Tavolata – Best Happy Hour in Seattle
Recommended by: After this blog post was published a friend/reader reminded us of Tavolata after seeing me gush about Il Corvo’s pappardelle. We decided to take a happy hour trip to Tavolata
Description on the Tavolata’s website: Tavolàta Capitol Hill is our first attempt at recreating one of our original restaurants—Tavolàta in Belltown. Like the original, Tavolàta Capitol Hill is all about the pasta: Rigatoni, Bucatini, Gnocchi alla Romana and more. House favorites like the Pork Chop and Smoked Fish Bruschetta also make appearances. Join us on Capitol Hill!
Neighborhood/Type: Capitol Hill
Address: 501 E Pike St, Seattle, WA 98122
What we ate/drank: Spaghetti w/tomato & basil with chicken and ricotta meatballs, Pappardelle-beef and pork ragu, mint, chili,grana padano, Rigatoni-spicy italian sausage, tomato, marjoram, parmesan, Gnocchi alla Romana 1
semolina dumpling, mozzarella, tomato.
Comments: Between 5:00-7:00 pm a glorious occurrence happens every night in Seattle. Tavolata has their happy hour. It’s safe to say, in our opinion, Tavolata’s happy hour is by far the best in Seattle. We love happy hour at Chan, List, Toulouse Petit, Alibi Room and Issian, but Tavolata is the best both in quality of food and amount you save during happy hour.
Tavolata is part of the Ethan Stowell Empire that includes Seattle institutions such as How To Cook a Wolf, Staple & Fancy, Red Cow and Rione XIII. I highly recommend visiting any of his restaurants which range from steak to pizza to Mexican and as you will see with Tavolata, Italian.
The happy hour menu is limited to the bar area and patio, but we’ve never had a problem getting a seat as long as you are there by about 5:30.
Tavolata’s happy hour is one of the greatest hacks in Seattle. Not only can you enjoy dishes from one of the top restauranteurs in Seattle, but you get them for nearly half the price with no decrease in quality, presentation or taste! Let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Here are the dishes our party of 4 ordered:
Savings – $37!!!!!! BAM!!!! Less than $12 a person and this includes a 20% tip!
Also, I haven’t even mentioned the happy hour drink savings. Unfortunately, we didn’t keep track of this and not everybody ordered a drink off the happy hour drink menu.
We had the choice of sitting indoor at the bar area or outside on the patio, which is truthfully pretty limited in space. It was a rare sunny evening, so we chose el fresco. So a short description of each dish. The papardelle was my favorite. It had a pork/beef ragu sauce with a hint of mint. I probably ate 2/3 of it. Sorry to the other folks at the table for hogging it! The rigatoni was a little spicy due to the Italian sausage. Love the generous portion of grated cheese. The spaghetti and meatballs were also a hit. The sauce was thick and the meatballs dense enough to cut up and pair with the spaghetti. The spaghetti on it’s own is good, but paired with the meatballs made it sooooooo good. Of the four, the gnocchi was my least favorite, but it was still good and a hit with the rest of the table. I did love the presentation in a baking dish and the melted mozzarella, but I prefer my gnocchi in smaller pieces. These came as six huge polenta pucks. It’s hard to nitpick when you pair the fluffy gnocchi with the sauce and baked cheese it is admittedly delicous. This one is totally filling. Check out our photos and scores for each dish down below.
Rigatoni -spicy italian sausage, tomato, marjoram, parmesan. Score: (5.00/5.00)
I know some people will say for happy hour, the dishes are still on the high priced side. When comparing to all other happy hours in Seattle, yes. When comparing to other “quality” restaurant happy hours, you’re insane! This is one of the best bang for you buck treats in Seattle. I honestly don’t think Tavolata even needs to have a happy hour, they’d still draw in crowds without it. I’m just grateful they do. This easily fed a party of four and in fact we had some leftovers to take home.
One last thing, I’d still encourage you to go to dinner at Tavolata for their risotto, pork chop, ribeye and picatta, which are not on their happy hour menu. One thing you can count on from an Ethan Stowell restaurant is the decor and atmosphere just makes you feel you’re in for a special experience and with the pairing of the delicious food makes for a great evening.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 5.00
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 5.00
Bang for the Buck(happy hour only): 5.00
Overall: 5.00
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
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- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: Shortly after publishing this post claiming Tavolata had the best Happy Hour in Seattle, a reader suggested checking out BBQ Smith’s Happy Hour, so we took her up on her suggestion.
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