Technically, I'd give this 4.5. We found this lovely location after being turned away from two other establishments that were booked due to special events (those places really should post it on their websites). We walked in and were seated almost immediately. We arrived on the early side and I'm glad we did because the place filled up about the time they took our order. Our server was fabulous and answered our questions. My dining partner started with a drink that she said was fantastic. She ordered the Pink Peach, which is Absolut Peach, Moscato, and Cranberry Juice. It was quite pretty. We shared an appetizer. The Carpaccio di Manzo, priced at $17, is described as rich and peppery arugula tossed in a zesty lemon vinaigrette served over thinly sliced raw Filet Mignon and finished with slices of Parmigiano Reggiano. It was excellent. The beef was fall-apart tender, the citrus of the vinaigrette tamed the arugula, and the salty parm-reg was the perfect foil for all of it. It was one of those plated you'd like to lick if nobody was looking. She was in the mood for traditional pasta with red sauce. They didn't have exactly what she wanted on the menu, but the server listened to what she wanted and made sure it was what she received. She ended up with a spaghetti type pasta in a pomodoro sauce. It looked very good. I ordered the Linguini Taleggio, priced at $25, which is described as homemade linguini in a bold Taleggio cheese sauce with freshly ground truffles finished with cured speck & piop(p)ini mushrooms. It was amazing. If you like pasta in a cream sauce and you like mushrooms, this is for you. The linguini was perfect, the cheese sauce was flavorful, and there was just enough speck to add a twist. I would have liked a little more speck and mushrooms, to look a little more like the menu photo, but it was really really good. Another lick the plate if nobody is looking dish. The only thing that I felt lacked a zing was the cannoli at $10. They describe it as handmade pizzelle cookies molded into cannoli shells stuffed with a ricotta cream filling, pistachio, almond & dried fruit. I assumed (incorrectly) that the pizzelles would be anise flavored, but they were plain (or vanilla at the most). The filling was good but lacked more than a few bits of nuts and fruits. If it had more of the nuts and fruit, I would have liked this dish a lot. Unfortunately, due to the pizzelle being bland and the cream alone being bland, this dish was just plain boring. If the pizzelles were anise (or even chocolate or orange or anything else) and the filling was heavy with those nuts and fruits . . . it would seriously be amazing. The server was great. The owner stopped by to talk to us. It was a great experience. Two thumbs up. read more

I was in the mood for something hearty so I can here with my friend. It's right in the heart of little Italy, and it has great reviews so it was an obvious choice. We had a reservation but the place was practically empty so if you go during non peak hours, you'll be fine without RSVP. Now onto the food! I got the squid ink pasta with seafood and my friend got the lasagna. He said the lasagna was 8/10. It was very tasty and he cleaned his plate out. My pasta was mid. I love squid ink so I was a bit disappointed. It's not terrible but nothing spectacular either. Right in the middle. I didn't finish my meal. Our very nice waitress let us know that for pasta dishes, we can request them to be half size. This is definitely good to know. Not sure if I'll come back, but you never know. read more

La Tavola - Lasagna Bolognese - Italian Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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Food was not impressive, not at all in line with the many highly complimentary reviews.

Great experience, server was very kind, food was ok, I didn't love the sauce for the crab pasta. It was very al dente which I love. Burratta salad again was ok read more

La Tavola - Squid ink crab pasta (for al dente lovers!) - Italian Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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In-house pasta, count me in! Plus the new owner is introducing Sardinian dishes to the standards. Tonight we tried Culorgiones, dumplings of pasta stuffed with potatoes flavored faintly with mint. On top was a luscious short rib ragu. Dessert was dolce de leche mousse with a crunchie cookie crumble topping, delish. I love eating out at places with such invention and personalilty! read more

These dishes were different from what I expected... read more

La Tavola - Insalatona - Italian Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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This is a nice Italian restaurant in Baltimore for us. They're told me about chefs story and all pasta here is homemade and Yes!! It's amazing. All about service here is an amazing!! We sit on second floor and have a female staff service are table. She is amazing and tell me everything every single dishes on menu. I do ordered black pasta with crabs and some salad with lemon drop, that is very strong drink and yes I mead it done. Lol read more

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Great Italian restaurant in little Italy, perfect for a date night. I got a glass of wine to drink, but they do offer half off bottles of wine on Wednesdays! We started with a Caesar salad and the Frito Misto appetizer. They don't offer a side caesar salad, but the appetizer portion is great for sharing with the table. The frito misto was really good. I love that they make fresh bread and homemade pasta here. I ordered the lasagna bolognese for my meal and it was some of the best lasagna I've had. read more

