Taverna

I can only speak to their brunch, but this is one of our go-​to spots for sure. The Taverna Hash and their rotating Calzone special are the best things on the menu, super generous portions as well.
Additionally, don’t waste your time on the mimosas, the Bellini is where it’s at. Cheap too, like $ 2 during brunch.
Best of all, they allow pups on their patio, which is enclosed with A/​C!

Yum and great service. Seafood with pasta and tiramasu were terrific. Nice atmosphere inside, might hang at bar next time. Very inviting inside not so much outside.

Visiting Austin we went to taverna place was good not noisy and the food was great and the staff very attentive, I ordered fettuccini frutti de mari was good but not excellent and also we ordered pizza which was fresh and yummy, I’ll definitely come back to try other dishes

I’ve been to Taverna a total of 3 times. The first two times was good since all I did was drink the $ 2 bellinis and had the regular breakfast plate. Honestly, I was too drunk those 2 times to pay attention to the food. The third time I realized how expensive the food is in relation to it’s size. The brunch selection was quite disappointing. I had the chorizo omelets and I wasn’t all that impressed. I don’t think I would go back again now that I actually paid attention to the food cause there’s way too many better options in Austin.

I decided to try this after seeing the chef on a morning show to promote mother’s day brunch. I did not go for mother’s day, I went for a random Saturday. It was overcast and going to rain, so even though it looked busy, there was no line when I got there. For my first visit this was good, but I would wait in line next time because it was that good. And there was so much on the menu and that I saw going to other tables that I want to try now.
I had Eggs Benedict, and it was amazing. The eggs was perfectly poached, the bacon was not underdone as I have had so many times before, and the hollandaise sauce was so light, it brought out the other flavors instead of smothering them.
We also had New Orleans style Beignets, which was so light and fluffy, and served with a sauce that was so awesome, i would have just drank it if there were not other people there with me. And at a suggestion we tried the chef’s focaccia bread, which was a wonderfully light flavor. What I like most about everything I tried was that I was not so overwhelmed by one thing, everything just blended well together.
The service was very friendly, my water was always filled, the food came out quickly. The table was kept clean, and I never felt rushed, even as more people started to line up. I will be back and this is going to be my go to for friends and family visiting from out of town from now on.

Sunday brunch! (And Saturday)
— Hi $ 2.00 mimosas and bellinis!
— Service was excellent, patio is seriously adorable with the best brunch-​y wicker furniture, and a tarp in case the sun gets too hot.
— The brunch entrees didn’t disappoint either. They are definitely a little on the pricier end, but are totally shareable. My friend and I ended up splitting the bruschetta appetizer (amazing) and the main entrée of a risotto al parmigiano con salsa tartufata. We had more than enough, but ended up staying for (according to our lovely waitress) Taverna’s sig dessert, the tiramisu. So, so, so good.

Service was great, location too. Brisket hash wasn’t so good. Beignets were amazing! I’ve been here several times in the last and it seems like the food was just a little off today. Overall it’s a pretty solid slot for Brunch.

This place was very underwhelming for me. The only reason I gave it so many stars was because it was some of the best service I have ever received. The food, however, was completely overpriced for what we were getting. I paid about $ 40 for half and entrée, one drink, and half an appetizer. I probably would have generously valued my meal at $ 20. The veal looked sad under a mound of leaking mushrooms and the potatoes were soggy from the veal’s sauce.

Amazing Saturday brunch. $ 2 mimosas and bellinis. Very attentive. Great service! Beignets were the bomb. Overall, loved it.

I finally was able to visit Taverna in the Austin area! I live in Dallas and have been dying to go to the one here but it is always crowded– now I see why!
The location of Taverna is very convenient for cab riders or downtown walkers, however parking is atrocious and will cost at least $ 10 unless you’re lucky and find street parking ;)
ONTO THE FOOD. it’s amazing.
They serve delicious bread and olive oil to start you off. I went for brunch and got the chicken and waffles– just delightful! Served with a mango spicy side slaw.
Service was great, highly reccomend!

