Sapori e Delizie — Restaurant in Rome

TL;DR - good casual restaurant with friendly staff and great food. (27 April 2023) Just needed a light meal for dinner after a whole day of walking -- thru the Parco del Colle Oppio, going around the Colosseum, climbing up to the Chiesa di San Bonaventura al Palatino and across the Tomba del Milite Ignoto to Campidoglio -- stopping once in a while to grab something to eat along the way. We've tried nearly every restaurant, pizzeria, and bar along Via Merulana in the nearly 2 weeks we were in Rome so we had to walk some more to find Sapori e Delizie, a small pizzeria just off Merulana, along Via Giovanni Lanza. And I am glad we did. We started with a Greek salad and a mixed salad. Both had generous servings of fresh ingredients, but I really appreciated the two gigantic slices of feta cheese and the copious amount of fresh olives in my Greek salad. The lasagna with wild boar ragu was delectable, filling and tender, although I would have preferred more tomato sauce (now that I think about, all the lasagna we've had on this trip could have used more tomato sauce. So maybe it's just me. I just cannot have enough tomato sauce). We topped it all off with a couple of glasses of crisp and vibrant Prosecco, served by our charming and friendly host and hostess. In hindsight, I think this is what really made Sapori e Delizie stand out among all the restaurants we tried -- the friendly and casual atmosphere really makes one want to come back....

This was our first authentic Italian cuisine experience during our trip, and I think we made the right choice! Being tourists, we rely heavily on past reviews and experiences of others, and this place was highly recommended by most, so we decided to walk quite the distance to try the food out here.

My first impression of the place wasn't the greatest. The restaurant is "tiny", has barely 5-6 tables, and has no waiting area/section/chairs. We were literally standing next to the toilet, waiting for our turn to be seated, which according to the waitress could take anywhere from 20 mins to an hour. Since this didn't sound very promising to me, I had already started looking for other places nearby, but thankfully, our turn came in about 30 mins or so. I had already looked up the menu in detail, so we ordered right away. We went with the pizza calabrese and lasagna (based on their recommendation). The food came out in around 10-15 mins, and was delicious! I am so glad we didn't give up on the wait and go elsewhere. The quantity is great for the price as well, and we ended up having to take some lasagna to-go.

I would definitely revisit this place again if I am in the area, during a less busy hour. Definitely worth a try if you like traditional Italian food (and...

After Rocco across the street, we had to try more food to see what it was about. We went to this place, first to note, we know it’s some sort of a tourist oriented place. So if you are not trying to go to one, don’t go. They have a show of someone making your food at the window. Otherwise let’s begin We were sat almost immediately. The server was a bit rude by just disrespectfully pointing outside to sit somewhere but it’s whatever to me. Sat down and got given menus. We went for the carbonara, and I forgot what other pasta. The magherita pizza too. The pizza was solid, nothing crazy it just did the job well. The lemonade or lemonata as they say, was from a bottle but was good too. The pasta I had (unknown name as I forgot) was good just above average a little. And the carbonara was okay too. Overall just an average establishment. Wouldn’t recommend sitting outside if it’s a little windy, the road is busy at times and makes the wind worse if that’s not your kind of thing Overall, just average...