La Tavola - Lasagna Bolognese - Italian Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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Wow! I wasn't there for Valentine's Day dinner and just wow. There wasn't a single thing on the many things we got I didn't love! The server was definitely slow but the food and drink we got made up for it. If you go I would 100% recommend getting the berries and cream drink for dessert (alcohol). I didn't see it on the menu but just wow that was beyond amazing!!!!!!!! read more

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I have been here several times over the years when visiting Baltimore for work, but I realized after my most recent trip that I had never written a review. La Tavola has always been friendly. You can typically just walk in for a table, and the front of house and servers are generally very nice. Pick a classic Italian dish, and you won't go wrong. The blank linguine with crab is especially good. General tip: street parking can be a bit tight around here, but there are affordable paid lots if you cannot squeeze into a street spot. read more

A room with a bunch of tables and a small bar area. Server was nice. Food was served fast. Started with a basic white bread which was fresh and a little dish of unimpressive olive oil for dipping. I had the linguini Alla Scoglio which looked beautiful (forgot to take a picture) but the seafood was overcooked and disappointing. read more

Came with friends around 5pm on a Wednesday night. Free, 3 hour parking out front. The bartenders were really great. The food here was pretty delicious. The lasagna was spectacular. Apparently, the chef actually goes out and fishes for his own seafood for the restaurant. read more

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Food was good, fresh, and homemade. I think my server was pretty decent. As well as decent to average atmosphere. I liked that the food was fresh but priced a little higher than preferred. I think there are definitely places I've enjoyed more. read more

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I took a day trip to Baltimore from DC and we decided to try this Italian place, because my partner wanted to eat some pasta~ I really wanted to like this place, because the service and the owner were incredible! However, focusing on the food, it was pretty average. We ordered the Frito Misto and the Gnocchi with Mushroom Sauce (switched out the tomato sauce). The Frito Misto is a calamari and shrimp appetizer with an assortment of vegetables. My favorite part of this dish was the zucchini, they were very crispy and I love a vegetable that you can't really tell is a vegetable~ For my dish, I had to try their homemade gnocchi, because I'm addicted to gnocchi... I switched out the tomato sauce for a mushroom sauce (so maybe it was my fault), but it was not that great... I did not really enjoy the taste of the gnocchi, it was somewhat flavorless which I know gnocchi is typically, but I've just had way better gnocchi in my life with some flavor... The owner was so incredibly nice though, he offered us a taste of their house made limoncello and made sure our table and every other table was well taken care of. You could really tell that he loves what he does. (The free shot of limoncello was soooooo strong! I took one sip and I had to stop... The Everclear just felt/tasted like rubbing alcohol.) read more

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Hey, no kidding, the best gnocchi and sauce I ever had, this is my signature dish and this restaurant bested me. If I lived in this street I'd eat here every day. read more

La Tavola - Gnocchi and pomodoro sauce. - Italian Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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Wonderful experience and great food. Was easily able to accommodate gluten free diner in our party. Server was very good. Attentive and knowledgeable about the menu. Food items were enjoyed greatly. read more

Stopped by Little Italy for a little snack and found this amazing restaurant on the journey! Everything we ordered was great and the quality of food was high! I would definitely recommend coming by and trying this place! read more

La Tavola - Ravioli alla Crema - Italian Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

In-laws took us here for lunch the Saturday over Thanksgiving weekend and it was phenomenal. First, staff were super nice and friendly. An older gentleman, who I think may have been the owner, gave us an excellent recommendation for our 2nd bottle of wine (yes, we had two). It was amazing. Second, the food was so good. And this is coming from someone who grew up eating the best Italian food in Brooklyn. To start, we split the Burrata, Carpaccio, and Italian Antipasto. Everything was fantastic and an excellent size for sharing. For mains, I had their special of the day, which was a short rib ragu pappardelle. There was so much ragu on the plate, so much short rib. Pasta was perfectly al dente. X had a truffle cream sauce, which, if I had to be honest, was even better than my short rib ragu. Dessert for me was an affogato and X split the tiramisu with my sister. Amazing. Everything we had was phenomenal and I have zero complaints. read more

Enjoyed a really nice dinner here. I had their lasagna which was very good and I'd recommend. We started with a fried calamari/veg appetizer that had us asking why we don't eat fried zucchini more often?! My partner had a fantastic seafood pasta dish that was flavorful and the noticeably fresh, handmade pasta was a bonus. Wow! Finished off with a yummy tiramisu and cappuccino. 4 thumbs up from us! read more

