La Taverna was one of the first Italian restaurants to open outside Central London in the South East of England in June 1962. Peppino and Pauline Battocchi have owned the restaurant throughout this time and still run it with a very personal touch. The restaurant remains one of the few authentic Italian Restaurants in the area to this date.

Five Decades of La Taverna

In 1962, Windsor was a small market town. La Taverna was a fraction of its present size in those days. Italian produce was not readily available and garlic could only be purchased from the chemist. Peppino had to go to the market in London daily and could only buy Espresso coffee beans in Soho. It didn’t take long for Peppino and his restaurant to earn a good local reputation and, when customers started to queue for a table, Peppino had to purchase the shop next door and expand the ground floor to its present size.

With the new decade, 1970 also heralded the opening of Peppino’s second restaurant, Don Peppino, adjacent to Windsor’s Theatre Royal. This restaurant enjoyed enormous success with a loyal local clientele, including many corporate clients, particularly from Slough Trading Estate, and local celebrities and theatregoers. It also became a very popular venue for visitors to Windsor Races and to Royal Ascot and Peppino made several good friends among the racing fraternity at that time, who remain among his closest friends today.

In the 1980s, the fashion for the traditional Italian trattoria changed. La Taverna had undergone a facelift. A smart Bar had been introduced with a new Gaggia coffee machine, certainly the first one in Windsor, providing real espresso coffee! In 1985, Peppino decided to close Don Peppino, and returned to focus on trading from La Taverna. Giorgio Baldrocco had been his head waiter at Don Peppino and he agreed to join Peppino as manager of La Taverna. They were a very successful team.

By the beginning of the Nineties, a rise in the number of global corporations setting up offices along the M4 corridor and increased traffic through Heathrow Airport caused a further increase in trade at La Taverna. At the same time, the offices above the restaurant had been empty for some time and were offered to him by the landlord. Peppino could see that this extra space would be useful to provide a private dining room and in 1993, he expanded the restaurant in to this area. The Bar was moved to the first floor and a fabulous area created to cater for large tables and private dinner parties for between 15 and 35 people.

By the New Millennium, La Taverna continued to enjoy an excellent reputation. Alfredo Mannini had been appointed as Head Chef and Peppino’s daughter Maria Grazia had joined her father in the running of the business. Following Giorgio’s retirement, Toni Vasquez returned to work with Peppino. Toni had worked at Don Peppino from 1970 until the restaurant closed in 1985.

In January 2010, La Taverna closed for 5 weeks for a major refurbishment of the ground and first floor restaurant. The new look has been very well received by all our customers. Click here to view our gallery of images of the restaurant.

Throughout its five decades, La Taverna has undergone changes with the times but three important ingredients have always remained the same:-

Warm Welcome
Excellent Service
Top Quality Food, prepared to order using best market produce