Sapori Ristorante Italiano

The spot itself is very warm and cozy and cute. It gets even warmer if you sit near the wood-​fired oven, which we did, although unintentionally as the hostess sat us there.
App: We started off with the Barbabietole e Pecorino salad, which is beet and spinach with fried pecorino cheese. Beets and fried cheese? Can’t be beet. What, too cheesy? [See what I did there?] This was definitely the highlight of the meal.
Main: I had heard very good things about the pizza, but Sapori didn’t really come through for me in that regard. The mistake may have been with the order — the good things I heard were all about the classic Margherita and we ended up getting the Pizza Fra Diavolo on a whim as I was in the mood for something spicy. The Fra didn’t have a great sauce, unfortunately, and it was only slightly spicy. That would have been fine if it had complemented otherwise great flavors, but nothing on the pizza really stood out. I think this may be a new menu item as its not even listed on their website, so maybe it just needs some time. On the other hand, maybe don’t risk it and go with the Margherita.

Nothing to brag about. I think they used the same tomato sauce on all their dishes and I feel that it actually tasted a bit sour.
The pappardelle where good, but as I said the sauce was ehhhh.
I would not go back.

Appearance wise, the restaurant is nice. The bread they give you is pretty good, its different and they provide a chickpea/​bean sauce. The pizza is also pretty good (artisan style).
One thing really bothered me was a really funky smell in the restaurant. It smelled literally like a garbage can was next to us under our noses.

Recently, I stopped by my favorite place in Murray Hill and I tried something new: the seafood risotto! It was so creamy, filling and delicious! I would definitely order this again.
Also, as an appetizer we had a white pizza which was AMAZING, usually I am all about the margherita pizza, but I would recommend this pie to everyone.

It’s the cutest restaurant alive! Loved the interiors but they also have an backyard area with a bunch of tables and seats. It was a perfect place to dine during last week’s weather.
I ordered the special, a fettucine dish with seafood, and it was good. It wasn’t great but it filled you up and it was tasty enough. Service was excellent and they were very attentive.

Manhattan. Murray Hill. Wood Oven Pizza. House-​made Ricotta. Amazing service. Intimate Atmosphere. Reservations not required. Need I say more?
Look, I’m no Manhattanite; I just love to visit as often as I can and experience as much food as Manhattan and the other boroughs have to offer, so that’s my POV disclaimer.
I happened upon Sapori by pure serendipity, because my attempt to dine at Le Parisien next door was thwarted by a 3-​hour wait. I walked into Sapori because it looked welcoming, not overly busy, and had the «People on Unilocal!Love Us» stickers on the front door :)
We were seated right at the front, at a cozy table, with a nice view of the streetscape. Server was quick to bring tap/​bottled water, and my Malbec appeared within 2 minutes. Happy camper was I.
We ordered a House Salad — delicious with thinly-​shaved asiago and a light house-​made vinaigrette, and of course an heirloom tomato caprese salad, with some seriously delicious mozzarella; I believe it was bufala mozzarella.
Okay, now obviously we ordered a pizza to share — how could we not? Delicious as expected, and as we ordered the Quattro Formaggi — we were anxious to try the house-​made ricotta, which was the perfect blend of salty and creamy. And although I’m not a fan of the overpowering Gorgonzola flavor, it was the perfect complement to the other cheeses on the pie, and was welcomed by my pizza-​loving palate.
Total bill was only $ 50; not too shabby for wine, salads, and plenty of pizza, plus great service and a memorable, warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Best italian restaurant in Murray Hill… Maybe best overall.
Food: Everything is delicious and fairly reasonable prices. My favorites are any of the pizzas (WOOD BURN OVEN!!!) and one of their «special» gnocchis which I have been able to get everytime I’ve been, the Sweet Potatoe Gnocchi. Handmade and scrumptous.
Wine List leaves something to be desired, but you got your reds which is all you really need with some pasta/​pizza.
Service: Very friendly and attentive.
Ambiance: When it’s cold you can sit on the bar near the wood burn oven and watch the pizza flipper… when it’s hot you have the lovely outdoor patio. What more could you want?
Perfect spot for a date, friends, anything… Go to Sapori.