La Tavola - Italian Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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I ordered the spaghetti neri. My dish was nothing like the photos shown on the website. Instead of lumped crabmeat with tomato and spinach as shown in photos, my dish was a pile of the spaghetti with a lot of shredded crabmeat thrown in and a few bits of tomato and spinach tossed in as well. It was just blah. Service was okay but our server did not check back on us after the food was delivered to the table. read more

we were celebrating my friends birthday so decided to try La Tavola. we ordered bruschetta, mozzarella and tomatoes and for main we ordered gnocchi and eggplant. the mozzarella and tomatoes were decent, the bread and mozzarella for the bruschetta were good and the sauce for both the eggplant and gnocchi was disappointing as it had no flavor. we did ordered drinks and those were good so overall good drinks and decent appetizers read more

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We had an excellent meal, the staff was exceptional! We had a great environment for conversation without having to talk over the patrons. Highly recommend La Tavola. read more

This place is a solid go-to. We've eaten here every few months and always a delicious meal. The specials rotate daily so you're always bound to find a new dish! We recently ate here on Sunday and ordered drinks, bruschetta, and the steamed rockfish with seafood and the Taleggio pasta. All around great service although we did wait a little while for water. Recommend! read more

Wonderful - now our favorite restaurant in Little Italy. Rita was excellent and liked how the chef made the rounds to each table. Only recommendation is to dim the lights. read more

La Tavola - Spaghetti with crab and spinach- excellent - Italian Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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A roller coaster of an experience! I went early, it wasn't super busy but a big group was wrapping up. The menus were wrinkled, need to be replaced or put in a holder where they don't get so damaged. I was asked if I wanted a drink after 10 minutes. It took over 20 minutes before anyone came to take my order. I'd suggest that they offer bread from that beginning if they are going to be slow with service. When the gentleman came to take my order, he was to the point. I ordered an entree, didn't see an option for a side salad. The crab pasta entree was very good, as was the bread. Overall, the customer service experience was subpar, so not a place I would return to. read more

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Definitely a below average restaurant. My fiancé and I have been to almost every Italian restaurant in Little Italy, and La Tavola doesn't really compare to the others. Upon entrance, the interior is small downstairs and it was busy, but very quiet and relaxing. The service was one of the main disappointments here. Our waiter was extremely inattentive and unhelpful. He rarely came by and the majority of the dinner we didn't have water or refills; my fiancé had to wait an extended period to get the wine he ordered. The service can make or break an experience and here, it definitely ruined the dinner. For our appetizer, we got the calamari with marinara sauce- this was delicious and fresh. I loved that there was zucchini and eggplant in the dish too. As for our entrees, I got the ravioli- it was definitely okay dish, just not enough flavor and it seemed like the ravioli was undercooked. My fiancé got the Saltimbocca and enjoyed his meal. Just dissatisfied in how small the portions were- definitely not enough food for the prices. We had high hopes for La Tavola, since it was one of the last places for us to try in Little Italy, but it definitely was disappointing and not comparable to the other Italian restaurants in the area. Not planning on returning, mainly due to the service and small portions. read more

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We had the worst food experience last month here. My chicken parm was more like a piece of boiled chicken with a slice of cheese slapped onto it with a scoop of not so great sauce with three fingerling potatoes on the side (no pasta). My boyfriend had a seafood pasta meal that was not impressive either. I know and love good Italian food and this definitely isn't it! read more

Great lunch experience. Food was delicious. The dumplings with short ribs tomato sauce was devine.

La Tavola is I think the BEST Italian restaurant in Baltimore. The chef-owner, Chef Carlo, is a creative genius with food. He makes virtually everything in house, including the bread, the pasta, as well as the sauces and the main entrees. And he uses the freshest ingredients. On my recent visit, I had an appetizer I think was called bresole. It was a bed of thinly cut, cured meat, with fresh arugula, cheese, balls of melon. And for me the most special thing was figs that the chef lightly grilled. The chef has a fig tree in his backyard. Right now he has a lot of figs from this fig tree. Lightly grilling the fig brings out its sweetness. I have literally never tasted that in my entire life. And I cannot get that for any amount of money anywhere, except at La Tavola. The chef has a commercial fishing license and he sometimes goes fishing in the morning and serves at the restaurant the fish he caught the same day. The chef's commitment to fresh ingredients is unparalleled. Then I had the short ribs on a bed of risotto. Absolutely fabulous. The meat just falls off the bone. And for dessert I had the tartuffo. I need my food gluten free so I have just the top part of the tartuffo (so no cake). It tastes great. It's gelato with a chocolate sauce. I should mention all the dishes I named here are specials. Special means it is not available all the time. This is another reason why I never tire of eating here. In addition to the regular menu items, there are always specials that change depending on what fresh ingredients the chef has on hand that day. The chef is also very open to making his restaurant gluten-free friendly. He does not have a dedicated gluten free kitchen. But I am happy to report I eat here frequently and I have never gotten sick from gluten here. I don't know of any other restaurant in Baltimore that has home made gluten free pasta. Chef Carlo offers strofe which is made with Italian gluten free flour. All I care is it tastes great. Almost all of the pasta dishes are gluten free if you make it with strofe. Dining here is like dining with family. I like the relaxed atmosphere. The atmosphere is casual but it is also nice enough and the food is special enough to be a special event restaurant. Plus I have always been thrilled with the food here. It's definitely a restaurant worth visiting!! read more

