Never did I imagine a tuna salad would taste so good! Excellent service and friendly staff. Support local business! I will be back!
best parmas ever! come here all the time and the service and food is always amazing!!
We ordered one meat lover pizza and one al pesto pasta. The flavour was really good and not too salty. The service just okey. We will try the other pizza and pasta in the future.
Nice local pizza joint.
They do generously sized large pizzas, with medium thinness crust, and loaded with toppings.
The corners pizza is an excellent choice for a bit of everything.
Fantastic service and best gnocchi any of us have had for ages. We loved the food and the atmosphere. Thanks for putting us onto La Taverna Zomato!
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5 Stars! Will definitely come back again, this is a local gem!!!
We came on a weekday night, which was busy-ish as people came in and out for takeaway and dine in.
The lady who greeted us (I think the owner?) was very lovely and friendly, and we ordered Fagioli pasta and Surf & Turf to share.
The meals came after 10 mins, and the pasta portion was generous. We were a bit disappointed at the size of Surf and Turf, given the price ($39). However, the flavour of the sauce was absolutely delicious, and went really well with the steak and seafood. Even great for dipping the chips in!!! All the seafood were perfectly cooked as they weren’t tough, and the steak was a beautiful medium rare, as per request.
The pasta on the other was extremely homely and just drop dead gorgeous in terms of flavours. There was more than enough in portion to share amongst three people (we did have the surf and turf too).
After our meals, we decided to try their home made desserts: cheesecake and tiramisu. The size that they came in was massive, and we struggled to finish it all. The cheesecake was fluffy and tasty, and the berry sauce on top was a great match. But it does get a bit too heavy and sweet after half way; the whipped cream was a good relief.
I’m not a fan of tiramisu anyways, but my family thoroughly enjoyed it, and would love to have it again!!
Go too La Taverna if you love Italian.... a family owned and ran restaurant that doesn’t stop short of Awsome take a bottle of wine and chill don’t expect to be in and out in 21min and 13 seconds enjoy the food it’s not trying to be perfect it’s just trying to be tasty and that’s what there food is all about a frequent visit will keep anyone happy.
Delishiano mwah mwah
Two plus two is four, minus one that’s three quick maths.
You stoopid. No I’m not. What’s nine plus ten? 21. You stoopid
Yet another winning meal here , keep coming back do that says it all.
Love the vegetarian arancini ball for starters it’s huge so share it , my friends love pizza and pasta there and kids meals especially calamari is amazing! Only a 4/5 because this time my prawns were a little overdone in marinara and dads veal schnitzel was too dry for him to finish last bit. But will certainly return as normally a 5/5!
Fantastic pasta and gourmet pizza, hand made desserts made every week, you can't go wrong with either. Highly recommend. They even deliver or take away.
Excellent food and good value for money... good portions as well... a must visit... the interiors r amazing love d rustic look... the pasta's r yumm a must try 👍👍👍👍
Highly recommend!
Went here with a mate and had the pollo e funghi pasta and was absolutely delicious, even licked the plate afterwards.
My mate had the lasagna and he also said it was delicious.
Had the focaccia as an entree to kick us off but was slightly a bit cheesy as was the waitressing!
We've been here dozens of times.
How do they do it? How do they make the place feel like a family establishment with an open fireplace? (There IS no open fireplace.) The people running it (last time I checked) are a family, and they simply like doing what they're doing. Sometimes their kids would be at a side table doing homework or playing on a tablet.
My favourite dish is Al Funghi with tortellini. It's simple but perfectly done.
I have to say something about the desserts. They are homemade. I struggle to make the decision between sticky date pudding, and bread and butter pudding.
These puddings and cakes are not on the menu. Well, not the printed menu. Someone will have to take a photo of the blackboard on the wall and post them to Zomato for others to get a taste of what's here.
This is probably my new favourite food joint - So much so that we've been twice in one week! Pasta and apple pie are two of my favourite foods and boy oh boy do they make some of the best I've had! The al funghi gnocchi is SO yummy (also great with spaghetti!) and just melts in your mouth. My partner's bolognese was super flavoursome and great with the rigatoni. The housemade apple pie was absolutely delicious. The servings are generous and very well priced. The service is friendly and the atmosphere warm and inviting. It's not the flashiest of restraunts but it has a homely old style feel to it. I'll definitely be back!
Great old school pizza restaurant. Rustic and humble, which is precisely what one wants sometimes. Wine starts at $7.50 a glass, and it compliments their food very well. Service is on point too.
