Sapori D'ischia
5515 37th Ave
Woodside, NY 11377 (718) 446-1500
- Nearest Transit:
Northern Blvd (G, R, V)
61st St (7)
- Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
11 Reviews for Sapori D'ischia
I like it here. I like the way it looks: oddly romantic and cool looking when you walk thru the velvet curtain. Great pasta dishes. I love the olives and bread on the table. Good wines. And they have personal size pizzas. It's not the biggest menu but there are some dishes that always hit the spot! The last time I was there, a guy was playing the piano. Not so loud and obnoxious that we couldn't talk. Just right. I think this is a good date place and they have a sweet little bar up front that is open to the street in nicer weather. Also tables outside (again, warmer weather.)
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So I have been touring Queen's fine dining spots and happen to have this place recommended to me. Apparently, it's a grocery store by day and they open the restaurant for dinner from 5:30 to 7:30 in the evenings - they are closed Mondays which I found out the hard way.
The food was excellent, fresh, affordable, and romantic. They also have an Italian singer serenade the guests and at times it can be a bit much..
The food is the best part about this experience. Some of the pasta dishes are thrown together in front of you in a bowl hollowed out of cheese. What a site that is. Definitely, recommend it to anyone who loves Italian.
Tried for the first time tonight for a celebratory dinner, cant say enough good things about it. The atmosphere is super cozy and the food is some of the best Italian cuisine ever tasted. The menu is fairly priced and moderately limited, make sure to bring cash or American express only. Cant wait to go back, I already know what I'm ordering! I give this place 10 stars!!!!!
Not what I expected. First of all, this little eatery is located in a quiet warehouse area of Woodside. Then I walk in and it's quite quaint and it's has all these tables set up by freezers. Yes freezers w/meats, cheese and other products lining the perimeter of the area. It's a store by day and a restaurant by nite. Talk about getting all your ingredients fresh!
We ordered this pasta dish w/a cheesy sauce and the waiter pulls out this cart with a big wheel of cheese on it. There's a big hole in it and he pours the hot pasta and chicken into the cheese roll to toss. This truly a spectacle to witness. It's a lovely ambiance despite seeing the refrigerated products draped w/clear plastic. It makes me want to do some shopping...
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When I told my NYC friend i wanted to eat some good, genuine Italian food, he did not let me down! This place was absolutely the best Italian food I have EVER had. He found this place thanks to Zagat, and we happened to drop in during their opera night. It gets really festive in there with the tenor and his lady singing all kinds of opera hits. While they belted their lungs out, we enjoyed three cheese pizza, a lasagne type dish in a bowl, and to top it off they serve their alfredo or cheese pastas by taking a bunch of pasta into a carved out cheese wheel and melt/mix it right in front of you. The service is very attentive, friendly and impeccable. Well worth the money since its not exactly affordable. Definitely looked down an alleyway so walk in groups, especially if you're visiting.
I first heard about the place when i was reading the back of my Mario Batali cookbook on where to buy Italian ingredients in NY. Of course I'd just heard about the shop- I didn't realized it was a restaurant. So of course I had to go there to eat (I mean why just buy italian ingredients from them when I can have them prepare the food too, right?)
The food was a-mazing. The atmosphere was really cute too, very quaint and kitschy with the meatcases and shelves of pasta lining the walls... the singer was fun too.
Yes, it's pricy, especially when you think that you have to schlep yourself through Woodside's vacant looking warehouse section. But it's not as skeevy of a walk as it seems and yes, the food makes it all worthwhile.
I had the gnocci, my husband had the osso bucco. I had a bite of my husband's dish so I can vouch that his meal was great as well (and I don't even like to eat meat!)
So all in all a great meal, would have given the place 5 stars except A) the location and B) the fact that the only credit card the take is american express (I mean really now...)
For those that don't already know the deal with this place, it's a wholesale food market during the day. My understanding is they sell to some pretty high-end Italian restaurants. At night, they shove the display cases aside and turn the place into a restaurant, cooking with the same ingredients they sell to others. The atmosphere and neighborhood are very warehouse-y and the waitstaff is awesome. Its sort of like they've converted one of those illegal factory apartments into a killer restaurant. The pasta is made fresh and I can only imagine the meat dishes are off the hook (I'm a veg).
They have an awesome prix fixe menu on Wednesday nights and they advertise live music on other nights. The "live music" is just a guy with a karaoke machine singing Rat Pack songs. Which makes me happy.
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One of the best authentic Italian places I've been to. Many Italian restaurants are very Italian American, meaning very salty, heavy processed tomato sauces with the pasta drenched in nasty sauce. This place feels like you've just gone to Italy. Italian food in the US is so different than if you actually go to Italy.
For those who had a chance to go to Italy, they know what I mean. The food is totally different and also the pizzas.
They have really great fried artichokes, and the sausage Parpadelle is excellent! The Pizzas are also So SO good. It's not your average NY style pizza, it's the real Italian deal!
Go for lunch because if you go for dinner, the prices double.
It is located where a whole bunch of warehouses are. It is a restaurant/ food market by day and hoppin restaurant with live music at night.
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This place is awesome, get the Alfredo. I dont even like Alfredo and this place makes me want to beg for more.
Great owners too by the way. I remember sitting with the Clintons there about 3 years ago.
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If you've ever been to Italy and miss the just right gnocchi or the Italian rule about "no cheese on your fish" this is the place for you.
The food is phenomenal although prices are Manhattan style. The decor is romantic and personal-fairly quiet except for weekend nights when they have a live band. There's even a little grocery with tables for two in the back (this is where to sit-particularly if you want to feel like you're in Lady & theTramp). The Frutti-Di-Mare Linguini Nere or the house special "Fettucini Antonio" are amazing but so is everything else. oh and fyi they don't serve tap water (another Italian thing) so expect to buy bottled "sparkling or flat" with your dinner.
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The food is good to excellent. The prices are a bit high for the location, but not unreasonable. They have a small market in the back with good quality Italian imports at decent prices.
But the one that that irks me is that they will not serve tap water. So you're forced to shell out for something in a bottle. In a city that has some of the best potable water in the nation, this is ridiculous. Heck, this place isn't even in Manhattan. What's with the pretension?
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