now closed. Things like this happen when you are rude to the people responsible for your paycheck.

• Pros: The food was good
• Cons: Snobby male receptionist

09/16/09

Great Food but it took forever to get it.

by KimmieP at Citysearch

This was our first time there. We went on a Tuesday night for my birthday dinner- total of 6 in our party. We were seated promptly. We only saw 2 other couples and 1 private party there the entire night. Our server was very nice and refreshed our drinks continually during the dinner. However we were never offered in bread and after asking twice in a period of 15-20 minutes they did bring us some bread with hummus. It took 1 hour from the time we sat down until we received our food. I think that is a long time. We did not order anything complicated.. 2 people ordered fettucini alfredo and 1 child ordered cheese pizza and the other 3 ordered pasta. I personally think 30 minutes is okay to wait on food but I think 1 hour is extreme (especially when it was not busy). I would not recommend it to anyone that has small children, is in a hurry or is very hungry. I expect more from an upper scale restaurant when I spend that kind of money- I expect a better experience. It was so slow that we ended up taking our dessert home with us because we were afraid of how long it would take to actually get it. Food is excellent but the cooks need to do better or they need more help!

• Pros: Great food
• Cons: It took a really long time to get our food.

08/07/09

The Chocolate Bomb is THE Bomb!

by FoodieReviewerYo at Citysearch

My office has their Christmas party here every year. We usually have random appetizers and an open bar. The food is always unique and delicious! This past Christmas, we had duck confit and tuna tartar in what looks like a little ice cream cone. The prosciutto wrapped shrimp ($11 appetizer...JUMBO shrimp) is also a great choice! The chocolate martinis are done very well!

Daryl and I decided to eat dinner here after going the mall tonight. I had a $25 off coupon, so I figured what the heck! Daryl had the shrimp and grits (of course) - $15. He said it was good and he liked the big pieces of andouille sausage. I ordered the Grilled Veggie Plate with Fresh Fish (Grouper) - $25. The grilled veggies were awesome! It was an entire plate filled with eggplant, zucchini, squash, red, green, and yellow peppers, red onion, and tomato with balsamic drizzled on it and chunks of goat cheese. The Grouper was placed on top. The fish could use a little sprucing up with some sort of seasoning. Or maybe I should've gotten it with the salmon, but the vegetables were really good!

Their complimentary bread is like a thinly sliced toast and served with hummus. My favorite!

We decided to share a dessert...the Chocolate Bomb ($7). It was a round dessert with an Oreo Crust Bottom, a layer of chocolate mousse, a layer of peanut butter mousse, and chocolate ganache on the outside. It was the bomb diggity!! It was like a really large peanut butter cup with oreos smashed into the bottom. I would go back again and again just for their signature dessert!

The wait staff was excellent! The owner even came over to check on us to see how we were doing. It was a good dinner!

• Pros: great staff, good food, awesome desserts!
• Cons: somewhat pricey, tables too close together

01/05/09

This Restaurant is the hidden jewel of Raleigh NC

by pauljohnfox at Citysearch

Hello to the Tavola Rossa guests,

My name is John Fox. I am the Bar Mananger at Tavola Rossa Restaurante Italiano at 5300 Homewood Banks dr. Raleigh, NC. I would like to take the time to thank every single one of the regular guests who frequent our establishment. I encourage everyone who lives in Raleigh and the surrounding areas to take the time and stop into our restaurant to see what you are missing. I have personally met a lot of people who have returned time and time again to receive what has been told to me as,"outstanding food and service." I would not say this about your "run of the mill restaurant." I have worked in this business for 20 years and can honestly say i will never tire of the food on this menu. I should know, I eat here every night that i work... That is saying a lot of the quality of food that is served here.. My General Manager Russ is the most gracious person to the customer that i have ever worked for and he will bend over backwards to facilitate the needs of your dining experience. We have an extensive wine menu(and some wines that aren't on the menu). Just ask Russ or myself for a tour and or tasting. This is really the jewel that is waiting to be discovered city wide. Come see for yourself. Thank you all again for a great 2008. We hope to see you all in 2009. John Fox

• Pros: Food, srevice, and ambience
• Cons: Not enough seats in house

11/18/08

Nice place, but AUTOMATIC TIP looses it for me!

by joshua7 at Citysearch

Nice location, nice atmosphere, but I won't be back because they automatically put in their tip (at 18%, mind you). I refuse to give business to restaurants who assume tips are a right and not what tips are supposed to be. I went without water for a while -- why should the waiter exert himself to give water when his tip was automatic? I wanted coffee but couldn't find the waiter in time, and when I did, it was too late. Why lift a finger if tip is automatic?

The tragic thing is, I'm a excellent tipper and I, in most cases, would tip more (20 to 25%) than if tip is automatic.

• Pros: GREAT ambience, nice location, open & airy
• Cons: Automatic tip, food didn't taste that good