Our last experience an year ago at Taverna was excellent, so we decided to come back for a second time! Reservations and the long walk down to 2^nd street was made. We both tried different dishes this time around but sadly they didn’t live up to the high expectations.
Let’s start with the good. For appetizers we ordered the Taverna Foccacia. This was just absolutely delicious. If individual dishes could be rated, this would be five stars easy. The portion size was huge and can be easily shared among three people. All the ingredients came together really nicely and every inch was devoured. I really enjoyed the cheese and mushroom combo in particular. When we first gazed upon its size, we thought we would be taking some home. But after the first couple bites, we knew it was going to be finished. I strongly recommend this appetizer and would love to get it again.
Now the not-​so-​good. We both shared the Risotto al Parmigiano con Salsa Tartufata and the Veal Marsala. I wasn’t a fan of the texture of the risotto and the dish as a whole was thick and not very interesting. The veal wasn’t as tender as I was expecting and the sauce completely saturated the veal and my taste buds. After several bites, I just got bored and tired of the taste and of its heaviness.
Service was still excellent and with so many good-​looking dishes in their menu, this won’t completely deter me from coming back. This night was a 3/​5, but combined with my first experience, the average is a solid 4 stars.

I don’t know what it is about Taverna but I feel like LMFAO and very tempted to yell Champagne Showers, over and over again.
Whenever I’m visiting good ol’ funky Austin this has been my go to Sunday Funday brunch spot. It might not be a crazy setting but this is my cup of OJ. Trust me… I know how serious Austinites take Sunday Funday.
If you forget to make a reservation (which I happen to do all the freaking time) walk on over to the bar and enjoy some class-​ee* bellinis and mimosas while you wait for your table.
*class-​ee is a reference to a Flava Flav contestant who represents these $ 2 elixirs quite perfectly. Their intentions are good and meant to have some elegance to the experience; however, they can get you cray cray if you don’t pace yourself.
I’ve had my Lindsay Lohan moments and looked a tad bit like 2007 Britney and my dapper moments feeling like George Clooney. $ 2 Sunday Funday drinks can definitely get you feeling like you’re a million bucks buying drinks for other people.
The food here is quite delicious and I can’t get enough of their chicken and waffles with the mango marmalade. The chicken is seasoned so beautifully with a nice crispy, tenderness to the crust. Paired with fluffy, buttery goodness us Texans prefer in our waffles– you can expect a dish brought down from the Gods.
I also love their pizzas and the brick over crust they feature. Their food offerings has quite a nice range and will have something for everyone.
Make sure to sit out on their patio, if possible, and take in the Austin view and see the rustle and bustle of downtown.

Two things struck me on first visit to Taverna on 2^nd. The first was how well the wait staff worked together. It felt like they were a family. But the other thing I want to make sure you know about Taverna, most importantly,
Focaccia.
Bite into a slice, crunchy, just out of the oven.
Yup.

So conflicted… the food was great but my girlfriend got food poisoning from the seabass and mussels dish. She was sick all night long. Serious quality gaps for this to happen in a place like taverna. My advice is stick to the pasta.

This place is always packed but I’m not entirely sure why. The one time I went my friend and I had to wait at the bar for over an hour to be seated for brunch– we were told it would only be 40 minutes. We ordered and our food came in under 2 minutes. We both had egg dishes and they were both served cold, obviously pre-​made. I had the shrimp omelet, which was boiled shrimp underneath the eggs, not cooked in. My friend had the eggs Benedict. The eggs were not funny and the hollandaise was cold. People keep asking me to come back here but not sure I want to give a second chance.

I always walk past Taverna so I finally decided to try it for happy hour one day. It was really packed and I had to stand for a bit until we were able to snag up a seat at the bar. We all got bellinis and unanimously agreed we did not like them, I didn’t even bother/​want to finish mine. We then ordered the vegetarian pizza to share. My friend and I did not like it but my gf said it was a solid 6/​10, I’ll go with ³⁄₁₀ though. Id rather take that money and go buy a Costco pizza, no disrespect, Costco pizza is actually fire if you’ve never tried it.

We were looking for somewhere casual that was open New Year’s Day. After looking at the menu, everything sounded good so we popped in. Our waiter as well as the manager were both excellent and very attentive to my wife’s allergy to milk and cheese. Every item we ordered was excellent. We would absolutely come back here if we were in Austin and wanted Italian. Yummy!

This is our families go to spot for family celebrations. I’ve been going here since high school (7+ years), and I love that no matter how many new restaurants open this one still stays. And it deserves too!
The location on 2^nd makes it a perfect location for going out for a good meal because you can walk around after. Food is classic Italian served a little differently. My absolute favorite dish is the green and white pasta with chicken. So good my friends, so good.
Taverna’s ambiance makes it perfect for date night or for group dinners. I knocked off a star because at times this place can be a little slow with service.
Take a bite of this food and you can tell it’s made with love. Nothing on the menu will disappoint you! Come in and try it.

