Jason Cunas

OVERPRICED and OVERRATED. I visited La Taverna, not because I wanted to try their food or people were raving about it but for The Office Trivia night. To begin, finding the entrance was an adventure within itself. They have a BAR sign marking hanging on a wall but the entrance is about 50 feet away, hidden. We followed the crowd and were able to make it inside. The host was welcoming and greeted us as we entered. The restaurant is on the left, La Taverna is in the center, and the bakery on the right. Once we made our way inside La Taverna, we waited about 10 minutes to be seated, which we expected because of the occasion. Once seated, we waited 30 minutes to actually be attended to. The service the rest of the night was slow. I don’t know if they were understaffed or they underestimated the magnitude of the event. The bar menu had 2 prices on it, the HH, Happy Hour and the regular pricing. We ordered the $19 Neapolitan pizza, which during HH is $10, nearly half the price! Aesthetically, it was beautiful.; but, once you take a bite, all your aspirations of having a decent meal take a spiraling downward freefall into a pit of despair and disappointment. I only swallowed because it was instinct not because I wanted to. I’ve had better microwavable pizza at a quarter of the cost. I don’t think it’s even worth the $10 during HH. We had contemplated ordering the $19 wings, also, but when we asked how many came in the order, they said 7! I am glad we didn’t. They had placed bread on the table which was stale! Stale bread at a restaurant with a bakery attached to it! I was speechless. Sadly, aside from the limes in the margaritas, it was the best thing I ate all night. I’ve eaten at many places, but La Taverna, by far, is the most overrated and overpriced for the quality of food they serve. It is a total rip-off. Would I go back? Yes, but only for The Office Trivia and I would eat before getting there. On the bright side, the $5 margaritas for the event were decent. I did not try any of the $15 + drinks they had. Calandra’s and any of its associated stores, etc. are overrated. Yes, they were once the only name in the bakery business but there hundreds of better bakeries now at a fraction of the cost. I don’t mind paying top dollar for quality food, but this isn’t the case at La Taverna.

This place has the best Italian cheeseburger, they make their own patties, and meatball parm sub in the area. The service isnt the greatest. They also keep changing what comes in their sandwiches every time you visit but once you clear that up, it's delicious. I wouldn't go there for the pizza though. It's just something about the lack of cheese they put on their pies and the lack of salt in the dough. I would recommend it for the subs.

The slices here are big but they sacrifice quality for size. I honestly dont know why I keep giving this place a chance to step it up. Their pizza is flavorless and if you try to touch it up with Garlic or oregano, it's like it rejects it.