The family-run Italian restaurant serves a range of favourite dishes
Laviano’s Italian restaurant in Keynsham
Things didn’t get off to the greatest of starts when we arrived at Keynsham restaurant Laviano’s.
The greeting was friendly enough but we were shown to the most distant table in the huge dining room, the one next to the kitchen swing door and the table with the grey plastic cutlery tray and old tea towels.
It was also the table nearest to the windows looking into the small garden area, the doors still bearing the ‘social distancing’ stickers from the post-pandemic reopening.
We soon asked to move tables closer to other diners, a request met politely and without fuss, the waiter agreeing that the previous table wasn’t exactly the best in the house.
And it’s not as if there isn’t plenty of space in Laviano’s – it’s a cavernous restaurant with a bar area and a huge open kitchen along one side.
Surprisingly, it was already getting quite busy for a mid-week evening, with a family of ten celebrating a birthday on one table, a party of 12 on another and a few couples dotted here and there.
Inside Laviano’s restaurant in Keynsham
And this is clearly the ongoing appeal of Laviano’s – it’s one of those large, family-friendly restaurants well supported by Keynsham locals.
The menu – several laminated A4 sheets on a clipboard – is as extensive as the dining room itself and covers all the usual Italian trattoria staples of pasta, pizza, fish, meat and chicken dishes.
I kicked off with the gamberetti gamberoni piccante (£10.95) – a generous dish with plenty of king and medium-sized prawns in a rich and fiery tomato, garlic, white wine and chilli sauce that was a touch too watery and soup-like but there was plenty of bread for mopping up.
My daughter had the funghi fritti profonde (£8.95) – essentially deep-fried breadcrumbed button mushrooms served with creamy garlic, lemon and parsley dip and with an unadvertised salad of olives, grated carrot, leaves and tomato on the side.
Rigatoni and meatballs at Laviano’s
For mains, rigatoni con polpette (£13.75) was a hearty dish piled high with fat tubes of pasta, bite-sized beef meatballs and a tomato and basil sauce.
The Angelo pizza (£14.25) was also enjoyable – the thin, speckled base carpeted with tomato sauce, anchovies, capers, olives, oregano and mozzarella.
The Angelo pizza at Laviano’s
What was described as ‘homemade’ tiramisu (£7.25) was a uniform, cake-like wedge of the Italian favourite rather than the individual scoops served in other places.
Still, all the expected cream, coffee and booze flavours were present and correct nonetheless so no complaints there.
OK, the food may not be groundbreaking or worth a major detour but it’s good quality, generous and fairly priced.
More importantly, Laviano’s is one of those family-run high street Italian restaurants that are always there for the locals, whether it’s for a celebration meal, post-work pizza, romantic date night or simply a catch up with friends.
It would be easy to take such places for granted but they are as important to small towns as a decent pub when it comes to community hubs – they are to be cherished and used as much as possible.
Laviano’s, 44 Temple Street, Keynsham, BS31 1EH.