Ava

What a cute place!! It was our first time here and we started with the ravioli and pork belly. Soooo good. Anna took great care of us and offered the sea bass special to us which I decided to order. Unfortunately in my first bite there was a bone, and it lacked salt. Other than that, service, wine, and price were on point.

Wife had heard about this place so when in Tampa we thought we give it a try. Started off with Fried bread. She is was amazing. One person got octopus appetizer which they described as good. Two of the party had spaghetti and meatballs other two got chicken parm. They were both just ok. My particular parm was slightly overdone, sauce and spaghetti accompanied it. Sauce did not have much flavor. Same was said for the two who loved the meatballs but sauce and spaghetti were again ok. First time ever to Italian restaurant where to fresh Parmesan cheese or pepper offered. Found this strange. Pizzas looked great. Wish I would have ordered that instead. If we go back I would try the pizzas.

We were a large group celebrating a friends birthday The food exceeded my expectations. Had the double filet mignon . Service was superb. Staff were super friendly. I don't usually like meat balls but the ones I had at this restaurant were surprisingly very delicious

Ava is always a good time. Happy hour goes til like seven and the food is amazing. This was my first time trying the La Bestia pizza and it was excellent. I usually get the Funghi which is also delicious. The pork belly was crispy and cooked to perfection. The outside seating is covered and comfortable and the vibes are good. The bartenders and servers are attentive and I always have a good time.

Second trip to Ava and it has substantially improved from my visit in 2023. Excellent location on South Howard just down from Bern's. Definitely a place to dress up and be seen. Inside is very Italian bistro and as loud as a bustling city street in downtown Rome on a Friday night. This night however was a Thursday and the purpose for this gathering was to utilize their private meeting room to continue an educational series. Briefly for those planning a meeting, the space easily holds 20 plus with two length wise tables and a flat screen TV with HDMI capabilities. The room is separated by a very large and heavy barndoor. Biggest con is despite this door the noise certainly makes its way into the room like a determined carrier pigeon. Further, each time the door is even slightly agape the presenter can barely hear him/herself speak. Our servers were very much on top of our drinks and food needs but a piece of advice would be to try and cluster some of the entries into the room to minimize the noise. Anyway, the food is where I really want to focus my attention. On a prior visit I found the pasta to be bland and the meats to be salty. On this visit I found the pastas to be bland, but the meats to be perfectly cooked and with great portions. I was particularly in love with our appetizer choices. Meatballs were moist and mounded high. Sauced and succulent. Our meat and cheese board was well assembled and came with a good selection of mustards and sauces, but definitely needed more crackers or breads to deliver the goods. We also had the shrimp. Served on a bed of what appeared to be sourdough. These shrimp were very well fed and as a result so was I. My main entre was the lamb duo. A two to tango kind of dance between chops and sausage. Very tender and well seasoned. Between the two the sausage actually took over from the lollipops on flavor. All in all I feel that this establishment is in tune with their feedback to step up the food and the service. I would definitely recommend Ava for a step up from just a casual night out.

The services was top notch! We stumbled here strolling through S. Tampa on Howard. We loved the ambiance from the street and stepped in. Inside and outside are thoughtfully decorated. The patio seating area is so inviting and the place to be.. the Food was fantastic! Mind you, we never heard of this place. Such well crafted plates and quality ingredients levels this place up. Kudos to the chef everything we ate was fantastic.

Ava is a great place for drinks with your girls or a date night! The ambiance is amazing, the vibe and the aesthetics are superb. I heard about this restaurant before but I never had the opportunity to come by, so I knew about restaurant week and I saw the perfect chance to try it, so I gathered my friends for a ladies night here last night. I ordered a mule, and it was outstanding so I had to get another one. As I said, we came for restaurant week so we decided to go for that menu, it was an appetizer, an entree and dessert for $40 which was more than worthy. I started with the house salad, it was well balanced, you could taste everything that was in there. Then we moved forward to our entrees, I got the Australian Wagyu with mash potatoes and asparagus, the meat was great, very well cooked and seasoned and the mashed potatoes was out of this world, so good. As dessert, I got the homemade cannolis and the cream was soo good! Overall this experience was great, and I'm coming back for sure, shoutout to César, our waiter, he was great! Very friendly, service outstanding and recommendations on point. See you very soon, Ava.

The food and service was amazing. The bread service is a must try! The bread is so fresh and delicious. Love mussels and was skeptical about them being in a pesto sauce but it was hands down 10/10.

Ava has a beautiful set up . It looks good. Nice lighting. The menu is extensive. Lots of unique Italian dishes. Drinks are fine. Service was adequate. The chairs are not really comfortable. They are woven like an old outdoor patio chair except we we inside. We ordered a charcuterie board but it did not have the grill bread it was suppose to have. It was substituted with no explanation. The main dishes were pretty good. Not exactly my taste but nicely prepared. We were there fairly early and my first two choices on the menu were no longer available. That was strange for a Saturday night. I hope to try this place again when everything is available.

Came for dinner whileIn town for business. Decent menu. They honored our reservation. Service was prompt. Decent ambience. Ordered the bread service which was very good. Mixed salad was very good and served 3 people. Chicken parmigiana was good. Pasta bolognese was also very good. Margarita pizza was ok and could have been hotter. Prices reasonable.