Sabatino’s Trattoria

This place is like your friends wife /​girlfriend who has $ 5 knock off coach bags and jeans with studded fleur de lis yet acts like she is Vera Wang. All show, zero know. As I walked by the giant tin building, I joked to my wife — «did this used to be a bait shop or a gym?» Might as well have been.
First of all — we waited forty minutes when we had a reservation for a party of 8. They sat us right next to the giant open kitchen, which was basically like eating next to an eight foot wide wood stove in a ski lodge. Awful. On the table, like most Italian restaurants was … Bread and… oil? Pesto? Butter? No. Hummus. Okay, well not hummus, but — «mashed beans»? I’ve been to Italy, eaten in the North End 300 times, and I’ve never seen this on a table. Also, the menu said «Pizze» — once again, I lived in New Haven for a while, the capital of great Pizza, I’ve never seen it spelled like that. Apizza? Sure. But never Pizze. Anyway, the food. We got an antipasto appetizer — «selection of cured meats and cheeses» — actually it was canned black olives with the pits taken out, real black olives are oil soaked and have pits in them, a few cold artichoke hearts, one kind of small blocks of mediocre Parmesan? And — salami, and prosciutto. So, not what we expected. My wife got a pasta dish with sausage, spinach, and cheese, it was fine, obviously nothing ground breaking, but good compared to my «pesce misto» — a selection of «grilled seasonal fish». Yum! Or, so I was thinking. Let me say, I will eat anything from the sea — ANYTHING — except sword fish. And what was the biggest piece of fish on this plate? Sword fish. The waitress failed to explain to me what kind of fish the plate included — amongst other things, a bland large chunk of salmon, three shrimp that tasted like they were soaked in bleach (most foodies know this is a big no-​no and a method for keeping old seafood fresh) and a few scallops which were cold. Awful. I’ll never go to this place again, or recommend it to friends.

We arrived at the restaurant around 7pm on a Saturday night. We were told the wait would be an hour so we got a couple of drinks and waited. An hour and fifteen minutes later we inquired where we were on the list and we were told it would be another hour. No apology. They seem to have lost all control over the seating schedule. It didn’t even seem that crowded. We left and went to canovas in Attleboro and we were seated immediately.

Never Again.
Last night my boyfriend and I decided to check out Sabatinos for the first time and we were overall excited after reading the other Unilocal reviews.
When we got to the restaurant there was an hour wait, no problem for us so we grabbed some drinks and hung out around the bar. The atmosphere in there is very nice and fairly trendy for the area. A little over an hour later we were seated and things went wrong from there.
It took our waiter almost half an hour to come and take a drink order (mind you at this point it was about 9/9:30 and the restaurant was clearing out with only about five tables left.)
Our appetizer was the first to come out, calamari (generally our go to app in any Italian restaurant) was overly chewy and in no way fresh tasting. The next 20 – 30 minutes that it took for our pasta to come out was excruciating.
Hoping for fantastic pasta we were surely let down. My boyfriends was well cooked with a good portion (tagliatelle bolognese) and mine had a great sauce and filling with very undercooked pasta (ravioli.) Famished at this point we finished eating in less than 10 minutes.
Our waiter did not come over once to ask us about the food, he didn’t even clear our plates. For he was too busy learning how to use the pizza oven (the kitchen is open to the dining room.) When someone else (not our waiter) cleared the plates he magically came out of the back and gave us our bill.
Three hour horror show and we won’t be back. The only positive was the fantastic bartender. She was truly amazing.

Tonight my family and I went to celebrate my father’s birthday. We had purchased a cake and brought it in to have after our meal. When we asked the hostess to hold it for us she rudely informed us that there was a $ 2.50 charge per person because «they already served their own desserts and you’re bringing an outside dessert into our restaurant». I believe that most restaurants serve their OWN dessert and this has never happened to me before. If this had been politely explained to me I would have understood however the tone of voice and facial expression that we were met with was utterly shocking. Thankfully the food was delicious and our waitress was lovely. Let’s hope people do not judge this restaurant by their hostess.

If your in Southeast Massachusetts, this place is a must stop for dinner. From someone with 40 years dinning experience who grew up in Philadelphia, New York, this quaint little place in Norton Massachusetts, rates top in its game. The bar tender lady was friendly and made a wonderful Manhattan. She was knowledgeable of the numerous wines and offered tastes before one committed to a glass. The Fruiti de Mare was just fabulous.
I found this place on Unilocal,given limited to nob existant options at my hotel. I was not disappointed, but pleasantly pleased. Manga.

Really good food. I had the bolognese and my fiancé had pasta carbonara (if I am remembering correctly). Good service, good drinks, convenient location from our home.