Drove down from New Jersey for an overnight stay in Baltimore. Did some research and decided La Tavola is where I wanted to grab a meal. Great choice. Service was excellent and the food was damn good. Exceptional flavors and quality. Bravo! read more

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Amazing food, great service. Reta was our server and made sure we were satisfied and full! We did the restaurant week and had an appetizer, main meal, and dessert. read more

La Tavola - Italian Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

Amazing service and food! Server was really attentive and amazing! Had great recommendations. Got a bottle of wine recommended by server- good! Fritto misto- loved the fresh sauce and was very light and perfectly fried without being greasy. Loveeeed the eggplant and squash addition. Got the linguini alla scoglio- must get! So much seafood, mussels were soooo tender and all seafood cooked perfectly. Loved the sauce! Noodles perfectly cooked. Got 1/2 portion of the linguini con taleggio e tartufo- thought it would be similar to truffle pasta I had in Europe and it was close enough! Didn't get too much truffle flavor but the cheese flavor was amazing. Definitely rich so the 1/2 portion was perfect and loved it in combo with the linguini alla scoglio .. would get again 1/2 portion of squid ink pasta- server told us it wouldn't have strong squid ink flavor so I wasn't disappointed when it did not. However still a tasty pasta with a great sauce and lots of crab. Loved the fresh tomatoes Dessert- tiramisu- it was so light and delicious, not super sweet, no alcohol flavor and loved the Italian sweet cream on the side. Enjoyed the cheesecake also. Overall solid meal and would definitely go again! Service amazing and food solid. I've been to Italy and this place did not disappoint. read more

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OMG hidden brunch gem! Who knew?? Came for brunch on Sunday (2/24). My friends and I had a reservation for 1130 which is when the restaurant opens so we were the first people inside. Every other Sunday La Tavola hosts a bottomless tapas style brunch for $30. For another $10 you can add bottomless brunch cocktails like refreshing peach bellinis! They have a wonderful list of Italian faves and a surprising amount of vegetarian options. The table enjoyed sausage frittatas, broccolini scrambles, lamb stuffed cannelloni, eggplant rollatini, Caprese, prosciutto, lobster bisque, and more. The cannelloni and rollatini top the list for me. With honorable mention to the bruscetta di mare. I could have just had several rotations of just those. Everything was seasoned and cooked to perfection. To quote my friend, it was "incredible!" Can't wait to bring more friends! You should too but it only every OTHER Sunday so count the weeks and plan accordingly! read more

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So they have handmade pasta, even handmade vegan and gluten-free pasta. This is very rare so bonus points for that. I went in very excited, and the food came out so quick! However; the food was extremely bland. Whatever. I'm hungry, it's edible, I'll eat. Turns out I should not have eaten it. Not only were there shells in my pasta (???) towards the end of the meal I choked on PLASTIC in my food. We should have left when we saw the dirty chairs, chipped paint, and crumbs on the floor and baseboards. Our bad. On the plus side: the staff is super friendly and very aware of allergens. Anyway, eat here at your own risk. read more

La Tavola - Plastic in my food that made its way into my mouth - Italian Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

Fabulous fresh homemade perfection! Amazing gnocchi and fresh fish. Delicious!! Great friendly service. Cant wait to return! read more

~ Had the pleasure of visiting La Tavola while I was handling business in Little Italy. Off the back, I love their customer service. My waiter was knowledgeable about the menu and taste in general. This spot prides itself on unique northern Italy dishes. So they didn't have popular dishes on the menu. Creative dishes, but I'm not that advance with Italian food yet. So, I order the bruschetta "Della Tavola " & the lasagna bolognese dishes. Both were fresh and tasty. The lasagna is a very small dish, so don't expect to be full after you eat. Basic bread and the salad were nice. Nice vibes, and a very small bar area downstairs that fits about 8. I'd def go back when I wanna try something different. But if I'm going somewhere to eat something I've been desiring for a while, I'll go elsewhere. Hope you enjoy it. ~ #TeamDiesel #TeamDiesel4Evaaa read more

