Sapore Della Vigna

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  9     

I had recently organised a party for 12 people at Sapore, and I couldn't have been happier. The food and service was amazing. We all had different meals and every single person on the table loved the food. It was so fresh and tasty. We'll all be back soon.

May 31, 2012 

7.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  8     

Stopped in here for a late Sunday lunch. No worries getting a table and service was quick and friendly.

The food was good hearty Italian, lamb shanks were cooked perfect as were the prawns and spaghetti mussels. Huge array of desserts to choose from which all look really good. We ended up with a fig and walnut cake and a pear and ricotta cheesecake. Both were good and pretty good size.

Lots of Italian restaurants in the area to choose from, this one is definitely one of the better all round restaurants we have tried.

May 27, 2012 

2 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  4      Service  1      Value  1     

At first glance, many people will be attracted to Sapore's because it is the busiest restaurant of the three currently open in the forum. But don't be fooled.

The food was not the best, and the back of house service was terrible. I stopped by at 9pm on a Saturday night (expecting a very high standard of service and food on their busiest night). Our waitress was simply atrocious, she was inattentive, rude and condescending when taking orders. She also messed up our orders, and when she returned with the incorrect order, she began convincing me that, that was what I ordered.

My chicken was dry and stuffed in some horrible ricotta spinach mix, laced with a nauseating red-white sauce. It was not worth $28. When I voiced a complaint with the senior staff about the service and food, she quickly rushed over and began arguing with me in front of the senior staff. I have eaten at quite a number of restaurants in a variety of different areas, and never received such terrible service. Where service or the standard of food poor, management have in the past been quick to compensate. I did not receive this at Sapore's.

Mar 21, 2012 

6 Average

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  6     

I found Sapore quite a decent place to have a meal at. The atmosphere is always alive and buzzing every time I come here, however, not over the top, which is good. The food is quite nice and I have no complaints in that regard. Service is sometimes slow, however, they are very busy so it is understandable.

Nov 05, 2011 

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  10     

As always the food at Sapore Della Vigna is amazing, as is the service. If you want a truly great Leichhardt dining experience with out the 'wannabe' price tag then this place is a must! Oh, and the lamb shanks on the specials menu is amazing.

Sep 16, 2011 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  9     

Let me start by saying I do hope some of the previous reviewers have the right restaurant as my experience at Sapore was excellent. The front of house staff were very helpful and professional.

Food was great! the fresh oysters are highly recommended! as for the kil patrick which I'm not a huge fan of, but after tasting my partners kil patrick I was quite impressed.

As for the mains the Pollo Gamberi and Penne Sapore, both had good servings, well presented and most of all tasted as good as they looked. For desserts head straight to the cake display, or try the home made gelato.
So overall we had great night, good atmosphere there, and we will both definitely be coming back.

Jun 22, 2011 

6 Average

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  6     

Went here one night mid-week with some family a week ago. It was by no means amazing food but it was enjoyable and staff very friendly (possibly to the point of overattentive continually interrupting us for one thing or another). There was no pizza on the menu (just pizettes available for lunch) but the restaurant next door (Ceasars?) is owned by the same people so they happily brought me a pizza from them which was very tasty. Dessert crepes were horrible but there was a good selection of cakes on display that looked they might have been a winning option instead.

Overall, nothing to write home about, just reasonably priced, decent food with pleasant staff.

Jun 02, 2011 

1 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

We ate entree Oysters Kilpatrick that tasted like oysters in a can with minced bacon on top. We also had a 'pizette'. I could have purchased a McCain's frozen pizza and been happier. We quickly washed down a glass of wine each and got out of there. Completely unimpressed. $47.50 I'd love to have back.

Apr 24, 2011 

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  9      Value  8     

After reading all the bad reviews, I felt compelled to leave a response. It's true that the Italian Forum has gone downhill in the past year. Restaurants have closed and the area doesn't seem as lively as it once did.

However, I booked a table for six recently at Sapore and had an enjoyable evening. Sapore was the busiest restaurant in the Italian Forum (does that mean the best?) Service was prompt, food was good and came in large portions.

The only downside was that I had requested an outside table and the table behind us had smokers. If you dislike cigarette smoke, request an indoor table :)

Apr 10, 2011 

1.5 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  3      Service  1      Value  1     

This place is awful! Went there on Saturday. When we finally got served I ordered the Risotto Pescatora which was stodgy and overcooked and my partner took the fish of the day, which seemed more like the fish of yesterday! The staff member that we spoke to seemed rather unconcerned about our comments that the food wasn't what we hoped for (maybe he's used to it). Didn't stay for dessert and coffee, we didn't want to reward bad food/service.

I know this place is busy and has been for 11 years (yes I read the other reviews) but this is no guarantee of quality. You only have to eat in Darling Harbour or any other place frequented by tourists to know this. If you want good authentic Italian food and service with a smile definitely give this place a miss!

Apr 05, 2011