Tavalota

2323 Second Avenue Seattle, WA 98121 206 838-8008

★★★★★

The Menu is seasonal although there are several staples that can usually be found.  For a spectacular deal come for Happy Hour where many of the starters and pastas are half price!

We are fortunate in Seattle to have several excellent restaurant options for great Italian food.  Tavalota is one of them and in my opinion one of the best!  Fresh, simple starters and delicious homemade pastas.  On a recent visit I had one of the best Italian meals I have had in Seattle!

Grill Flatbread ($12) - Buffalo mozzarella, arugula, roasted garlic and carmalized onions.  Simple, classic and perfectly executed.  Great bite to have with drink!

Fried Soft Shell Crab ($14) - Watercress, pickled red onion and guanciale (unsmoked bacon).  Great combination of flavors and textures.  I had no complaints and would get again but not a must on the menu especially after taking into account price.

Grilled Asparagus ($9) - This was the best aspargus I have ever eaten!  True you have to be a fan of a fried egg but why wouldn't you be??  It is like the bacon of poultry!  The yoke dresses the perfectly grilled asparagus and the parmesan and balsamic do not over power.  I was sad to see this was not on the current menu.

  
Baby Beets ($10) - Fantastic! Aren't beets supposed to taste like dirt("earthy")?  I have just recently started to appreciate well prepared beets and these golden are the best I have had.  They were sweet, tender and paired perfectly with the mild goat cheese.  The pistachios added a slight bite of crunch.  Fantastic!

Pappardelle ($17) - Fava beans, peas, spring garlic and thyme cream.  I am not generally a fan of cream sauces on pasta as I tend to find them too heavy and rich.  This was far from it!  The sauce was extremely light and did not cover up the great fresh flavors of the pasta and spring vegetables.

Strozzapretti ($17) - Beef bolognese, mint and mascarpone.  The pasta dishes are the reason to come here and this one does not disappoint!  As mentioned above, I am not a huge fan of rich sauces so the mascarpone is not needed and easily removed. 

Grilled Branzino ($22) - Cioppino, cuttlefish, prawns, clams, white bean and fennel.  I have had thier branzino as an appetizer on a previous visit and it was wonderful.  Unfortunately, tonight it was a bit too fishy in flavor.  Not a big disappointment for me as I don't go to Italian restaurants for the secondi.  I go for the starts and primarily the pasta!! In fact, I rarely even order a secondo.  Those that I have had here are good but not the reason I return.

Zeppole ($9) - Assuming you are still hungry, these light lemon donuts are great with an espresso or even better with a grappa!  In my opinion they don't need the chocolate sauce but the chocolate is quite good.