San Sabino

San Sabino is fast becoming one of my favorite West Village Seafood inspired Italian restaurants. It's a casual restaurant with both in-door and out-door seating and a sprinkle of chic. Onto the food. Every dish we ordered was a hit. Lobster Triangoli - As the name suggests, these are lobster filled pasta parcels served in a white vodka sauce. It was a simple unassuming dish with bold explosive flavors. This has to be one of their signature dishes. The sauce is delicious and comforting and you would definitely want to clean the plate with some bread. Pepperoni Carbonara - Ziti pasta, Sichuan peppercorn and pepperoni tossed in a spicy creamy sauce. The only non-seafood dish we ordered. The sauce was indulgent and had a good balance of heat. Shrimp Parm - Three large shrimp served in a tangy arrabbiata sauce topped with melted parm. Think seafood version of the best chicken parm you have had. It was lovely balanced dish and deliciously comforting. Crispy Calamari Salad - This was a lovely light and fresh salad balanced with the crunch of crispy calamari- and what is there not to love above crispy calamari. The flavors of this salad was amazing, a hint of citrus from the blood orange, nuttiness from the hazelnuts and vinaigrette and fresh crisp from the shaved cabbage. Absolutely loved the dishes - bold, creative flavors and overall excellent and attentive service.

Couldn’t expect less from the sister restaurant to Don Angie. Interior decor was modern with bright tones, and was made especially more bright with the large windows. It has a classy vibe without being uptight or stuffy - very relaxing. All the dishes were good, but the pasta alle vongole was my favorite - the citrus added was such a nice touch and played off of the clams natural flavor well. Another star was the Shrimp Parm, the must order similar to the lasagna at Don Angie. The cocktail we received, the Mandarino, was bourbon based with again, a touch of citrus, and remained spirit forward but not overpowering. Excellent customer service as well!

San Sabino in New York gets a solid 4 out of 5 from me. The food was tasty and fresh and compared to their sister restaurant is definitely more fish forward. I made a point to try some of their most popular dishes. The lobster ravioli was flavorful and well executed. The cheese appetizer was balanced and nicely presented, though I would probably pass on it next time. The star of the night was the spicy tuna appetizer, which really stood out in both flavor and texture. The decor is beautiful and creates a great atmosphere, and the service was friendly throughout the meal. Overall, a very enjoyable experience.

The octopus carpaccio wasn’t anything to write home about, it was surprisingly forgettable coming from an Italian seafood establishment. The insalata louie was good for the first handful of bites, but the horseradish taste of it wears you down. I was most excited about the lobster triangoli, and while the white vodka sauce was creamy and delightful, the filling inside was too tangy. The pepperoni carbonara was too salty and tangy. The shrimp parm was good, the only thing I’d recommend ordering if you should choose to dine here. Overall, a lot of apps and pasta were too tangy that it felt like there was no balance in taste profile in our experience here. We also noticed that there was a long wait (around 30min) between being served our apps and pasta/main, compared to other parties around us. The drinks were good though.