Dinner at A Tavola.

Nested along Darlinghurst's bustling Victoria Street, Atavola is an Italian restaurant known for their handmade pasta.

Walking past the array of restaurants along the street, I almost walked passed the restaurant. With its understated exterior, its beauty shines within the food, staff and ambiance. Atavola has two levels and offers guests the option to sit at individual tables or a communal one. The front section of restaurant consists of a long singular table where customers sit beside or facing each other. The room has a casual atmosphere with décor and hung pasta to add to the aesthetics of the room. Not having been in the back room, I believe there are individual tables in the back section of the restaurant. Only open during dinner time, we were seated in the upper level. Fitting around eight four seater tables, the dimmed lighting, candles, wooden floors and simplistic setting, its understated design creates an intimate and homely ambiance.

Escorted by the matre'd to our table, we were welcomed by a lovely server. Prior to dining at Atavola, I was aware there were two menus available, the six dish spuntini which has three entrées, mains and desserts and a consiligi menu, a changing list according to what is made fresh daily. The server not only walked us through each dish but was also more than happy to recommend dishes and wine pairings according to what suited our palette.

Our dinner consisted of platters, an array of pasta and antipasti mains, dessert and perfectly paired Italian wine. I'll list all the dishes we ordered below. Arriving at around 8 o'clock we were the last diners to leave the upstairs dining area at around half past eleven, with the exception of a few diners remaining downstairs.

Overall, the dining experience at Atavola was pleasant. There were no overwhelming theatrics or extravagant décor. It's quaint and understated atmosphere was perfect for the evening. The prices are are reasonable, dishes are not over priced (as you will see in the menu below). This restaurant is great for dates or a relaxed yet sophisticated dinner with family and friends; where homely charm meets fine dining.

Dishes (in order of appearance) 
- Salumi misti, pizza rustica
- Tagliata di Manzo con Potate e Olive 
- Mezzelune con ripleno di Piselli 
- Papparelle al Ragu
- Gran Affogato
- Fromaggi 

Tips and Tricks: 

- Book in advance!
- Order different mains and share between people if you want to try different mains.
- Eating there on a Friday, it was busy but still relatively quiet.

Buonanotte, Arrivederci!

Yours Truly,

Julialala