Sabatini Cucina — Restaurant in Zhongshan District

Horrible service and very rude staff. I came in at 130 and asked the hostess to see a menu, she looked at her watch and gave it to me, we looked at it for a minute and decided to eat. By this time the hostess had changed and the new person said we had missed the last order. She was very rude and condescending when I asked her who the other hostess had given me the menu if the place was closed and she said "you only asked to see it" she left me feeling like some kind of trespasser. As I left she locked the door behind me. Horribly rude and discourteous especially after they had given me the menu.

Aside from that the menu isn't actually Italian food, so don't come here expecting anything remotely authentic, for instance all of their pasta (bar one dish) has seafood in it, there are no traditional or "staple" Italian dishes you would expect to find (such as Carbonara or caprese salad. There were also prices crossed out and re-written in ballpoint pen which I wouldn't expect to find in a place as...

We went last nite to this place at ~5:45 and they did not open till 6pm. Well, they sat us at the front 3 chairs basically to wait for the raining 15min. In the meantime, they welcomed the guests for a private party reserved upstaires. I had to ask why they could not sit us at a table for that mere 10min till 6pm when the waitresses were simply chatting their way!

Despite of this, we really enjoyed our dishes. The prime steak was a good portion (10oz.) which is larger than a typical portion in Canada or Europe. The set dinner was a good five course meal. The french bread was amazing - crusty on the outside and soft on the inside (although it is bit pricey @NT90 for a small loaf ) The steak was nice. The only problem was that the set dinner was either for all persons at the table or none at all. Anyhow, i must give a LIKE to Chef Ho! Would have given it a five-star had it not because of the bad experience of waiting...

Coming to Taiwan from NY, I was not sure what to expect in an Italian restaurant in Taipei. I went to Sabatini Cucina on the recommendation of a friend. I was not disappointed to say the least. The restaurant is very clean and the service is great. The menu offered a good variety of selections, and the food is absolutely amazing, it taste as if someone’s Italian grandmother is in the back cooking. I have traveled around the world, and this is absolutely the best food I have...