Last night, I was invited to a blogger dinner at Tavolo in Dorchester. (The restaurant is literally yards from the Ashmont T stop.)

Tavolo serves all sorts of Italian cuisine–- pizza, pasta, antipasti, wine, gelato… but it also offers a whole lot more!

The decor inside Tavolo was funky and playful with bright, bold colors on the walls, swirly, globe-like lamps hanging from the ceiling, and whimsical chalk murals featuring cutesy critters munching on pizza slices. The restaurant had a fun-loving, laid-back vibe.

Tavolo has a very casual atmosphere. It’s perfect for relaxing and chatting with friends or sitting at the bar to watch the game.

Tavolo has a great Wednesday night deal: 3 courses for $18!

We had a lively group of 10 bloggers for dinner last night.

Tavolo’s menu is fairly straightforward with a simple selection of dishes– all of which incorporate fresh ingredients from local farms. Love that!

While waiting for everyone to arrive, I snacked on a piece of bread and sipped on a glass of the most delicious white wine.

Before the meal officially started, Tavolo’s chef, Maxwell Thompson, introduced himself to the group. He was really cool!

All of Max’s dishes were of high quality. You could tell that he definitely put a lot of work into what he was doing!

The first course was a Watermelon Salad with feta, lemon, mint, and basil. The combination of watermelon and feta really surprised me. It was amazing! It was a wonderful balance of sweet and salty without being too heavy. Perfect for summer!

The second course was Gnocchi alla Gricia: gnocchi with pancetta, pecorino, and local fava beans. The gnocchi were so light and fluffy. I’ve never tasted gnocchi like that before! The pancetta and pecorino added quite a bit of salty flavor to the dish.

Up next were the chef’s house meatballs. Fan-tastic! They were tender and bursting with flavor from a variety of spices. The tomato sauce that the meatballs were served in was also rich and delicious. “Max’s Meatballs” are a regular menu item that can easily be added to any of the dishes or ordered as a side. If you visit Tavolo, you’ve gotta try them!

Paired with the meatballs was a full-flavored red wine: Sangiovese, Ca’ Del Solo, Bonny Doon.

Delish!

The next course was the Swordfish Involtini. Typically, a swordfish dish wouldn’t catch my attention on a menu, but I loved how it was prepared at Tavolo! The swordfish was wrapped around fontina, garlic, and parsley into a roll-up of sorts. This was the star dish of the night for me! SO GOOD!

Following the swordfish was the Roast Duck Breast, which was served over faro and local string beans and topped with red currant. I’m not a big fan of duck, but I tried a few bites. The skin was crispy and packed with flavor. I loved the faro and beans, and practically devoured them!

With the duck, we tried some Local Golden Zucchini, which made a great side dish.

At this point in the evening, I was stuffed! But, of course, I had room for dessert!

Dessert was a Blueberry ‘Genetti’ Cake, which was toasted blueberry pound caked with a touch of whipped cream on top. The toasted pound cake was out of this world! The smell alone was truly amazing! The edges of the pound cake were sweet and crispy, which definitely enhanced this simple dessert.

Tavalo really seized the opportunity to showcase some of their non-Italian dishes. Tavolo is more than just pizza and pasta!

A number of the dishes from last night’s blogger dinner are not on the regular menu, but perhaps Tavolo has plans to add them soon? With that being said, everything I tried was absolutely delicious! I have a feeling that everything else on their menu is just as good!

Tavolo is most definitely worth a trip to check out! I’ve already told Mal that I am treating him to dinner there very soon!