I’m a big foodie, so I’m always on the hunt for a new restaurant to try. Fortunately, Columbia boasts quite a lot of amazing restaurants! Whether you’re looking for a specific type of food, a family oriented restaurant, something for date night, or a girls night out, you won’t be disappointed.
I recently had a fun girls night out with a friend of mine and we ventured on over to Travinia Italian Kitchen and Wine Bar in Northeast Columbia. Travinia is a lovely Italian restaurant. It has more of a formal feeling to it, so it’s better suited for a date night or girls night out than dining with young children (teens will be good though!), but it’s a very comfortable and inviting restaurant.
Travinia boasts a wonderful wine, beer, and cocktail list. There’s pretty much any type of the three that you could want. I went with a sweet, sparkling wine on this trip and it didn’t disappoint.
If you’re an appetizer person, Travinia offers some wonderful small plates to get you started. My friend and I ordered the antipasta platter, which was filled with delicious meats, cheese, olives, and roasted veggies.
The dinner menu has quite a selection of Italian favorites, so it was hard to choose what to get. I ended up ordering the prosciutto and fig flatbread; a delicious flatbread topped with arugula, mozzarella, lemon oil, prosciutto, and a fig paste. The combination of flavors was a delight!
My girlfriend ordered the Pasta Mia Nonna; which she assured me is divine. This pasta dish is made with bowtie pasta, grilled chicken, mushrooms, and roasted tomatoes in an asiago cream sauce. She’s been to Travinia multiple times and said it’s her favorite dish. I didn’t try it but it looked amazing.
Unfortunately, we were too full to order any dessert. But the dessert menu looked wonderful with items like creme brule, tiramisu, cheesecake, and cannoli. I’ll have to get some next time!
When it comes to Italian food, I tend to be picky. I grew up in a large Italian family and am used to my family’s homemade dishes, so I don’t always like Italian restaurants. Seems snotty, I know, but when you grow up having Italian foods made a certain way your whole life (including homemade sauce, meatballs and pasta), everything else doesn’t always taste right. But Travinia is an Italian restaurant I very much enjoyed and plan to frequent again.
You’ll find Travinia located at 101 Sparkleberry Crossing Rd. (Off of Clemson Rd.)
Hours: Sunday – Thursday, 11:30 am – 9:00 pm; Friday – Saturday, 11:30 am – 10:00 pm
