SAPORI 義品味小餐屋 — Restaurant in Taipei

This Italian restaurant intrigued me with its authentic decor. At the entrance, there was a sign with some Chinese words and the word "NO," but since I don’t understand Chinese, I quickly checked their Instagram. It advised that tense people shouldn't visit, but since I was feeling relaxed, I decided to give it a try.

Instead of a printed menu, the restaurant uses a handwritten menu on a board. This was a bit inconvenient for me, as I prefer to take my time deciding and like to read the menu multiple times. I noticed another guest standing up to read the menu as well. While the waitress was helpful in describing the dishes, having printed menus with daily specials on a board would be more user-friendly. Although I’m not a fan of scanning QR codes for menus, it would be better than reading from a board.

The restaurant is small and tastefully decorated. Playing some Italian music would improve the ambiance, as it was unusually quiet. The open kitchen allows you to watch the chef making pasta by hand, grating cheese, and preparing dishes, which adds to the overall experience. The menu offers many classic Italian dishes.

I chose the lasagna, which, despite being a straightforward dish, is difficult to perfect. While it was the best lasagna I've had in Taiwan, I wouldn't order it again. The Bolognese sauce was too acidic, overshadowing the other flavors. The meat was very lean and lacked fat, and there was too much sauce overall. The cheese on top, likely Grana Padano, was quite salty, and combined with the acidic tomato sauce, it overpowered the dish, making it hard to appreciate the fresh handmade pasta.

Despite these issues, I plan to return and try other dishes. The restaurant shows promise, and I look forward to exploring more...

This is our first time at Sapori. My tween daughter loves pasta so we decided to try this restaurant having had lots of Taiwanese and Japanese food eat outs already.

The ambience is cozy, the walls are decorated with lots of distinctions and awards won by the Chef. The restaurant manager is courteous, friendly and efficient and can speak Mandarin, Taiwanese, English and even Filipino!

We ordered the octopus leg for our appetizer and it tasted great, with just the right amount of charring. For our main course, we shared a plate/bowl of lasagna which was very unique tasting and quite different from the mass-produced ones at grocery stores or fast food chains. For dessert, we had the apple pie/crumble which was also unique and scrumptious.

I’m not going to pretend we are connoisseurs but we really enjoyed the food, the hospitality and the location really wasn’t that bad, maybe a 10 minute walk from the Nanjing Fuxing subway station.

Would definitely recommend this place to anyone who’s willing to try authentic Italian meal, prepared by an award-winning Chef. The Manager confirmed that food is prepared fresh daily and that only quality ingredients and passion go into each dish. Definitely call in the book a reservation, seating is limited and the restaurant is only open evenings,...

I read a lot of reviews. And people who know nothing about Italian food. Because when a chef and one person alone in the dining room manage to keep a restaurant like this going, you just have to appreciate the hard work. Quality price for what you eat is quite acceptable as everything is homemade and handmade. There are more expensive restaurants, but they are no match for this little Italian gem located in the centre of Taipei. And then it is normal, if you have money, you go to eat, if you don't, you don't go. It's simple It's like saying, I want to buy a Ferrari today. If I can certainly, if I can't, I use a normal car. Recommended restaurant, super service,...