Sapore Italiano

We have been devoted repeat customers of Sapore Express - their sister restaurant over on 3rd Avenue in San Mateo, so we'd thought we'd give Sapore Italiano - their mother ship a try here in Burlingame. Tucked into a narrow storefront with upper and lower dining areas on two floors, Sapore Burlingame exudes a cozy timeless classic urban vibe that makes you think you are in some Italian neighborhood in a big East Coast metropolis.The menu is fairly standard for Italian fare, so we ordered:The Caesar Salad: 10/10Crisp cool crunchy iceberg lettuce, a delicious Caesar dressing, accompanied by large flakes of Parmesan cheese and big toasty croutons.More Appetizers: (8.5/10)Generally on point are the Fried Calamari and Bruschetta appetizers. The calamari portion seemed a little bit light on our plate, as we've had a larger portion at their sister location. Luck of the draw, I suppose. The Bruschetta was excellent with tons of tomato on top of grilled slices of French baguette.Zuppa De Pesce: 10/10Awesome variety of seafood served in a tomato-ey broth.. definitely the star dish for us here. I'd order this again in a heartbeat.Our server was very friendly and almost always nearby to lend any assistance, but being on the 2nd floor after we had our plates, it's much harder to flag down help afterwards, so that was the biggest challenge here. We were on the 2nd floor due to the size of our dinner party.I'd definitely come back for the Zuppa De Pesce.. but get seated on the main dining floor.

Came here for a couple of times. First with a group of friends for an event and then revisited with kiddos. I ordered a fish dish during the first visit. It was okay. Flavor was slightly bland (not many layers). But I heard from the group that they got the best ravioli.So I came back with kids. I got the ravioli. My kids got a pasta and a pepperoni pizza. My ravioli was flat again. Not many dimensions to the dish and I would not order again. The pasta dish was very decent. Good layers of flavor profile and even leftover tasted good days after. Pepperoni pizza was flavorful but had a kick to it. A bit spicy for the little one but I enjoyed it.Their service was okay. They seem to spread thin here and some waiting is expected.Restaurant is old school. Food portion is big. Their desserts were all good. Super tasty.

I have been to Sapore a few times for special events. But just this past few weeks, my friend and I are becoming regulars. We live 5-10 min away so we try to stop by when I get the pasta craving. The staff are super friendly. Elio the owner is so welcoming to everyone! Our first host/bartender was Jimmy and gave us some great pasta suggestions & made us his special espresso martini & shots. Thanks Jimmy!Pasta I've tried is always a hit! Not one I have yet to devoured. On Sundays they have this special lasagna w/ bechamel sauce.. chef's kiss ‍ I loved trying different pastas from here. They make everything house made. Their dipping sauce is amazing and addicting! There's parking in the back and some in the front. There's an upstairs that can rented out for special events. They turn down the lights during dinner to set the tone.

Our club closed down this restaurant for a great thanksgiving luncheon on a Wednesday afternoon. We took up the entire ground floor. We first started with their fresh bread with some chili olive oil dip. It was delicious. Next we each got a bite of some yummy bruschetta. Next came a beet and arugula saladWith feta or goat cheese - very nice. Since we were here for thanksgiving - each patron got a plate of extremely tender Turkey, stuffing and Mac and cheese. It was a perfect luncheon. The staff were so accommodating.

This place is like home, and the staff makes me feel like family. Recently, I visited this place for a Sunday afternoon martini, as one does, and I randomly mentioned that I had a little touch of a scratch in my throat. Not five minutes later, my bartender produces a delicious vegetable soup and a lovely basket of fresh-baked bread (pictured). That's wtf I'm talking about. I haven't had a bad experience here yet. Oh wait, there was that one time, but it was only once, and I totally forgive them. The carbonara is delicious.

My family and I went here for an early dinner and we enjoyed the food from beginning to end. We started off with bread and a tomato oil dip which came as service and to our surprise it was absolutely delicious. We felt comfortable and it is a family friendly environment. My husband and I appreciated the large slices of beets for the salad and it was a hugs portion. My kids went to town on their food. They said the pizza was sooooo cheeses! The ravioli and veal we cooked perfectly and the flavors were amazing. We will be returning soon to try other items on their menu.

Went here on a Friday night with reservations. Had a nice glass of wine and the meatballs for an appetizer. The sauce went well with the bread. I tried the skirt steak and my wife had the spaghetti vongole.I really liked the meatballs and the red sauce. The skirt steak was delicious I really liked these dishes. I tried the clam spaghetti it was lacking in flavor and we had to ask for salt. Not the best version of that dish. The clams might have been off. Service was inconsistent and we had to wait quite a while for attention or the orders. The servers brought some other orders to our table and we had to tell them they had the wrong table. I might try this place again but it was disappointing after seeing a lot of positive reviews.

One of our favorite jaunts for Pasta Carbonara & Angel Hair Pasta with Bolognese sauce. The Bolognese sauce was a little drier this visit and not as saucy even though I asked for extra sauce. The Osso Bucco was a fabulous special & the Beet Salad with Arugula was great. The Pasta Carbonara which is one of our friends' fav was tasty & filling as usual. He couldn't even finish it! Service was spotty. Our young waitress didn't know what a "7 & 7" drink was & ended up giving our friend a Sprite only since she said they didn't have 7-up. We had to explain what it includes after she served him. She asked the bartender if they could prepare the 7&7 & came back & said they didn't have Seagram's 7 Crown Whiskey. He ended up ordering a Jack & Coke & this time, articulated that it's Jack Daniel's Whiskey & Coca Cola.She also never gave a napkin when I had mentioned it when we were ordering our drinks prior to ordering our entrees. I used a knife for my salad & when the salad plate was cleared, they never replaced a knife for me. I had to use hubs'. She also gave us dessert menus before we were all finished with our entrees. She was inexperienced with service & perhaps overwhelmed? We ended up paying for our bill & getting dessert elsewhere.Place was packed on a Friday so make sure to make reservations. Also, parking was hard to find so prepare to walk a few blocks away.

Driving down Burlingame Ave on a Thursday looking for some where different to eat and spotted a banner hanging for a 9.99 lunch buffet - SOLD! As a family of 6, we're always looking to get the most bang for our buck and this place was just that! Walked over and there were a few older gentlemen enjoying their meal outside. It was a good day to do so. As we walked in, we were welcomed and told they had a buffet and to take a look before committing. Todays menu was penne pollo (penne pasta with chicken, broccoli and sun dried tomatoes) & penne Al pomodoro (v, penne pasta in tomato sauce with garlic & EVOO), mixed greens salad with balsamic vinaigrette & garlic bread. All of it was delicious and worth the stop. Our family loves Italian food and our kids love pasta so this was perfect for us. We all ate more than 1 serving and our plates were clean! And to our surprise, they offered the rest of the pasta to us to take home since they had closed the buffet for the day. We are extremely grateful for the generosity! Definitely will be coming back again for their lunch time buffet that runs M-F 12p-2p.

If you're looking for a nice Italian restaurant, this is the place to be. It's a gem along Burlingame Ave. The owner, Elio, and all his staff are the best! Everyone's nice and friendly. We feel welcomed the first time we came here. Kept us coming back whenever we needed a nice espresso martini after a long day at work or whenever we crave for a nice italian food. Thank you, Sapore Italiano! xo