Sempre Vivolo — Restaurant in Town of Islip

Sémpre Vivolo is one of those very old-school Italian dining rooms that makes you feel right at home from the moment you walk in the door. The owner will graciously welcome you as you arrive and you will immediately feel that this is not a restaurant, but a home. The waitstaff and bus servers are all male and uber-professional, and work as a team to ensure your experience is excellent. Everything - and I mean everything - from the first bite of bread with whipped butter, to the last sip of cappuccino, is perfect.

The bread - perfectly super-crispy outside and pillowy inside - was exactly on point, and the whipped butter served alongside was not only delicious but served generously. As a butter connoisseur, this made me very happy. The special soup the evening we dined was a potato soup with just the right touches of escarole, pasta and pancetta in a rich broth. Potatoes were the exact doneness they should be, not too firm, not mushy. Pancetta was added with a very subtle hand to complement the broth, not overwhelm it.

I had a red snapper from the chef's specials and could not have been more pleased. It was served with an exquisite ragout of peppers, onions, broccoli rabe and olives in a tomato broth. The sear on the fish was masterfully executed and the blend was absolutely delicious. The string beans and half a pan-seared baby potato were great compliments, again perfectly executed. My partner had the salmon mostarda, also wonderfully done, with just a whisper of mustard in a dreamy cream sauce.

I wasn't intending to have dessert, but decided to try the tiramisu with a cup of cappuccino since everything else had been so spectacular. I have never had a better tiramisu anywhere; it made me wonder if I had ever really had good tiramisu before. Every bite was amazing.

While not inexpensive, Sémpre is impressive , and worth every penny. So impressive, in fact, that we made a reservation for two weeks later as we left. It is not large, so make reservations. Smart business casual or dressier is recommended. One of Long Island's true Italian jewels, there are very few restaurants anywhere...

Newly engaged my fiance and I went out last night for a romantic evening and decide to try this place based on the reviews. We arrived after 6pm on a Tuesday evening and the restaurant was mostly empty. I requested a table in order for us to be seated next to each other. The Maitre D told us he expected a busy night and sat us in a large corner table where I could only sit across from her. I asked for a different table and explained my reasoning but without listening refused to accomadate us. He was rude, pretentious and uncooperative. We should have left but we were hungry and based on the good reviews decided to stay. The waiter arrive shortly and was very friendly. We ordered our meal and it arrived quickly. For starters we had Vongole Oreganate for an appetizer but found it over lemony and a little fishy in flavor. For the main course my fiance ordered one of the nightly specials. Home made ravioli and meatballs which are her favorites but was dissatisfied. I tasted her meal and agreed. The ravioli were good but the sauce was tart and the meatballs had way too much garlic. I had the Scaloppini Di Vitello Romana, it was quite good, very tender and tasteful. After dinner we shared Italian cheese cake. It was a large slice, plenty for two and very fresh but lacked flavor. At the end of the evening some of the food was very good but the rest wasn't up to par especially with the high prices. The waiter and servers were all very friendly except for the Maitre D. He could care less about anything we had to say nor even tried to accomadate us. When we entered the dining room where we sat it was mostly empty. Other then a few more guests arriving after us it remind that way. We could have been easily accommodated, in fact another couple arrived after us and were seated next to each other. All in all we were very...

Older place. Needs remodel. Drinks were good. Not for younger generation. Most of the people were older regulars. Slower pace too which isn’t always bad but Waiters asked what we would like to drink before giving us any menus and when asked they were surprised. Food wasn’t bad but not what I would say to be higher end Italian. There was 2 bread types where one was warm but as hard as a crouton and the other like a small hero. Not your typical fresh Italian bread.

Wine- wine list was very old school with what looked like logos pealed off of bottles with hand written prices. Decent selection though for a smaller restaurant.

Dessert- cannoli filling was lacking flavor. Not bad just bland. Hint of orange and lack of cassata flavor. Tiramisu was good. Balanced flavors and not too rich. Again could use a little more flavor. I’m 38 and eat out 2-3 times a week...