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Culinary Forces Collaborate on Festive New Italian Restaurant — Make Holiday Rezzies Now

Brian Kennedy
Culinary Forces Collaborate on Festive New Italian Restaurant — Make Holiday Rezzies Now

THE CULINARY FORCES behind several of Houston’s best restaurants have quietly been collaborating on a new restaurant, Tavola, which opens on Post Oak just in time for all the festivities and feasts of the holiday season.

Berg Hospitality (B&B Butchers, Trattoria Sofia, Turner's) and The Bastion Collection (Le Jardinier, Café Leonelli) will debut the upscale Italian eatery in BLVD Place on Wednesday, Dec. 13. Polished and glamorous, it aims to be the next see-and-be scene in a neighborhood known for them.

Designed by Gail McCleese of Sensitori along with The Bastion Collection team and Ben Berg, Tavola, with an enclosed patio and brasserie-style bar, seats 118. A palette of "millennial mauve" and a Pantone-approved shade of peach sets the tone for a modern dining experience accented by unexpected details like a burl-wood Michelangelo mosaic and an opera-style enclave with a gold ceiling, perfect for small groups.

The executive chef of the restaurant is Luca Di Benedetto, a Milan-born industry vet who trained under Gualtiero Marchesi and has helmed kitchens of several Michelin-starred restaurants and luxury hotels. Tavola's "culinary experience" was "designed in partnership and oversight from The Bastion Collection’s Michelin-Starred Corporate Chef Salvatore Martone, a Joël Robuchon protege," per a release.

Di Benedetto is particularly excited about his cacio e pepe, which features agnolotti (instead of spaghetti) filled with roasted artichokes that “explode with flavor.” His ragu has wild boar, and his seven-layer lasagna is made with beef brisket, pancetta and pork butt. As if that's not enough, the dessert menu touts a "showstopper" tiramisu, and EVOO gelato.

The restaurant will serve lunch and dinner daily.

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