Really impressed with Tavola in Leamington Spa. The decor is stylish and welcoming, and the atmosphere had a great vibe. Food was excellent — fresh, well-cooked, and full of flavour.
Service was spot on too. We were looked after by Anoop, who was friendly and attentive.
Definitely recommend if you’re after good Italian food in a relaxed setting. Will definitely be going back!
Laughably bad food. I’m not sure how it’s possible to overcook every dish and for it to be served lukewarm in a basically empty restaurant. The restaurant was like eating in a sauna, and none of the windows opened. We asked where the coolest place to sit would be, and were told to sit anywhere.
Photographed here is a very dry overcooked piece of duck, served with mush asparagus and tinned orange pieces. This was originally my friends dish, but we swapped to see if he could stomach the carbonara I ordered (worse than a ready meal, stodgy and sticky with little to no flavour… I love carbonara and thought it would be a safe bet. It was not). He took a few bites and quickly decided it was equally as inedible as the duck. The steak ordered was a £27 sirloin served with salad. It was thinner than a minute steak (about half a centimeter thick, and not medium rare as asked - another overcooked dish)! We immediately sent this dish back and knew the rest of the mains were probably going to be as tragic. The truffle fries were abysmal. £9 too, and I have had better for less in Leamington. We couldn’t eat them. Service was friendly but unusual. Only one person in our group finished his 2 tablespoon portion of tomato pasta (£16), he said it had very little flavour but he was too hungry and just decided to get on with it.
I’d love to show you the state of the carbonara, but it was so ashamed of itself it seems to have deleted itself from my phone.
We swapped the steak for some bread and some carpaccio. The carpaccio dish was very weird. Rolls of half cooked beef, both warm and cold at the same time (not a quality we would expect) and this didn’t get finished either.
The chef sent out 2 desserts as an apology, however we still had all of the uneaten dishes sitting on our table, presenting like some sort of food graveyard with the four of us in mourning. So now we had two extra plates of food added, one a tiramisu which I have easily made better at home with very little effort, and a panacotta that had too much gelatine in, and was not complimented by a raspberry coulis but something that tasted IDENTICAL to that raspberry mr whippy sauce!!!
Our first warning should have been the warm bottle of rose we ordered, that wasn’t poured for us and just plopped on the table. The wine was nice, but for £37 i would have expected it to have been in the fridge, especially since the restaurant was not busy on a Friday night, and there were enough staff. Our mains took about an hour to come out, and before they arrived we heard a nearby table grumble about their mussels pasta dish. We were not the only unhappy table that night.
Starters were fine, although the cheese and meats for the sharing board weren’t something that needed any culinary skill to prepare.
Although I appreciate the servers trying to make our night better, it was just abysmal. We had fun with our friends but unfortunately that’s because the food was laughably bad. We did not pay full price for what we had ordered, but we still walked away hungry and with a bill of £133. What we received wasn’t worth anywhere near that, let alone if we had paid for our mains.
The chef knows something is wrong, and the staff do too. Whoever owns this place really needs to take a look at what’s going on here. 4.5 stars on google must be an inside job, you’ll get a more satisfying meal at mc Donald’s.
Worst food in Leamington. Avoid at all costs.
I’m sorry to have to leave this review, but it’s genuinely really really awful and I regret giving this place a go when there are so many fabulous restaurants in Leamington. It takes a lot for me to leave a review (good or bad) and I’ve been thinking about how bad it was every day since I visited.
Short menu but good variety including meat, fish and vegetarian options.
Tom our waiter was knowledgeable and attentive to our needs, making us feel he appreciated our business.
There are lots and lots of places to eat out in Leomington Spa, but if you love Italian 🇮🇹 food, then this place is worthy of a visit.
Amazing and warm service from Luke & Dan and the food was scrumptious. I've been in two minds about leaving a review as I want to gatekeep this little gem of a restaurant! I won't be selfish, I want everyone to enjoy beautiful food and Tavola definitely delivers tasty food that is to die for.
Nothing was too much, they were so accommodating and all done with a huge smile. This will definitely be my spot and I can't wait to try the rest of the dishes.
Thank you guys for our awesome breakfast on Saturday morning. We will be your regulars for sure.
We were disappointed with our dinner at Tavola.
Unfortunately, the pasta was way overcooked in all dishes. It was several minutes past al dente.
The sauces were okay, but nothing special in terms of flavour.
The platter we got for starters was nice, with the exception of the focaccia with was stale.
The service was slow-ish, normally forgivable but our experience was unpleasant overall.
I would not recommend this restaurant based on my experience.