Sapori

Recommends

Cece423

Joined 2 years ago

Delicious, Creative Menu. My family has been dining at Trattoria Sapori for years. It started with a late night visit for dessert. The tiramisu was delicious! We've returned numerous times and have found that we always have a great meal. I recently celebrated my birthday there with 14 family members and friends and had one of the nicest dinners yet. We started with a Crostini Di Avocado (chopped avocado with cheese and chopped tomato on Italian bread), a surprisingly good take on the familiar bruschetta. We also had fried calamari, which satisfied the squid-fans. For the salad course, we had a fine Caesar, but really liked the Insalata Stella with endive, provolone, pinenuts & fruit. I've had the Risotto ai Funghi and Gnocchi al Brivido in the past and loved both, but this night we went for 2 pasta dishes, Cappellacci di Zucca (my favorite dish here) a pumpkin/squash stuffed ravioli, and a pasta with shrimp. We were almost too full to enjoy the delicious Bass alla Piccata and chicken special. Everything was served family-style this night, but we've always seen generous portions on individual dishes. This is NOT traditional Italian food. I love that there are lots of vegetarian dishes (I don't eat meat), and plenty of veal, chicken, etc. for my dining companions to enjoy. The atmosphere is cozy, there is a small dining room with a couple of more private dining areas toward the back of the restaurant, and some outdoor tables in the summer. Parking can be a little tricky, the neighborhood recently became permit-only, but we've never had a problem finding a spot on Halsted nearby. Chef Anthony and staff are extremely hospitable, prices are reasonable, you won't be disappointed!

Recommends

Beverlyd

Joined 2 years ago

Great Italian Restaurant near my Condo.. I ‘m surprised by how popular this place has become :(

My hubby and I have been going there for years and now every time we go we run into either a friend or co-worker –I guess that ‘s ok. The food and servers still make it worth it.

My fav's are the avocado bruschetta and the pumpkin ravioli or what-ever-they-call them. They are sweet and savory in one sizzling burnt butter dish. A little too much for my tushy, but definitely worth it.

My BF likes the Ossobuco with the mini lasagna. He's more like a meat n potato guy and isn't much of a foodie. Sorry sweetie but I still love you. Anyway, he won't eat it anywhere else.

Great weekday dinner place and the servers are all so friendly and very accomodating. (I brought my mom who doesn't eat anything and the waiter had the chef come out and talk to her to make sure she got what she wanted. She always want to go there now.)

Pro's: Nice Atmosphere, Cozy, Outdoor Patio in the summer, Great Food.

Con's: Can get crowded, esp. on saturday's, can be drafty by the door, I would like to see more pork on the menu.

Doesn't Recommend

rickrez

Joined 6 years ago

Not Authentic stay away if you are a foodie. I went to this restaurant in January and It was awful. The service was friendly, the atmosphere pretty drab, don't sit by the front windows very cold and the food was well awful. The portions were huge but the pasta was not fresh and was over cooked - soft and mushy. The sauces were also out of a jar. If you grew up eating italian or have visited Italy avoid this restaurant at all costs. I had the pumpkin soup which was disgusting, seasoned very badly and then the linguini with mussels or clams can't remember but what I do remember is that I got sick to my stomach shortly after so not to sure about the quality of the seafood. The large portions do not compensate for poor food quality clearly not cooked by Italians.

Doesn't Recommend

nonameslerft

Joined 5 years ago

This is not good Italian food...in fact this is not even ok Italian food.. We arrived and there was a long line...generally a good sign. The events unfolded as follows:

1. It turns out that the major reason the wait was so long was that the host was MIA and remained so for about 10 to 15 minutes. The host finally made an appearance at around 9:15. We then waited another 15 to 20 minutes to be seated.

2. At about 9:30 we were seated for out 9:00 reservation.

3. The service was surprisingly prompt and friendly.

4. Then came the food... I knew that we were in trouble when I could taste loads of butter in the bruschetta.

5. Everything that we had was uninteresting and had the over powering taste of butter and salt. The paste was overcooked to the point of being mushy...one of the worst things you can do in Italian cooking as far as I'm concerned...although this place made me think that maybe the worst thing you can do is substitute butter for olive oil in everything.

