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When I walked in, I couldn’t but say “WOW”! The architect deserves an award and the decorator as well. It’s probably one of the few restaurants in Lebanon where you feel transported into another dimension... walk into a world of Italian aromas and colors, find yourself at ease, relaxed and happy by the details... the music, the decor, and the service. I fell in love for the second time and that before even starting to eat.
I love it here! Sapori e Vini is your ticket to Italy. A restaurant loaded with positive vibes makes you want to whistle, sing and smile. The trees, the walls of bricks, the glass facades, colorful wooden chairs, the green trees and bar giving a view on the open kitchen.
I’ve been here in 2017 and now ending my year in style. With an Italian chef screaming in the kitchen, I sat to enjoy my time. They have a happy musical playlist at Sapori e Vini; the chef also likes to whistle.
The menu has a bit of everything — antipasti, soups, salads, primi piatti, pizza, secondi piatti, desserts, and drinks. Garlic is kind of everywhere if you're allergic make sure to mention it. I ordered a pizza, a risotto, two kinds of pasta without garlic and a fried appetizer.
Let’s eat: I loved the food for the second time and will recommend this restaurant to all my friends. It is worth a long trip from Beirut for the experience.
- Lunch starts when a plate of crushed green olives with anchovies land of the table alongside a bag of bread. A complex mix of several flavors ready to be spread on your slice of fresh bread.
- When perfectly battered, enjoyably crispy and non-oily calamari and shrimp come together in one plate with zucchini fingers; know that you’re here for a treat! Make sure to know when to stop cause they are addictive. I loved the crunchy envelope embracing a tender heart of good quality seafood. Yummy!
- One of the country’s best Italian pizzas deserves an award! Cooked in a 450 degrees oven in less than 90 seconds, the pizza is a cocktail of flavors and endless emotions. The flavors of burned bread mixed with wood transported me to a chalet up the mountain. Covered with a homemade tomato sauce and a handful of greens, the pizza, and its molten creamy Buffala is simply awesome! Eat it from the center until you reach the fluffy borders: a thin non-soggy crust with a tender border feeling like a pillow. Bravo chef!
Between starters and the main plates, I was offered a plate of cheese, signature cheeses the chef got from Italy; they are not for sale at “Sapori e Vini”. When I knew that the chef’s family produces these cheese, my jaw dropped; wow! I’m a fan of cheese, good cheese, which I enjoy without bread. Thank you guys for this generous wood board.
When things started to become serious... three plates of pasta landed in my table. Spaghetti Pomodoro cooked aldente and prepared a-la-minute without garlic. Ragoût of tagliatelle and a carbonara with a bit of cream. Even though I would have preferred my pasta cooked a bit less, the three plates were memorable. I enjoyed the tomato quality and simplicity of the Pomodoro, the ragoût is one of kind, and the carbonara is as good as I expected it to be.
Enjoying such a great meal, I couldn’t but have dessert: homemade cakes and homemade ice cream with two shots of homemade limoncello. Excellent and mouthwatering desserts I would buy for my birthday.