First time going here and wondering how I never knew of this place. Food was excellent! We tried the bruschetta, and Caprese salad, Marsala was delicious too! Honestly, no complaints we will absolutely be back

Food was great! Our server knew the menu inside and out, and was super friendly. Place wasn’t crowded, but more tables were full than I expected on a Sunday evening. Prices were reasonable also. We will definitely be back!

Simply the best! From the sauce to the bread, which is made daily by the mother, bless her… to the dessert! I think their Chicken Parmesan Is The best I every had… there is no other that comes close to their whole package…
Ambience…quality…consistency…
Bravo!

I always have a great meal at Sabatino’s! I dine here about once or twice a month and I love to bring friends to try the food. All of the food is made fresh each day. I used their catering service for a fundraiser and everyone loved the food!

A large group of us went here Sat night-​Great choice! Appetizers: meatball, salad & caprese with fresh mozz were mouth watering. Homemade pastas are wonderful. I tried gnocchi, lobster ravioli and Bolognese & all were out of this world. Nutella crème brûlée is one of my favorite desserts ever.
Nice atmosphere, not too stuffy, but nicer than most. Great service & plenty of parking.

Fantastic. Who knew an Italian restaurant this good would be found in Norton?
My friend and I shared an app special: Steamed mussels in a light Gorgonzola broth. Wonderful. Just enough flavor and no glop. Then onto the seafood special (swordfish, salmon, scallops, and shrimp) and a perfectly prepared veal chop that’s all just to die for. Efficient and friendly service with no hovering or attitude. Upscale but not offputting atmosphere, and sparkling clean everywhere.
Well, well worth the drive, and I’m looking forward to trying the rest of the menu!

My wife and I had a great experience last night at Sabatino’s! The food is phenomenal, and their red Sangria is excellent. This restaurant is one of Nortons finest.

If you tried this when it first opened, try it again! Terrific menu and delectable specials. Sue (and Kasey on Wednesdays) create delightful and delicious libations. The wine list is wonderful and the atmosphere is welcoming and friendly. Give yourself a date night and go here!

I cannot believe this restaurant has less than 4 – 5 stars. I can understand a 4 star because everyone has different tastes, but 3, really? Sabatino’s is by far the best Italian restaurant locally and certainly stands up the those in Federal Hill in Providence or the North End in Boston. It is so nice to have something local and not need to drive far for good food. The food is priced fairly, maybe a little more than what this area is used to, but you can’t expect cheap prices for such high quality food. I highly doubt The Château makes their pasta or mozzarella in house. The apps are great, love the bean dip that comes with the bread. My favorite dish is the chicken saltimbocca. Delish. Keep up the good work Sabatino’s!!!

Yes I am back again. I rated it 5 stars last time and this time I gave it another 5 stars! I ordered home made spaghetti with shrimp and clams and it was so good! I know a lot of reviewers gave it lower rating due to its pricy menu, but for a guy like me from San Antonio TX I appreciated the homemade pasta and the food here is as good as what you get at North End Boston, which I just visited. I definitely recommend this place and will be back again!

We visited Sabatino’s a few weeks ago with some friends and I have to say, I really enjoyed everything. The outside of the building is not much to look at, as it’s converted from an old warehouse-​ish type building, but the inside is really pretty and inviting. We were a party of 6 and ordered a few appetizers, as well as entrees and dessert. We all thoroughly enjoyed what we ordered, with the lobster raviolis being a big stand out. The nutella crème brulle was also OUT OF THIS WORLD. Why every restaurant on the planet does not serve this is beyond me. SO GOOD!
Sabatino’s makes many of their pastas homemade and we found it very reasonable in price for our party of 6. We will definitely be back!

Although I’m not a big fan of Italian, but this place really surprised me. Great atmosphere, excellent décor, and perfect service. they make their own bread, pasta, all their sauces and they import quite a bit from Italy, so when they say authentic Italian, it really is. I can’t say enough good things about this place. Will definitely be back.

I was at Sabatino’s today for a baby shower and was so impressed with the food and waitstaff that I will be back again. The crème brûlée martini that I started with was so delicious. And the brick oven pizzas were fabulous! They also served spaghetti with marinara sauce that I loved too. There were also meatballs, which I did not eat because I am a vegetarian but everyone else loved them. And the insalata mista was really good too. I plan on going back again soon for dinner.

Beautiful space, homemade pastas, and solid service. The only things I can find wrong are poor timing between dishes (not enough space between each course) and the food wasn’t quite hot enough for me.
They have a solid and relatively diverse wine list, and the prices are reasonable. The bolognese was excellent, and the pasta was just on the edge of al dente, which is just right for me. I liked the goat cheese appetizer, but I thought it was sized wrong. A little more balsamic reduction, less goat cheese and a bit more greens.
I wouldn’t hesitate coming back here again if I’m in the area, and I doubt there’s a better Italian restaurant in the immediate area.