Sapori Ristorante

Very clean small place, good atmosphere, servers seemed confused and scattered, tiramisu was the best thing of the meal, pasta over cooked and over sauced, skip the other desserts as they weren’t fresh or tasty.

My wife and I found Sapori when we were interested to find an Italian restaurant on the western side of Galveston’s downtown. Unilocal was instrumental in this effort. Our first impression was that the prices were a bit higher than expected for a salad and entrée. Turns out that the salad was included in the price so my thoughts on pricing improved markedly. The food was good. That said on our first visit the pasta wasn’t cooked with the sauce just covered with it. A small point but as a home cook I believe that the pot to the pan to the plate is a must for pasta. All said, we enjoyed our meal and were determined to come back.
We met the owner, a charming Sicilian born (I believe) but long time American and shared our thoughts on the meal and the location. Our other quibble was that there were no sound absorbing surfaces and the photos on the wall were blue and grey giving the restaurant a somewhat loud ambiance and a chilling feeling due to the lack of any warm colors or homey feel. (OK I said it was a quibble. The restaurant seemed more at home in downtown Manhattan than Galveston, but it isn’t my call.) All in all the owner was friendly, welcoming, and gracious.
Our second outing had the grandkids in tow. They opted for the pizza and ate with it with relish — not the pickle kind. Our meals were great and this time the pasta was cooked with the sauce, making me happy. Our waitress was prompt, attentive, accommodating, and accurate.
She got us glasses and an opener for our wine — that we brought with saving about 15 smackeroos vs. buying one in-​house. They don’t offer wine but you can bring it with you.
I’ll visit Saproi Ristorante every time I visit Galveston. I suggest you do too.

We visited Sapori on a Sunday night. Hubs ordered the sausage plate and I had the Chicken Limone. Both came with a huge, tasty salad with a delightful balsamic dressing. Pasta was nicely al dente, and served from the pot to the pan to the plate — just the way it should be. We each enjoyed our meals very much. The restaurant was very clean, and the service was friendly and fast. The owner came out to say hello, which is always a nice touch. Although we did not have dessert, the pastry case looked wonderful and inviting. AND you can bring your own wine or beer and there is no corkage fee, Epic win!

This place is fantastic. We started with the antipasto appetizers, delicious every piece of it. I had the spinach manicotti. This dish was divine. Rich but light soothing comfort in my every bite. A HUGE plus is byob. Our party really enjoyed this as well.
Reservations are recommended place is small. Best Italian food on the island.

Omg I can’t believe the luck of finding this place. First we had a huge antipasto plate it was big and we shared between 4 people. I had the lasagna which I would normally never order because it is so heavy but I saw someone else order it and it looked so good. So the lasagna was so soft and unbelievably delicious. So my companion orders the manicotti and it was so rich and absolutely heavenly. All of us were passing plates around and everyone loved their food. Plus you can bring your own wine which is a huge plus. This is our favorite new to go place for Italian. The wait staff were efficient and expedient.

We found this place by talking to some of the locals. It was a quant little place with really good Italian food. The service was friendly but not the most attentive. Bring your own bottle of wine and enjoy! We would definitely go back again.

The bread, olive oil and spices were great! The atmosphere is not typical of an Italian restaurant as AC/​DC was playing very loudly.

Food was amazing. We came during a slow time during the week so we got to spend time with the hostess /​waitress Gabriela. She was knowledgeable and inviting and the best part of our experience. Anyone would be proud to have her in the front of the house. Molto bene!

Great food, homemade pasta was delicious. You can bring your own beverages which is a cool feature. Don’t come if you’re in a rush. If you’re wanting a relaxing night out and great food go here.
Great for a dinner date.

Updating review. I have to say while I still think they should update bread, it’s a small price to pay for that tomato bisque. Seriously it’s THAT good as for prices what I did not know and what I actually discussed with server after I mentioned I think it’s over priced is that ALL TAX is included in the MENU price. So if something is 15 $ the really it’s a it 13.50 because tax is pre added. Helpful to know and since I thought it was over priced that helps. That being said dinner is still quite steep. I’d pick something you both like and split it and GET THE SOUP lol. Swear to God if you don’t you’re missing out big time. Lunch I LOVE. Soup and salad. Huge bowl of that DELISHES soup and a nice sized salad with fresh hot grilled chicken on top. 10 $ not much more that a McDonald’s meal really. It’s just a great lunch. Give Sapori a try. Trust me. Yum. Bring in your own wine. Very nice to be able to pop a cork and not pay triple price on a bottle of wine!