Had a traditional breakfast this morning. Your choice was to include mimosas or belinis. They were one of the only restaurants open the day after Christmas before 10 AM.

Had an awesome experience here for my birthday. Real attentive staff, many food options, and the patio was an amazing spot to sit and people watch with a romantic outdoor setting.

Taverna was an amazing experience. After having deciding to eat here, I ordered the risotto with chicken. It was very moist and there are tons of flavor. The creaminess paired well with the smokiness of the bacon and the hint of spice from the peppers. The staff (Mack)was friendly and attentive. We sat on the patio and although it was the middle of December, the weather was perfect and being able to view the city walk and drive by only added to the ambiance. Total for 4 entrees $ 106 just a fyi.

This is a great brunch place! With $ 1 mimosas and bellinis, it’s hard not to have a great time brunching. The menu is also incredibly delicious. I had the banana stuffed french toast when I went with bacon. It all was close to $ 10, which is cheap for brunch! I fully intend to go back. However, you have to get there early, because it’s a small restaurant and the wait can be pretty long.

I’m severely attracted to cheap mimosas, but fortunately this place has great food as well. This is our favorite brunch spot in Austin, they have a great outdoor patio, and I usually see at least two man buns every time I visit. Great spot to eat some hash and rehash the prior night’s follies.
Most recently I had the lasagna which is superb! Hearty and so hot I burnt my tongue twice.

Located in downtown, i give this place an a+ for both service and ambience but as for the food, I was disappointed. Try three appetizers which included a bread base, cheese base and meat, none of them were memorable. With the price mark being on the higher side, i would have rather have spent my money down the street at Second bar, where the food actually has some effort put into it.
Our food appeared to be prepared by a culinary student on the first day of culinary school and i would say does not represent the Italian cuisine nor give it justice.
As severely disappointed as i was with the food, I will give them credit for the service –which was just okay.
Will i come again? Nope. The food was not terrible and it was in fact edible. Personally, if i could do it better then it is easy to say, the food was simply not good

Crowd seems to be more of a mix vs the extreme chodery crowd that seemed to dominate from yesteryear. Food is delicious, brunch is terrific, and you can’t beat $ 2 mimosas. Service was friendly and attentive. Love the people-​watching, which is best if you sit outside.
Beignets…DO IT. Crazy delicious!!!

Had the most perfect date night here on Friday ! We called at 6 and made a reservation for 7pm. When we arrived we were greeted kindly and given the option to sit indoors or out. Honestly the outdoors was cooler with a seated air conditioned patio. We had such a sweet and helpful waiter named Cristiana. We started with a couple drinks and the house salad. They have a wonderful selection of wines and beers (even Classic Italian beers that are hard to find). For dinner my boyfriend ordered the carbonara (which I was a bit weary of him to order since we’ve had homemade real Italian carbonara before) and I ordered the frutti di Mara (seafood pasta). Both entrees were amazing ! My boyfriend said his carbonara was just as good as the ones we’ve had in Italy ! My pasta was very well made too! Pasta perfectly al dente and not too much sauce or salt. I also love how they supply you with fresh bread ! I always appreciate good bread severed graciously .
To end our meal we had dessert. Our waiter gave us an honest and helpful description of her favorites and recommendations. My boyfriend got the tiramisu with a coffee liqueur on ice with citrus per her recommendation. He said the combination was splendid ! I chose the vanilla gelato with berries and chocolate. It was so delicious !
I can’t wait till I return !

I’ve been here twice now and have always had a good experience. The service here is great, from the moment you make a reservation (not necessary but nice for a big group) to when you leave. Our server tonight was super attentive, which I love.
I always get the risotto when I’m here and have yet to be disappointed. The specials are always good and everything is cooked to perfection. To be honest, the sangria and tiramisu are my favorite items here.
Please try either one (or both) if you decide to stop by!