Pretty happy with it meal, love the 3 pasta plate but the side rocket salad was really expensive for what it was. Service and food both great though and it's a byo wine
After all these years We've been coming here finally a review!! This is by far our favourite Italian restaurant in Melbourne!!! We eat out often and come here at least once a week, and we have never ever been disappointed. The atmosphere is so homily and welcoming, the stuff are amazing and super friendly, The proprietors have become like family to us. And the food is out of this world and very genres.
We've also made lots off friends with other regulars. This place does get busy as you would expect for a fantastic restaurant so always best to book.
Great food here with a fantastic inner city retro vibe.
Fantastic pizzas, delicious home made gnocchi, and desserts to die for.
Service was really friendly and helpful.
Can't wait to go back for some more !!!
Great authentic Italian pizzas about as different as you can get from Domino's and Pizza Hut offerings. We came here after a long day at the races and were really surprised by the quality of the food and the service. For those who haven't been here, the decor is a little offputting, too old school ever be considered hip. It's not somewhere you bring a date to impress but come here with family for a good rustic style meal.
good old school feel was enjoyable . staff are very friendly and observant.. family owned great servings give it a try when your close by...
Our favourite local pizza - so fresh and delish with great family service thanks to Lori and Rose👌
Good old fashioned Melbourne Italian food without any pretensions, friendly staff, big serves, well priced. Visited for the first time on a Friday night and the place was full, happy and noisy. My guests shared a large vegetarian pizza which was excellent, and I tried the carbonara - always a good test of an Italian restaurant - which was also very good, not too oily or fatty, though the serving size defeated me. Large pizzas and pastas approach $20 which I found reassuring as it is enough to indicate good quality without being too pricey. We paid $80 including tip for dinner for 3 including 4 beers and a side salad. My new favourite Italian in Brunswick after La Bussola became compass pizza
Great atmosphere, excellent food. Had a delicious pizza that was done right in every way and the servings are very generous. Also had dessert afterwards was fantastic, the homemade apple pie was dope and my girlfriend had the sticky date pudding which was also dope.
This is my local pizza joint and boy am I lucky. They have fresh tasting pizza that is ready fast. The owner is friendly and we have no complaints with the service or food.
Got the pasta trio or their pasta with three different types. Good little restaurant well priced and great food worth the visit. Would also recommend getting dessert chocolate calzone is wonderful.
Good little neighbourhood Italian that has friendly service, good food and reasonable prices.
Love the feel of this place - old laminate tables and a really homely feel. As is the food! The menu is extensive and the serves are generous!
A great place for a casual meal.
I LOVE this place, homey feel, absolutely delicious food! I've never had gnocchi that good before, cooked to perfection!
Great service, big servings. Really friendly staff, fast service, food came out quickly. Big servings. Very good value for money
Will definitely return
Great pizza in Brunswick. This place is up there with the fancy pizza joints. Awesome pizza you don't have to queue for!!
I'm not one for publishing reviews on this site; everyone is entitled to an opinion, but if you don't like it, don't go back. I don't like the idea of so publicly scrutinizing a small business. "Sweetie" - don't be shocked by all the rave reviews - your opinion isn't more important than anyone else's. As an Italian, you should understand that "La Taverna" translates to "The Tavern". This local restaurant doesn't pretend to be anything more than that. The wait time and rave reviews are reflective of half of Brunswick loving the food and service here (plenty of Italians too). I don't mind if you don't want to go back, it saves me a table. So while you have dinner at your Nonna's, I'll enjoy dinner at my favorite local with the Gnocchi Matriciana, Garlic Focaccia and Rose's cheesecake. Problem solved.
Pizza is the forgotten victim of gentrification. As the European cars move in, the honest, unpretentious pizzas move out, replaced by organic, woodfired, handmade wankery with a complexity of ingredients more appropriate to a bebop solo than what is, essentially, cheese on bread.
La Taverna is The Alamo, the last stand of proper pizza at the Brunswick end of Lygon St. Delicious, traditional pizza at decent prices for sizes that will fill your belly, rather than leaving you hungering for more. Friendly, genuine service. Long may it keep fighting the good fight.
This is our first visit and it won't be our last. Simple in terms of the ambiance but the food and service are fantastic. Our party of 5 included 2 children and everyone was happy! See you all again and thank you for a fantastic first experience!
Awesome Place. Been here a few times, can't fault anything.
Excellent food, great atmosphere, genuine italian feel about the place.
The host "Rose" is lovely, very friendly.& socialise's with everyone.
In my humble opinion, the best pizza in the whole of Melbourne.
Have been back many times and will keep coming back.
Terrific little place :-)
Rare for me, but I give this place a 10 out of 10
Excellent Desserts. I like to go there just for the desserts, apple pie in particular.
Love this place. They make the best food in everything they do. I have had the pizza(Devine), aranicini (to die for), pasta(amazing), chippies (yum). Best place in Brunswick. Seriously if you haven't tried this place you are missing out. The service from rosa is superb too. She is always so nice. Thank you love coming here.