Cute, small little restaurant. I was shocked that it was BYOB. I was really looking forward to a class of wine, but the food was out of this world delicious. I ordered the manicotti stuffed with spinach. My only disappointment was that I wanted more than 2 for the price, but it was the best manicotti I’ve ever had. Highly recommended, but don’t forget your wine.

Food is AMAZING very small quiet usually half empty secret little gem! We’ve always loved anything we ordered and it’s very secluded from the usual island bustle which we love! Knocked it down to four stars because we did have a bad waitress once.

We took the advice posted on Unilocal and had the rice balls. They were excellent we all enjoyed our meals and had plenty of food. We took food home for later. I did not realize that this was a BYOB restaurant, we did not bring our wine which would have been a great topper with our meal. Really enjoyable would highly recommend

Unfortunately we loved the place and felt like it was excellent value for the $$. They keep raising their prices and an $ 18 plate of spaghetti or manicotti is too much. Galveston Restaurants all charge too much and think we are captive here. We find better and more affordable food in San Diego and the Florida keys.
Wishing Sapori didn’t raise their prices excessively.

We just found the most amazing Italian restaurant. Sapori is located on a back unassuming street. The restaurant is small and we almost did not stop because there was only one car in the parking lot and that looked to be an employee’s car. I’m so glad we stopped in because we were all very very happy with the food and the service. I can’t remember the names of the food items but my husband had the sausage with peppers and onions. Delish! It came with a side of spaghetti which was amazing. I had the shrimp with spaghetti in cream sauce. It was the best pasta dish ever! My kids split a Fettuccine Alfredo and it was wonderful! The house salad was delicious. Pay the $ 1 extra to get the olive oil with the bread. This is not cheap ho hum Italian food. Fresh ingredients and freshly made food. Highly recommend!

Easy to miss place if you ever been there before. Parking is adequate. Small, but clean restaurant.
Fried Rice balls — good flavor, with a crispy exterior. Only complaint was the center did not warm evenly.
Salad — included with every meal. Fresh, served with vinaigrette.
Lasagne — was great. Good flavor, no single ingredient that overpowered the dish.
Overall, very good small restaurant.

Stick with the salad. Not impressed with the pasta. Minw came with about half a pound of cheese piled on top of it. I had to take the stale bread out of the bread basket so I’d have some place to scrape off all the cheese.
My husband got the sausage and peppers, which was acceptable. The marinara sauce on his pasta was only edible after he scraped about half that leftover cheese into it.
The manager was surly and unpleasant. I showed her that the bread was crumbly and hard and she said I must have been sitting outside (we were sitting inside). Then she said «that’s the way it is.» Then she walked away. Nice customer service.

This place is one of my favorite restaurants in Galveston because… You don’t feel like you’re in Galveston! No overpriced and over fried seafood!
I’ve only eaten dinner here on a few special occasions and it’s great every time! It’s small and intimate; there are only two or three waitresses. Be sure to make a reservation at least a few hours in advance as it fills up quick being such a small space.
The restaurant IS BYOB! This can help keep the price down as dinner for two is in the mid-​range. I’d compare it to a dinner for two at any of the million Landry’s chain places in Galveston. There is no bottle fee or corking fee either, and they will provide you with a corkscrew if you don’t bring your own.

The only reason not giving them 5 stars was not knowing that it was bring your own alcohol.
Service was great. Food was fresh and flavorful.
Definite repeater!

This place had a few hits and misses for me, but more over on the good side.
I’ll start off with the interior and placings: small restaurant, clean and neat. I would suggest that they improve from napkin-​wrapped silverware to linen wrapped. Makes the place much much much more elegant looking. I hate running out of napkins to wipe my face with, and linens would be an improvement. Maybe skip the fake flowers next time, too.
Our server was nice and attentive. Not so much of her required special attention, but she was good.
As for the *drumroll* food! My sister and I shared the salmone al cartoccio and a deep dish vegetariana pizza.
The salmone was, I’d say a 3 out of 5. The texture was well cooked, flaky and soft. What lowered the rating for me would be that it was a little too salty. Not sure it the capers had done that but it really was just too salty. The spaghetti that it came with was not quite cooked yet – a little on the chewy side. But overall, full flavour was there.
The vegetariana pizza… now something I can rave about! Thick, well topped and overall delicious. It was generously coated with eggplant and zucchini, and tomatoes too.
My brother had the salsiccia panini. He’s a hefty 10yr old eater, and he didn’t even get to finish half of that panini. A great size sausage (no… pun.) Inside a soft bun, with mozzarella cheese, bell peppers and onions. Didn’t care much for the marinara sauce it came with since the flavours of the base itself was already delicious.
Overall, I like this place. It is not, in my honest opinion, not the best Italian restaurant yet (my fave being Gino’s) but it’s well underway. Thanks for an epic meal!