6. We left disappointed and wishing that we had pick another place.

If you like decent Italian food this is not the place to go.

Recommends

evamc

Joined 5 years ago

Great food in LP. Awesome Italian food, although it was a little pricey. The service was great and they were very flexible with the menu options.

Recommends

jenj75

Joined 5 years ago

Super friendly service, good food!. I really recommend Sapori if you are in the mood for old-fashioned Italian food in the Lincoln Park area. While it was not the best Italian I have had in Chicago, the food was fresh and thoughtfully prepared. They also had a nice selection of wines - both Italian and New World. But by far, the best part of the evening was the superb service. the Hostess was ultra-friendly, Seating us inside on a busy night, even though our reservation was for the patio (it looked like it was going to rain). And our waiter, Dan, was knowledgeable and attentive. Overall, very impressed.

Doesn't Recommend

Mary202

Joined 5 years ago

Being watched?. This place had excellent lobster ravioli in a creamy pink sauce with a side of cameras everywhere! I have been to many small places in Lincoln Park, but none that made you feel like you were being watched by all the cameras in every room. The fresh pasta was excellent, the server was very attentive, but my friend and i felt really uncomfortable the whole meal with the owners cameras. I've worked in a bistro in the western suburbs that had security cameras at the doors and above the register, but Sapori's "pentagon security" is borderline paranoia! Red movement lights flashed everytime I used my napkin. They are watching every table eat! Security is one thing, or not trusting your staff, but at the cost of making every customer feel observed the whole meal like a polar bear at the Lincoln Park Zoo is a huge price to pay. The food is good, so get take out so you can eat it in privacy!

Recommends

steve_romanchuk

Joined 5 years ago

Outstanding Service, Great Food, and a Cozy Atmosphere. This cozy Italian restaurant in Lincoln Park is an ideal spot for a romantic dinner for two. The European style table arrangements combined with candle light provides the ideal cozy setting. The food is fantastic. I normally order the grilled calamari which is fresh and delicately prepared. The lasagna is my favorite dish on the menu and arguably the best in the city. The wine list is robust with many Italian vintages. Overall, this is one of my favorite spots in Chicago.

Doesn't Recommend

pborkstrom

Joined 7 years ago

The absolute worst service experince I've ever had. My parents wanted to take me out to this restaurant for my birthday. They said Sapori Trattoria was a real 'feel good' place with excellent food and exceptional service. I'd say they had 1 of the 3. I can understand a long wait on a Saturday evening, but a 1 1/2 hour wait for dinner after being seated? Unacceptable. My mother's coffee wasn't brough out 'till the 3rd round of drinks (and she ordered when everyone else did). Our waitress was in good spirits, but seemed way to busy to give us any attention greater than a fast food restaurant. After such a long wait, the server brought the manager out to talk to us. He told us that he was 'Aware of the long wait, and that would make everything SWEET'. What the heck does that even mean? 10 minutes later, he brought out the food and that was apparently he way of making everything "Sweet" - no adjustments, no desert, just a great big 'deal with it' was all our unpleasant evening was worth. We had to devour the food and leave as it was getting very late and obviously could not enjoy it the way we had hoped. What is good food with horrid service?

Although my dining experience was poor, the food was delicious. I ordered the Lobster Raviolli and I really enjoyed it. I felt the portions were fair and the price was acceptable, but after waiting so long, the evening was ruined. A bar and a cheeseburger would have made my birthday much more enjoyable.

Recommends

sleopold

Joined 8 years ago

Good food, good deals. I went here for the deal of appetizer, salad, two entrees, wine and dessert. It really was worth it. The food was excellent. I had some pasta with seafood and it was spicy...loved it. My bf had the lasagna and he loved it. The service was ok. Pretty much our waiter took our order and then we never seen him again. It was all food runners, bus boys after that which was slightly annoying when we were trying to order another bottle of wine. Other than that, the atmosphere was cute, I would recommend it