Great food and great service. Absolutely love this place! La Taverna is an authentic italian restaurant with great service, friendly staff that remember you, delicious pizzas full with toppings (just the way I like it) and a wonderful family that owns it. Definitely a must!!!
Absolutely fabulous!. My family dined here for the first time on the 19/10/13 and were blown away with the taste of the best pizza in town! One of my kids had the spaghetti bolognese, and it was as if Nona from Italy had lovingly cooked it for it hours - perfect! Now I'm pretty fussy when it comes to desserts, but let me tell you, the tiramisu was superb as was the mud cake. All desserts are made on site and a must to top off a great evening. Couldn't be happier with the service : friendly, efficient and we were treated as if we were long time regulars and valued customers. The wait for dinner wasn't long and we've heard rave reviews from many people, especially about the quality of the food. Highly recommend dining here if you're after great tasting food and seriously the best pizza in town, and we've been around trialling a heck of a lot of pizza's. Our new favourite restaurant!!
Great Local Eatery. We we're on our way to a more expensive Italian restaurant in the neighbourhood when we walked past La Taverna and saw their extensive menu looked just as good and half the price of the place we were intending on going too. We were not disappointed.
The food and drinks were great, I ordered pasta and my partner went with pizza, both were delicious and lovely and fresh. The service was fantastic and our waitress was very friendly and helpful. I would definitely recommend to others and wouldn't hesitate to go back. Thanks for a great meal La Taverna!
Goopy Carbonara. Service was friendly, food was quick and relatively cheap. The carbonara tasted pretty damn good but it was a little too gelatinous for my liking and the linguini was definitely overcooked, although not inedible at all. I'll still give this place another go, maybe pizza next time!
The best pizza I have had. Friendly service. Well done La taverna.
Fantastic neighbourhood spot. Great pizza, warm service, really inviting interior (we used to get takeaway but now are inclined to eat in)... this place ticks a lot of boxes. They may not be pushing any culinary boundaries but what they do they do really well. A proper, family-run neighbourhood joint. If you haven't been there, do yourself a favour and head down!
This place is a great, authentic italian restaurant. The serves are enormous and really yummy. The garlic and cheese stuffed pizza is a must - WOW!!
Nice pasta dishes. Our bruschetta never came but in the up side it wasn't on the bill do maybe they didn't hear us order it. Will go back!
My margerita. My favourite place to get pizza. It is consistently good. We live in Preston and have tried many pizza shops in our area and within a few km's of us. We have decided it is sometimes worth driving a little further and getting the good stuff. Ive eaten pizza in Italy and I would say - this is the best pizza I have found in Melbourne so far..
The Best. Big fan of the family down at La Taverna and never had a bad experience in the multitude of times we have either dined in or taken away. Just awesome, tasty, yummy food!
A must for any pizza/pasta lover.
Really yummy meal! Cosy, homely feel to the restaurant and fantastic, friendly host. Will definitely be coming back.
So good!. My girlfriend and I finally dragged ourselves here after 3 or so years of living up the road - and I'm so glad we did. Food was cheap and yummy and the wine list was awesome. And Rose is just the sweetest thing ever! Can't wait to go back and hit the dessert menu.
La Taverna response. Tmmm, it's Rose here- l've never responded to a critic as everyone has their own opinions and l'm happy to accept criticism where criticism is due. We've been here for 23 years, and as a satisfied customer for 20 years- l'm saddened that you could not approach me to discuss any issues with your experience in our restaurant. I'd appreciate any feedback you could offer, if you can make contact with me at the restaurant Thurs-Sunday from 5pm on 9387 3132 , so we can attempt to resolve this issue. Kind regards Rose and Lawrence
Went here for the first time last night. Small place with a big passion for delicious food and great service - which they delivered. My friend and I both had pasta dishes which were great. We then had shared a sticky date pudding which was to die for! Thanks to the lovely owner Rose for an awesome dinner and desert!
I love this place. The owner is lovely. Such a great menu with perfectly made traditional Italian food. Great value and super tasty.
Great little pizza spot :). The owners of this place are the real deal - so friendly, & serious about their fare. Rose and Lawrence have been here for aeons, and between them, they really know how to make a great, no fuss pizza & dessert meal. Great, home-cooked meals, and fantastic service keep us coming back and back and back to this place. Great work guys - the new suburban franchise up the road (Jimmi Jamz) has NOTHING on you guys.
P.s. try the Nutella pizza when you're HUNGRY - it's the most awesomely generous & delicious dessert I've had in ages :)
Amazing!. 10/10. The resuraunt is cosy and warm, staff friendly and welcoming, and food was incredible, authentic and very fresh.
