Photo credit: Café Taverna
Coming upon its one-year anniversary, Café Taverna has already won the hearts of many Tallahassee residents.
Café Taverna is located in Midtown and is the ideal spot for brunch, dinner and events.
The rustic ambiance and dimly lit chandeliers give a great cozy feeling. In order to capture the full essence, you must see it for yourself.
The cafe offers a Southern cuisine with a Latin twist. With two different menus for brunch and dinner, the cafe has a great choice for everyone’s taste buds. All of the entrées are cooked to order.
Café Taverna is owned by Jorge Alanis, who has been in the restaurant business for 20 years.
The vision of Café Taverna came from Alanis wanting to take a shot on his own, so he and his former boss turned business partner Sean Lee, did just that.
Alanis and Lee wanted to transition from the original Asian cuisine that they have done for many years, so they decided it was time to open a new restaurant with American cuisine with a Latin flavor.
“We were trying to do something different than Asian, so we decided to do American. We saw the opportunity to open this location, so we went for it,” said Alanis.
Café Taverna opened its doors last Oct. 19 for a soft opening.
General manager Allison Metcalf said the date was specifically chosen for the launch of the new eatery.
“We chose that date because of our address, 1019 North Monroe,” said Metcalf.
During the opening guests were able to sample numerous dishes from the menu and enjoy specialty drinks at the bar.
Later down the line, an official grand opening was held on Feb. 19 of this year, with all the bells and whistles.
Two of the most popular dishes are from both the brunch and dinner menus.
The brunch time favorite is the French toast and fried chicken, while the fish tacos own the dinner hour.
Café Taverna also serves as a venue for private and public events.
Many events have been held at the cafe, including a fashion show by Novus Racks Mobile Boutique, and a jersey retirement for Peter Warrick.
They are always looking for more ways to improve their services, and the owners like customer feedback and input on changes they would like to see.
“We’re always trying to get better, especially because we are new. We love to hear suggestions from our guests. Our ultimate goal is to please our customers,” Metcalf said.
Some changes are in effect as of now, including additions to the menus, changes of business hours, and new specialty cocktails.
The new business hours are Monday to Thursday 4 p.m.- midnight, Friday and Saturday 4 p.m. – 2 a.m. and Sunday noon – 9 p.m. Brunch will now only be served Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Weekly specials are always offered including Taverna Tuesday, wine and whiskey Wednesday, Thirsty Thursday, Friday is ladies night and early bird brunch specials.
If you would like to check out Café Taverna, it is located at 1019 North Monroe St.