Tavola continues to try to make limoncello out of its COVID limons; the Belmont Italian oasis’ latest venture is catering services large and small.
“We’re trying to do a little bit of everything and put together decent weeks,” chef/owner Michael Keaveny says. “It’s been difficult, but between catering, neighborhood drop-offs, and curbside pickup, we’re doing okay.”
Whether you’re looking to feed four or 40, Tavola’s* newest service has you covered. The catering menu features antipasti (fried artichokes, pancetta-wrapped shrimp), salads (fig and gorgonzola, caprese), pasta (bucatini in spicy marinara, seafood linguini), entrées (pork milanese, grilled swordfish), sides (roasted fennel, caramelized cauliflower), and desserts (limoncello cheesecake, tiramisu), all served in four-person portions and delivered to your door or event space.
The idea, according to Keaveny, is to offer the dishes Tavola customers have come to love in the dining room while focusing on the items that travel best in to-go containers.
“We went as far as testing dishes—putting them in a to-go container, setting the container aside for 15 minutes, opening them and seeing what dishes worked and what didn’t,” Keaveny says. For the restaurant’s carbonara, for example, that meant adding pasta water to the dish so it didn’t arrive dry.
The restaurant’s using high-end ingredients like fresh lobster and crab, so expect to spend a decent amount of dough for Tavola’s signature creations—antipasti is $50-100 for four people, pasta platters are $75-100, entrées are $80-90—and try to give them at least 24 hours notice, especially for large orders. Cocktails and wine are also available.
According to Keaveny, who personally delivers most of the catering orders, the new menu is also available for small parties in the restaurant’s back room and porch area. And, Tavola will likely continue offering its catering services after COVID is a thing of the past.
“Our back kitchen lends itself to doing stuff like this, and we have a very capable staff,” Keaveny says. “It’s something we’ve talked about for a while.”
*Tavola is co-owned by C-VILLE’s Culture editor, Tami Keaveny.