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Rita is an absolutely stunning gorgeous waitress! I recently visited La Tavola with a table of 12 and Rita made it the most amazing experience. The food was lovely, she made great recommendations and provided us FABULOUS service the entire night!!! Can't wait to come back and hope I get Rita again! read more

On the pricier side, but delicious! The service is nice, the ambience is cute but comfortable (although a little small inside), and the food is great. But the real showstopper is the dessert. Their Torta Di Fromaggio is one of the best cheesecakes I have ever had, from the berry compote right down to the Oreo crust. If youre here, this dessert is a must!! read more

This has become our new special occasion restaurant. Not because it is expensive but just because we don't often venture into the city. However, for the city it is very easy to get to. There's a lot right across the street where you can park for $10. Or save by parking in the Little Italy garage and a few minutes walk. My absolute favorite is the tallegio pasta. It has mushrooms which I thought I hated, but this varietal has a great meaty flavor. The teenager thinks the lasagna is the best thing ever. Have never had a bad meal here. read more

La Tavola - Aperol spritz - Italian Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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Where to begin: My wife and friends (two who were African American, and I am dark skinned Indian myself) all attended this restaurant based on its rating. From the the moment we sat down, it was a downward spiral. I will list all the items and let the reader decide for themselves: 1. When I asked the waiter if anything came with their entrees, the waiter responded with a snarky tone "no, this find dining restaurant what do you think?". I was thrown off by his tone for asking a simple question, but let it go at that (chalking it up to a possible misunderstanding). He was curt and short with us and made it a point that the kitchen closed at 9pm (we had arrived at 8:30pm). 2. Then he informed us that we had to order now because they were closing soon (again, not a big deal, but this was just the beginning). I asked if there was a desert menu, and he said there was one (but NEVER brought it). 3. He took our orders (I asked the waiter what he recommended and ordered it: the spaghetti with crab meat) and shortly afterwards we pointed out to him the promotion for "First Responders" getting 10% off the food check on Thursdays (one of our friends is a first responder). He said that didn't apply now (even though it was Thursday and nothing indicated anything differently). I asked him why and he ignored me and walked away. 4. We then asked another staff member and they said it did apply and our original waiter came back saying it was 10%. The staff member explained there was some confusion on the start date (which didn't make sense since the promotion was sitting right there in front of us fully indicating the promotion. I told her I would not provide a bad review, but that something needed to be done. 5. Afterwards, the food arrived and to be honest the spaghetti was undercooked (for the dish my wife and I ordered) and frankly was not good. 6. The waiter never came by to ask if we needed anything: more olive oil, bread, water, or anything else, even though all of those had run out very quickly. We asked for water, but it was only the other staff member who came by later. 7. One of my African American friends, who is a teenager, said she was scared to drink anything from the waiter because he was rude and thought he may have spit in the food or drink (I thought it was unlikely, but he was certainly rude and the racist part was a possibility). We then explained the situation to the staff member and she apologized for his behavior and explained she had had issues with him before. 8. The waiter came back as we were ready to leave and asked for the bill and he asked if we wanted any desert (and again, we still had not received any dessert menu). We all agreed we wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. 9. We asked for the bill and when it arrived, we noticed the "first responders discount only covered the entree portion of the meal". We inquired about it and they said it would not cover her family or any drinks. We let it go. 10. My wife did ask for more lemon slices, and he pointed out the two slivers of lemon that were used before saying that was plenty. 11. I told the staff member as we were leaving all the items that occurred (although I held back on the racist feeling the waiter had created). She was nice, but not nice enough to overcome the horrible experience we had with the waiter. She kept mentioning she hoped we would come back. She did take off one of the drinks as a comp to try and make amends, but that was no where near enough. I did not say anything and left it at that. 12. They charged an automatic 20% (since we were a party of 6), but if I had my way we would have not tipped anything given how rude he was and given how very likely racist the waiter was. I write this review (even though mid-way I had said I wouldnt), only because the bad behavior continued. We all left and instead went to have dessert somewhere else since this "fine" dining was anything but fine. So, if you have anything that is not white skin or if you don't appreciate "fine" dining rude behavor, I would recommend avoiding this establishment. There are plenty of other italian restaurants in the neighborhood who will gladly take your business with good service and a smile. read more