Let’s just get this out of the way right off the bat. A Tavola is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. It is one of those rare businesses that consistently runs on all cylinders, checks all of the boxes, and keeps me coming back time and time again. Hypothetically, if I were to have a list of my top five favorite restaurants in the city, A Tavola would occupy one of those five slots. (Ok, so I actually have one of those lists. I’m just not ready to share it with everyone. And while we are on the subject of disclaimers, I also have a list of what I like to call “Never Going Back” restaurants.)

A Tavola (pronounced Ah-Tah-Vo-Lah) located at 1220 Vine Street in Over the Rhine was one of the pioneers of the Vine Street restaurant renaissance, opening way back in 2011. By all accounts, they were an immediate runaway success, for many reasons, not the least of which being the great wood fired pizza made in an custom made, imported Italian oven that can bake a pizza in as little as 90 seconds, depending on the toppings. Their energetic, bustling dining room, friendly and polite servers and hosts, and outstanding bartenders are contributing factors as well, I’m sure. The words “a tavola” translate as “to the table” but are also used in Italian culture to mean “welcome” or “come eat”.

I could describe to you my most recent trip to A Tavola last Friday, but I won’t limit myself to that, because all of my experiences are great and I can always count on the food to be outstanding. Instead, I would rather tell you about some of my favorites on the menu so you can try them yourself the next time you go to OTR (or their newer location in the heart of Madeira, on the corner of Miami Road and Laurel Avenue). I almost always start with a glass of Montepulciano from the bar, but sometimes I indulge my inner child with a Flintstone Push Up, a martini made from Tito’s Vodka, Chambord, Cointreau, and fresh lemon juice.  A Tavola is not a restaurant where you want to skip the appetizers, either. The bacon wrapped dates are heavenly even though I don’t really particularly care for dates, or if you prefer something more traditional, the wagyu beef (or chicken) meatballs are great too, served with a few pieces of grilled bread to soak up the remainder of the meatball sauce. My favorite app, though, is the bacon tapenade bruschetta. Tapenade is a spread made from pureed or diced olives, mixed with olive oil and sometimes capers or anchovies. This particular tapenade is made with olives and bacon (double salty goodness!) and is spread on the same delicious bread that is also served with the meatballs.

In the all important pizza department, you really can’t go wrong, starting with the basic sausage and sage. All of A Tavola’s pizzas have a  thin wood fired crust which contributes to the speed with which they are delivered to your table, but also to the overall lack of bloatedness after your meal, so plan on a single pizza serving two people at best. On the upside, that gives a party of four a chance to sample at least two types of pizza. If you are a fan of a salty and sweet combo, try the fig and prosciutto. If you like something with more of a traditional vibe, go for the soppressata, which functions on a pizza similar to a tiny round of pepperoni, highlighted with banana peppers. My favorite is the Gorgonzola Picante, pepperoni, sausage, gorgonzola cheese and black pepper, but the choices are as varied as brussel sprouts to artichoke to sweet pea and bacon.

Whatever you choose to order and whichever location you choose to visit, I’m sure that you will love it. And it won’t break the bank either. For my money, A Tavola is the best wood-fired pizza in the city and embodies everything that I love about Over the Rhine.