Candid Outlook : Tavolino

Tavolino

As a foodie and restaurant enthusiast, I am extremely excited when I find out a new restaurant is opening up and it's right on my doorstep. London Bridge has lovely views and is very local so I was patiently waiting for the doors of Tavolino to open up.

This restaurant participated in the 'Eat Out to Help Out' scheme which removed a total of £20 from our final bill. For two people, I would say before any offers or schemes, this restaurant is affordable. It is key to note that we also shared majority of the dishes because the portion sizes were generous.

Backwards but necessary, my favourite dishes were the desserts. This was the Amalfi lemon meringue priced at £8. This meringue was fluffy, soft and not to sweet that you felt sick. Coupled with the tanginess of the lemon curd and crunch of the biscuit base - I felt like I had touched cloud 9 with Timberland boots on and a 'I can do anything' attitude. In basic terms, I was extremely pleased as the dessert was true to its name and with a real Italian tang! I will be definitely returning for this dessert.

As we could not decide what dessert to get, we ended up getting two, which the second item was the Tiramisu also priced at £8. The Tiramisu was luxury on a spoon, from the chocolate drizzle to the soft sponge dotted around the tower of cream, it was just a mouth-melting piece.

We shared all our meals at Tavolino and it was a perfect decision due to the generous portion sizes. The pizza was tasty, authentic and well-seasoned.  The dish was called, Margherita bufala and the ingredients included tomato, D.O.P buffalo mozzarella and basil. A simple dish with so much flavour.

 

My guest and I did compromise on who got the last slice as it was that good and nothing was left behind. This was priced at £11 so very affordable and a bargain between 2 individuals.

The cocktails were recommended to me and my guest and are available on the bar menu. Out of the two, the preferred  was 'Aperitivo della Casa Cocchi Americano Rosa' which comprised of Colonel Fox gin, strawberry and rhubarb, prosecco. The second drink was ' Prugna Frizzante' which was made with Akashi-Tai plum sake, white grape and apricot soda, prosecco. Both cocktails were well-balanced with a sweet but strong taste and adequately garnished with fresh fruit/flower.

Our recommended starters were Black olive & parmesan roll, honeyed garlic focaccia at £4.50 & Parmesan & lardo bombolini at £4.50 (pictured below). Both dishes were throughly amazing and very well-priced. The Parmesan dish tasted like a soft cheese ball with light seasoning whilst the bread was very well seasoned and went well with the olive oil. The olive oil was said to have come fresh from Sicily so we did have to try it and it was very tasty to the usual shop bought olive oil from Waitrose.

The interior at this restaurant is very sleek and focuses on allowing the natural light to come into the restaurant. The windows provide a view to the outside and the view of bridge can be seen clearly when dining upstairs. Tip - dine upstairs, this will be better for photos!

Bathroom

This bathroom was very casual but modern. Each toilet had a mirror, shelf and sink on the inside which was perfect for keeping a social distance from other diners. I had to get a brief but necessary photo of my casual lunch date outfit - a little inspiration for those who wish to go to this restaurant during the day.

 Overall, Tavolino is highly recommended for a well-deserving lunch, smart casual 3rd dinner date or as a soft introduction into finer dining location to a novice. This restaurant has amazing service and the waiter/waitress/front of house staff make you feel so welcomed. Nothing is too much to ask for and every recommendation we were given was perfect!

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