I came to Sapori on a Saturday night around 9pm with a group of 9. The place was pretty empty and they sat us in the outdoor patio area which was a pleasant surprise. The Caprese salad was incredibly fresh and delicious. We ordered 3 large pizzas to share: the White pizza, the Meat Lover’s and the Margherita with Arugula and Parmesan. They came out really fast and all 3 were amazing! The crust is perfectly crispy yet fluffy on the inside. Service was a little slow (and they over-​poured all of our water glasses so that the table got a little soaked). But the food more than made up for what lacked in service.
If you’re going to Sapori and only getting one pizza (which would be crazy), get the White Pizza. Homemade ricotta + perfect pizza dough + brick oven = irresistible. It’s absolutely incredible and you won’t miss the sauce at all.

Came here on a weekday night for dinner. I was there early, around 6:30. It wasn’t too crowded, but people definitely started coming in around 8 or so. I was surprised.
The waitress was SO nice and friendly. Service was good.
Had some salads to start and then two of their small brick oven pizzas. I thought the pizzas were delicious. They have a nice selection. I would definitely go back.

Nice little Italian spot, reasonably priced. We tried the wood fired pizza and the spaghetti carbonara. The chickpea dip at the beginning was deifnitely different, and we really liked it. The wood fired pizza tasted like all the ingredients were of high quality. Spaghetti carbonara was pretty standard. I would say the wood fired dishes are really good here.
We got the free glass of wine using the Unilocal coupon! Definitely a plus

Relocating to New York from Miami prior to New Years Eve was a huge weather shock but with that out of the way, my wife and I were pleased to find Sapori. Geno and his staff are quite attentive so service will never be an issue imho.
In the span of two weeks, we’ve eaten at Sapori 4 times. We love the food. We’ve had the mussels, the Carbonara, the Salmone and Branzino, the pizzas, the specials and you can’t go wrong. This restaurant is a hidden gem but not for long. IF you don’t have a reservation on weekends, you might be waiting awhile. One note, the wine list though small is quite affordable for those not wanting to spend 70, 80 or more per bottle. BEST Cannoli I’ve ever tasted TOO!

Amazing amazing wood oven pizza!
This is a hidden gem in Murray Hill, but I suspect it won’t be for long. We had some homemade soup, followed by a few of their special pizzas.
The pizza chef was very pleasant, and the server was delightful. When we told them we didn’t drink alcohol, but asked if we could use our Unilocal coupon for free wine to be applied towards coffee, it was not a problem. Some places give you such a hard time about stuff like that.
The pasta dishes looked equally amazing, and I know we will definitely return.
If you’re vegetarian like me, I recommend the Vegetarian Pizza. Great mix of veggies, and light on the cheese. Fantastico!

One of my new favorite places in the murray hill area! Great pizza, cosy atmosphere, and reasonable prices are definite pluses. Their lunch specials are also really good… I split a salad and a pizza with a friend and we ended up spending less than 10 bucks each I think. The staff, while all seeming very polite and nice, appear to vary in terms of waitering skill. my last person, while really cute and nice, just seemed a little bit confused. But, service still ended up being very good, despite this. Totally recommend this place for anyone who’s looking for good pizza and in the area.

I usually feel unqualified to write reviews of places I’ve only been once, but I had to share how great Sapori was. I ate there last weekend with a friend, and we both loved our pasta, along with the bread and chickpea spread they gave us for an appetizer. The food was very fresh (my tagliatelle was actually homemade), and the service was surprisingly efficient. Being able to sit outside was wonderful, too. Overall, I would highly recommend checking Sapori out if you’re in the area.
Plus, the free glass of wine we both got from checking in on Unilocal was a nice added bonus!

Charming covered garden patio area in the back — it was a little windy when I was there and the restaurant had to find weights to hold the cover from blowing away. Met up with a couple of friends there and we had a few bites to share.
– Well, 3 bottles, one for each of us of bubbly and wine
– Shared a pizza, it was pretty good
– A little appetizer plate with seafood and artichokes (can’t remember).
Food was good. Service was good. I’d definitely go back to just hang out with friends and enjoy a nice evening.

The garden in back is lovely, like Roma. Authentic tranquil suprise on E.33^rd St. The rest of the dining experience is a mixed bag of sorts.
The bread w/​bean dip came halfway through the meal after repeated requests. My salad of escarole was tasty and generous. The special risotto w/​rock shrimp and creamy sauce was spot on. The spaghetti w/​clams and red sauce was underseasoned. Cute nabe spot and pizza looks great here. They have wine and beer now!

