Taverna 54

Frank Quattrone

Even in the dimly lighted dining room, it was hard not to notice the buzz permeating the crowded restaurant. Every seat was filled—on a Thursday evening. The lure, no doubt—Taverna 54’s Lambertville Local Dinner. Offered every Tuesday through Thursday evening, the meal features a soup or salad to start, pasta or chicken as the main course ($5 more for salmon), plus dessert—for just $39.00.

When I asked our courtly server, Robert Dowd, if the restaurant is always this busy, he said, above the din, “Yes—but more so on weekends!” That’s when the patio seating, with big heating lamps lighting the way, really comes in handy, weather permitting.

But T54, as proud restaurateur Massimo Schiavon prefers calling his restaurant, wouldn’t be nearly as crowded without its decidedly authentic Italian menu. “First of all,” he says, “I’m a real Italian guy, from Genova, Italy, owning the restaurant. It’s not Americanized. There’s no American influence. My Bolognese is really authentic—from my grandmother’s own recipe—made with veal. No garlic or water. Pork, veal, beef, and rosemary.

“Just like our meatball special tonight, in marinara sauce.” It was our appetizer, a half-dozen hearty meatballs, delicious and almost enough to serve as an entrée. 

Massimo continued. “Our [spaghetti] carbonara has no cream. We use real egg yolk, with pecorino cheese, guanciale [cured pig cheek], not bacon, and black pepper, exactly as it’s made in Italy. I’m also a wine connoisseur, so I select most of our wines from different regions and wineries in Italy.”

Although he is not a chef, Massimo knows the hospitality business inside and out. He says he has learned much, not only from his grandmother, but also from his paternal grandfather, who loved to cook for the family during holidays back in Genoa. He had retired after years of serving as a maître d’ on cruise ships, where he learned to cook from their chefs. Massimo’s passion for cooking began there. But he then worked at several restaurants in the Genovese area. That’s when his life changed irrevocably. 

“My muse is my wife, Antoinette Borromeo. I met her in 2000, when I was working in a restaurant and she was living in an apartment above the restaurant. Although she was born in America, of parents born in Cosenza, Calabria, she was teaching English to Italian businesses, and when I first saw her, I knew I would marry her. Her father and sister were living in Genova at the time.

“We dated and then came to live in America, where I worked in hospitality management for fifteen years,” including as general manager at Sirio, a restaurant inside the Pierre Hotel, owned by the owner of Le Cirque, the acclaimed Big Apple restaurant, as well as at the Four Seasons.

After the pandemic, they moved to Hopewell, N.J., to be close to her parents, Frank and Adele Borromeo. “With their help,” he said, “we opened our first restaurant together, Taverna 54.” Now he and Antoinette, whom he calls “the owner of the door on weekends,” have a daughter and a son—Bianca, 14, and Luca, 13. 

Bianca assists her mother on weekends and Luca already works the floor when he is not at school or home studying. Massimo, who designed the restaurant’s “5T4” logo and brand, has hopes that his children will help him open more restaurants with this brand in years to come.

Guests enjoy such appetizers as Steak Tartare, Grilled Octopus, Crispy Calamari, and Sticky Ribs. There is also a Crudo Bar, where you can order up to a dozen oysters, Shrimp Cocktail, or the T54 “Catch of the Day.” Soups include T54 Minestrone Genovese, Gazpacho, and specials like Carrot Ginger Soup the night of our visit.

Eve, who knows steaks well, enjoyed her 16-ounce Black Angus New York Strip (“grass fed and corn-finished”), served with fingerling potato with Bordelaise on the side. Even better for a seafood lover like me was the beautifully butterflied Branzino, topped with warm cherry tomatoes and huge black olives.

Other entrées and pastas include the Berkshire Pork Chop, served with glazed roasted apricot, almonds, and sage; Rigatoni Bolognese; and Spinach Potato Gnocchi. Massimo says that the Fall menu (it changes every season) will include Pumpkin Gnocchi; Grilled Swordfish Steak; and Veal Shank Osso Buco alla Milanese.

Our desserts were Affogato, a “flight” of Italian gelati, and a divine Olive Oil Cake, enriched with pistachio, ricotta, and orange.

The professionally trained staff includes congenial weekday maître d’ Mario Peluso, from Calabria, and our server, Robert Dowd, who worked for several years at fine-dining restaurants on St. John’s in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Taverna 54 is located at 54 N. Franklin St., Lambertville, New Jersey; 609-460-4212; www.taverna54.com. Open for dinner Tuesday–Saturday, 5–10 p.m. and on Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–4 p.m. Closed Monday. Reservations recommended, especially weekends. Available for private events.