Prices very reasonable too.
Try the apple pie if it is on the dessert menu - it was the best I've ever tasted!
Amazing pizza, will certainly be back again soon..
Had dinner there last night. One of the few places around us where you can get a good reliable meal. Kid friendly and good friendly service as usual. My crew rated their meals 4/5. Was a nice enjoyable night.
Pizza with lots of flavour, garlic and friendly service. I think the bases are thinner than they used to be so even more delicious.
Great quality. Huge meals, delicious food, and very friendly service.
Much improved...beautiful pizza. This restaurant has improved immensely since a couple of years ago. The pizzas are again at their best, with fresh and tasty ingredients.
it is difficult to find a fantastic pizza place in the Brunswick area...and look, I feel La Taverna was also amongst the average pizza restaurants like all the others around the area..
But give them a try again...their quality definitely makes this place the standout pizza restaurant now. please keep up the great standards...people come back for quality food.
The margarita is fantastic.
Buonissimo!!!!!!!. What a great restaurant. Went with a friend and shared a pizza and both had pasta. All was very delicious and a glass of red, what a nice meal. Will definitely make it a regular.
Yum..Yum..Yum. This is the first time that we dine in this place and what a yummy food.If you in the hurry, then this is not the place for you, as everything here made fresh and involves waiting for a bit, but it's worth it. It has great selection of food on the menu. Friendly staff and very welcoming atmosphere.
Just Great. I really love this place and have been here often.
Pizzas - great
Pastas- great
Deserts - fantastic
Service - fantastic
I have to be careful not to eat too much here but really it is great to have this place just down the road.
Keep up the good work!
Rose's desserts are DELICIOUS! They are all home-made and oh so yummy! We tried the créme caramel, the sticky date pudding (the BEST) and the hot mudcake. The mains are also yum and good value for money. Will definitely return!
Just like home. The service is friendly and really efficient and they know our orders off by heart. When I don't feel like cooking for the family we head to Taverna our kitchen away from home. We eat there nearly every week because it is no stress value for money. No, we are not related but they do treat everyone like family:)
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Best relaxed Italian in Brunswick!. I've been going to La Taverna for many years now, and it would get more business out of me than any other restaurant in the area. I love it.
La Taverna has many things going for it, but more than anything I love that it is so welcoming. It's been run by the same couple for who-knows-how-long, they know lots of customers by name and clearly people are coming back again and again.
Over the years it has moved upmarket a little, with a nice renovated dining area and the inevitable introduction of 'gourmet' pizzas. But it has remained friendly and relaxed, a nice place to go out without having to make a big night of it.
The pizzas here are very good. There is a great selection, with lots of fresh ingredients and good quality meats (no cheap shredded ham, thankfully). I'm not a vegetarian, but they have some excellent vegetarian options that I order quite often - try the Ortolana or the Melenzane! And for seafoodies, try the Salmone Affumicato!
The pizzas here are what I'd call the perfect Aussie-style pizza, ie a medium-thickness crust and plenty of ingredients on top. They're not the fashionable ultra-minimalistic 'authentic' pizzas with thin crusts, and they're not the mass-produced Dominos/Eagle/Hut pizzas with too much dough and inferior ingredients. La Taverna does 'real' pizzas like you probably remember them, the classic way and it's exactly what I want.
The hidden gem in the menu is the home-made desserts. Chocolate mousse, tiramisu, sticky date pudding - they might be clichés, but dammit they're good. Better than any I've had at other suburban restaurants.
Highly recommended. Sure, it's really a local restaurant and you probably wouldn't cross town for it, but it excels as a great local that you always feel welcome in.
I've had better but it's fine. Good for a quiet dinner.
Great service and amazing food. Had a mix of pizza, pastas and schnitzel and all were great. Kids LOVED the Nutella pizza too. A brilliant little local eats. We’ll be back!
Standard has not only been maintained but improved. One of the best pizza doughs I’ve eaten in a long time.
Very tasty and just the right mix of toppings. The “capo” came out and sat with us as we discussed his process of making snd preparing his amazing dough. Which flour he uses and hasn’t looked back since switching to Italian flour.
Slow rise is key.
Keep up the good work. The young waitress was so welcoming and attentive to our every need. Thank you for a wonderful experience.
Great authentic suburban pizza. Nothing fancy as it should be but superb good old fashion pizza
Great Italian restaurant with delicious pizzas and pastas! Definitely recommend the pumpkin and goat cheese pizza! Wonderful staff and at a grrat location on Lygon street! 🥰👌💯
Such delicious food and friendly staff, the Nutella pizza is AMAZING and some good Vegetarian options
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