La Traviata is a pretty Italian resto in downtown Austin — long bar, exposed brick, pretty red walls, glass chandeliers — and a casual yet slightly upscale vibe.

We arrived on the early-side of dinner our and were promptly seated without any reservation. Having already sampled a couple of cocktails from our hotel bar (note: lychee martinis, hard to come by in New England, and which I had written off as not an American thing, re-appeared in full-force on Austin menus), we were snacky, and we started with some crusty bread and a few choices from La Trav’s build-your-own antipasti menu. I found this a great idea and there were some very tempting choices from the lists of meats, cheeses, and greens. We tried the Brussels sprouts (an interesting raw presentation that Mr. Rabbit quite liked), a great Serrano (very thick, meaty and dry), and a particularly excellent Texan goat cheese (again, great cheese in Texas!), all very satisfying. We also ordered a bottle of Rioja from their very reasonable wine list. The bottle jammier and less “dirty” than expected, but really good nonetheless — perhaps even especially good despite its unexpected flavour.

As we moved on to mains, I chose an entrée portion of the ravioli special —a cheese filled ravioli with brisket ragout. The ravioli were surprisingly light and the sauce was flavourful and satisfying. I was worried that this dish would be too rich or heavy, but the portion and the pasta/sauce ratio was quite perfect and I was really quite pleased and surprised by the delicacy of the dish. Mr. Rabbit also opted for a pasta, veal cheek rigatoni with light, airy pasta and a not-overpowering meat sauce. Both pastas has a surprisingly light touch and were great flavour — and value.

Service at La Traviata was very pleasant, and we found the bill surprisingly low. We were quite full and opted not to select from La Traviata’s dessert menu, a move that I slightly regretted when pillage-ing boring M&Ms from the hotel mini bar an hour after we’d left the resto. Overall, another great spot that I could definitely recommend for casual but still suitably refined Italian in downtown Austin.

www.latraviata.net (warning: web site is a little buggy)

Posted on December 31st, 2007 by rabbit
Filed under: Texas, Restaurant Reviews