Really charming neighborhood place and I had no idea it was there until a friend suggested a bunch of us dine there for a girl’s night. The pizza was fantastic — we shared the classic and four cheese pies and both were delish. Main course was good but not great. I had the spinach fettutine special with shrimp. The shrimp was very fresh but the pasta was a bit too al dente for my taste.
I have no complaints about the service. I arrived early and they sat me at my table and poured me a glass of wine from the bottle I brought so I could relax. The waitress was extremely patient despite the fact that my party of six kept sending her away because we were too busy catching up to look at the menu. And the manager was extremely friendly.
The place is very loud and rowdy so I would probably reserve this restaurant for large groups as opposed to a romantic date but I would definitely come back.

This was the worst dining experience of my life! I hope that I never encounter another restaurant like this or a staff that is so outwardly rude.
To start our reservation was given away and we had to wait over an hour to be seated. With many apologies from the host, we were excited to start our meal. This was not the case by any means, it took over 30 minutes until we finally got the right menus and our bottles of wine open. Over an hour after we were seated did the appetizers start to come out, and they slowly came out one by one (we ordered 6). Dinners took another hour before they came out, and they also came out one by one. The food was not horrible, but it was hard to enjoy a dinner with 8 friends when the all the food came out at different times.
The worst part was not the service, the waiting, or the cold food. For me the fact that the staff then became agitated with us and began arguing and yelling at us pushed me over the edge. The chef got upset with us because we told him we were disappointed in the speed of service. He also tried to withhold our bottle of wine, while yelling at us for being too loud and disturbing the other patrons (which there were none). This was right after he took off his chef jacket and was doing tequila shots with the table next to us.
I had hoped that the night was going to be an unforgettable night out with new friends. The night will go down as one of the most unforgettable dining experiences of our lives, but for all the wrong reasons!

Great little place that just opened up across the street. Now, I would normally give a casual Italian restaurant like this 4 stars, as I feel 5 star dining is a calibur like Per Se or Eleven Madison, but the food was just so delicious. I guarantee, after a month or so of working out the smaller kinks, this place will be busy. **NO liquor license yet, so you can BYOB and there is no corkage fee!
It’s small and it’s quaint, and it’s laid back vibe give it the true feeling of a pizzeria. Right when you walk in it’s tough to miss the giant brick pizza oven in the back. Smells of garlic and marinara roam the air and immediately constitutes your decision to dine here.
Our waitress had a little difficulty with English, but to be honest that is what I want. I want authentic Italian, and I would hope so does everyone else. She recommended some excellent dishes; an appetizer with buffalo mozzarella, tomato and prosciutto which was full of flavor… we demolished it to say the least. A large, smoked portobello mushroom on top really made the dish.
My date and I shared the linguine with several types of shell fish. It was recommended as their seafood is freshly caught. We also shared one of their wood fired pizzas, the Pizza Capricciosa. Crust was perfection. Such a great pizza.
Don’t leave without trying their home made tiramisu, or a strong italian roast espresso macchiato. Mmmm
I love this place, so happy to have it in our neighborhood. Can’t wait for summertime when the back patio is open!

I work in the area and I’m bored with the food there., most of it sucks if you’re a foodie. plus I’ve eaten it 5 days a week for years. so a couple of days ago when it was spring like warm (weird weather), I went for a walk looking for some variety. Came across Sapori. I don’t usually eat at places with such few reviews but they looked new and I was desperate for some new food.
Never found a pizzeria in the area that I like but I’m diggin Sapori. They could use a few more pizza toppings (yes I know pineapple & ham is considered an insult to pizza but I still love it, blame a poorly spent youth eating Dominos) and I wouldn’t mind being able to buy it by the slice (I can’t eat an entire pie for lunch!) but their food is great and its definitely the best pizzeria in the area.
The quality of the food seems to be pretty high and I think the mozzarella is homestyle, which I prefer over the shredded processed stuff you get at most pizzerias. Overall they seem to be using really good materials (sauce was good, fresh basil, etc).
Warning if you don’t like a little char on your pizza then you should probably go with another dish. They have a wood burning oven, so it gets cooked a bit unevenly. Not that its bad at all but if you’re not used to wood fired pizza you might not get it. I’d say try it, its waaaaaay better. But I tend to like anything cooked with a wood fire. =)
The owner seems like a really nice guy and he offered me a few sample a pasta dish which was also really good.
If I was only comparing them to pizzeria’s, I’d give em a 4 ½ (only Grimaldi’s and L&B Spumoni gardens is a 5 in my book) but I gave them a 4 because its not the sort of restaurant I’d give a 5 on Unilocal.Traif is a 5 but its a totally different style of food & dining experience.