Sapori Veri — Restaurant in Western Australia

I called in after work to double-check that the kitchen was open, as I was craving a Gluten-Free Carbonara. The lady I spoke with said the kitchen closed at 8:30pm, and since I had an hour, I let her know I'd be there in 20 minutes. When I arrived, I was seated and asked how long the pasta would take. She said 30 to 40 minutes, so even though I didn’t really feel like it, I ordered a Caprese salad just to have something to nibble on.

When the salad came out, I noticed it barely had any bocconcini or basil—just a few shreds and tiny pieces. I politely asked if more of both could be added, and she was happy to take it back. It came out again with slightly more bocconcini and still just a bit more shredded basil. I ate some of it while waiting for my main.

Once the Carbonara arrived, I noticed straight away that the gluten-free penne was uneven—some soft, some hard. I cook gluten-free pasta at home and order it out often, so I know the texture well. This was definitely undercooked. I let the lady serving me know I didn’t feel comfortable sending another dish back, and I was happy to pay for the salad but not the main. She kindly offered to cook the pasta longer, but by then I’d lost interest and just wanted to head home.

Shortly after, I believe the head chef came out. No greeting—just straight into it. I explained the situation calmly, but he cut me off, seemed upset, and said I was “complaining about everything” and needed to pay. I asked to speak to the owner or manager and was told they weren’t available.

Eventually, he let me finish. I explained that I eat gluten-free pasta regularly, I know when it’s not right, and I’d already said I was happy to pay for the salad. I wasn’t trying to get out of anything—I just wanted to share honest feedback. He shared he had been cooking for 15 years and I appreciated that but mentioned I eat gluten free pasta and he does not. In the end, he let me leave without paying, but the experience left a sour taste. I came in genuinely hoping for a good meal and left feeling unheard, dismissed, and like I was the problem.

I’ve worked in hospitality most of my life—I mentioned that to both the lady serving and chef. And I eat out quite often. I’m familiar with Italian food and what it should look and taste like. The Carbonara actually had good flavour, and the salad could’ve been improved with proper basil leaves or even a more generous amount of the shredded kind to balance the dish. But overall, it was a disappointing experience that could’ve been handled with a lot more grace and professionalism.

I remained polite and cooperative, and even offered to pay for the entrée, which I ate half of. But after two failed attempts from the Entree and then the main, I lost my appetite and couldn’t continue. Lady was nice - not her fault... Should the owner be open to it, I’m happy to have a quick phone chat to clear the air—if they’re the kind who actually care to go that extra mile.

Update - owner rang me right away and offered complimentary Desserts provided I give their venue another go. Much appreciated - shows genuine care towards their business and customers. Unsure when I will visit again but at some point before the end...

Visited this restaurant for a Saturday night dinner and was just a little disappointed. I should probably start by saying that our food was pretty good and reasonably priced, and the staff were friendly too, but not having an alcohol license and not being able to provide us with a beer or glass of wine was just a little ordinary. Sure, they’re BYO which is great for everyone who refuses to pay restaurant prices for alcohol, but we were there enjoying the evening and we would have been happy to pay the respective prices for booze. There’s really no excuse these days to not provide your patrons with that option. We actually walked there being locals and they would have made a lot more money out of us that night. Also, there is no atmosphere. It was too bright inside and there was a feeling of “put together last minute” as far as decor goes. A lot more could be done with the venue to replicate an authentic Italian restaurant. Perhaps, make the interior a little darker, add a few enclosed candles on the tables and play some soft Italian instrumental music. If they added a couple speakers just outside the entrance, they could possibly entice nearby walkers. So, in my opinion the food and service was decent, but they need to be able to supply alcohol and the venue needs work done to replicate an authentic Italian restaurant. Hopefully, they make some changes as I believe in supporting local and I would like to have a great local Italian restaurant...

Let me start by saying the food was delicious and the reviews are correct. For entree we had calamari, aranchini and garlic bread. For mains we had Lasagne, the prawn fettuccine the mussels and the chicken. Highly recommend them all however the service was shocking.Only one waitress who was very flustered with a continual stream of uber deliveries and a restaurant full of customers. We had our empty entrees infront of us for a very long time and some people were going to the front to order. When our mains arrived one of our dishes was the wrong dish (we got the chicken mushroom sauce not the chicken with butter sauce as ordered) but she was not around for us to alert her and when she was she has a four deep queue at the counter so we ended up just sticking with it. Unfortunately we also would have loved desserts but again we couldn't order them as there just wasn't the service available to even ask. Did not see one table get to the dessert stage before leaving. Would have loved to have tried the desserts. Unsure if we would come back spent over $200 and didn't feel like a valued customer. Our drinks were also empty since entree stage and no opportunity to ask for more drinks.

I didn't want to mark the restaurant down more stars as the food really was delicious it's just the front of house side that...