Great dinner. Ordered a bottle of Blu Prosecco, a lovely accompaniment to the meal, light and refreshing in this 100 degree weather. The antipasto Emilio was huge, with plenty of salami, cotto, prosciutto, cheese, olives, and marinated vegetables. Don’t fill up on it, though. The fiocchetti were little pasta fortune cookies filled with Gorgonzola, slathered in pears and parmesan cream sauce. OMG. This stuff is a mouth orgasm. But very rich, a few bites are enough, so plan to share. The chicken picatta was tasty, but overcooked and a tad dry. The flavor was spot on, however, and the julienned veggies/​potatoes were more than serviceable. The margherita pizza crust was so light and crisp, and the tomato sauce sweet and light. A very nice pizza, and reminiscent of the pizzas I’ve enjoyed in Italy. Berry sorbet was a light, refreshing end to the meal. House made and delicate, it was served with berries soaked in Grand Marnier. Mmmmmm.
Good service and very attentive. Very attractive facility. Clean restrooms. Caring management who checked on tables. I’d definitely recommend Taverna. The bottom line is that they do a lot of stuff right, for reasonable prices (for downtown), in a really nice restaurant.

My husband and I really like Taverna. We’ve had mixed experiences with servers, but the food is always great.
I think it is a little pricey compared to some other places downtown, but that hasn’t stopped us from coming here.
If you come during lunchtime they give you an order of their focaccia bread for free — yum!
They have half price bottles of wine on Tuesdays. Also $ 2.00 Mimosas for brunch on the weekend (be sure to make a reservation!)
Try the risotto or the gnocchi. They are both excellent choices!

Came here to start off the 4^th of July with some friends. We got there expecting to have a pretty crazy wait-​time but we were seated within 20 mins. I ended up getting the chicken and waffles which were amazing. GET THE CHICKEN AND WAFFLES. You won’t regret it.
Overall the food was great. I will have to come back here to try some of the other items of the menu.

I’ve visited Taverna twice and both times were very good, with one small exception– the mussels. We must have just been unlucky on that batch.
On both occasions we’ve had very prompt and friendly service. Both times when we asked for recommendations the food was INCREDIBLE–
Fiocchi al gorgonzola e pera– pasta stuffed with pears and gorgonzola. Holy moly that dish was so decadent– the pears were sweet and subtle but strong enough to stand out with the creamy gorgonzola.
The special– grouper with baby octopus, potatoes, and tomatoes. That grouper was melt in your mouth fantastic. And the flavor and texture combo was delicious and just blended so well together!
It is a very beautiful restaurant, and it really takes you to Europe! The seats are all very close together but the setting is quite intimate and romantic.

Taverna has a special place in my heart because it’s one of the first restaurants I visited as an undergrad in Austin. I visited again more recently for a friends surprise birthday dinner and the service and food was good.
Although we had a reservation, our group had to wait a little while to be seated for 14 people because they spent some time putting our table together. As soon as we were seated for dinner we were greeted with loaves of delicious bread and I ordered a red wine sangria which was delicious and a healthy portion. I give a little lee-​way with this review because our party was large so it makes sense that our entrée orders took a while to make it out. I ordered the eggplant parm and it was delicious — see picture below. Everyone enjoyed their meals.
Our server was fantastic — he took care of such a large party, brought out cake for the birthday girl, and was overall one of the best waiters I’ve had in a while.

Risotto!
Late to the Valentines game, I had to settle for a reservation for a two-​top at 9pm. The restaurant was still bustling with energy, and my date and I were lucky enough to snag a table outside. Looking at the tables indoors, I can see how it can feel pretty crowded with minimal personal space.
While their entire menu is saliva-​inducing, my taste buds were honed in on their risotto. I ordered the Risotto ai Frutti di Mare and my date ordered the Risotto con Capesante. Although fairly heavy, the risotto was cooked perfectly with huge amounts of flavors. My shrimps and calamari were cooked very well and had that desirable snap. The mussels were huge and exploded with juice on the first bite. The tomatoes were also tasty and complimented well with the risotto. Every bite from beginning to end was delicious.
I tried some of the Risotto con Capesante as well. The lemon flavors were highly evident, and the star was definitely the scallops. They were very plump and even the smallest of bites produced an intense amount of delicious scallop flavor. Incredibly incredibly tasty.
I was initially concerned with the quantity of the risotto. However, the flavors were so potent that I was full by the end. On a really hungry night, however, one can easily handle a risotto with an appetizer.
From the hostess to the waiters, the staff were all really friendly, attentive, and honest with questions. Every part of my experience here was excellent!