Sapori Restaurant

In Italian sapori means “flavors,” and it is precisely the magnificent flavors of the dining experience at Sapori del Lord Byron that will long linger in my memory.

First of all, however, in order to prepare oneself for a fabulous meal at this gourmet restaurant famous for its haute cuisine, one must take time to enjoy the gallery of paintings found within the romantic hotel milieu.  Several original oil portraits of famous women painted by Northern European artists from the early twentieth century adorn the walls of this private, villa-like establishment.  Their presence seemed to lend an added charm and air of sophistication to our overall dining experience.

Once seated at our table, we were greeted by Stefano, our head waiter who introduced himself and presented us with menus and descriptions of the fare we were about to enjoy.  Our chef was the talented Executive Chef Jean Luc Fruneau who was known for creating Italian regional specialties of the peninsula’s culinary tradition through a skillful combination of ingredients that utilized a variety of colors, shapes, textures and flavors.  Stefano informed us that while the Sapori’s chef hailed from the Nantes region of France, he married a Sicilian woman whose own regional tastes and proclivities influenced him toward such ingredients as pine nuts, cherry tomatoes, ricotta cheese and fresh fruits.  We found these elements artfully intertwined throughout several dishes.

Our Mediterranean feast began with two appetizers.  The first was artichoke and black truffle stew with buffalo ricotta cheese.  While the term “stew” was printed on the menu, it was nothing like the mixed vegetable and meat stews that I had conjured in my mind.  Rather, it was a delicately presented sliced artichoke heart with a side of ricotta cheese topped by an ever-so-thinly-sliced black truffle.  What a masterpiece of presentation!  Since my son and wife absolutely adore artichoke hearts, they could not stop commenting upon this dish.  Our second appetizer was a tiger prawn salad with veal “coppa” and Sicilian capers.  Our veal coppa was like sweetbread, a portion of meat found near the back of the head, our waiter informed us.  The prawns positively melted in the mouth, flavored in a delicate butter sauce.  After eleven days of dining throughout Italy, my teen-age son enthusiastically announced that these prawns were the best of all the appetizers he had been served.  I tended to agree.

While we had been considering either a shiraz or a merlot to accompany our meal, our sommelier suggested a 2004 Il Quattro Mori, from Castel De Paolis.  The quattro mori are “four darks,” consisting of a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot and the sirah (shiraz) varieties.  Here was a delightful complexity of flavors that yielded an excellent bouquet and turned out to be one of the greatest hits of the evening.  I would love to be able to find a wine like this again.

For the first course my wife chose spaghetti from Gragnano with anchovies, cod roe, pistachio and cinnamon.  This turned out to offer both a particular spicy flavor with a noticeable flavor of the cinnamon.  While it was not a combination of flavors we were particularly used to, its novelty was quite pleasant.  I ordered the salt cod and potato dumplings with asparagus fondue, mint and black olives.  The gnocchi (dumplings) were very small and tasty, and the asparagus “fondue,” actually a kind of sauce, allowed for a very subtle flavor in combination with the fish.  Had the portion been slightly larger, it may have sufficed quite nicely as an entrée. 

For our second course, I requested the milk and bay leaf steamed John Dory fillet (St. Peter’s fish, our waiter informed us) with creamy salt cod.  Beside the fillet, my “creamy salt cod” turned out to be a blended combination of potato and cod fish that had been boiled together, then blended and scooped onto the plate.  What a creative expression and tasty experience this was!  Both my wife and son chose the beef tournedos Rossini style with corn polenta.  The steaks were cooked to perfection and disappeared completely from the plates throughout a chorus of “oohs” and “ahhs.” We continued to see the traces of our chef’s Sicilian wife’s influence throughout our evening.

Our server next directed our attention to the desserts on the menu and mentioned two he believed were the chef’s best creations.  Following his advice, we opted for the white chocolate and coconut cornets (cannoli) with passion fruit coulis.  The second choice was a caramel and pear millefeuille.  Both were absolutely exquisite.  The cannoli were unforgettably delicate, fresh, and mouth-watering. The technique of the millefeuille –a thousand layers—showcased the superb talent and ability of our incomparable chef.  As a bonus, our accomplished sommelier presented a particular dessert wine even after we had declined an earlier invitation to order one.  He brought a 2005 Ben Rye, by Passitodi Panthelleria, 14.5%  alcohol, from Donnafugata, Sicily.  He explained that half the grapes used in this wine are allowed to ripen nearly to the point of becoming raisins before they are crushed to be made into this dessert wine.  Its sweetness, he said, would make a nice accompaniment to the bitterness of the chocolate.  This was simply one more demonstration of the service and competency we found so enjoyable during one of our most memorable, romantic evenings in the Eternal City.  As our final night in Rome, this farewell dinner made it all the more difficult to say Arrivaderci, Roma.

The Sapori del Lord Byron restaurant is on the ground floor of the Hotel Lord Byron, located at Via Giuseppe De Notaris, 5 -00197 Roma.  Tel. +39 063220404  Email is info@lordbyronhotel.com.  Website is www.lordbyronhotel.com

Be sure to see our review of the Hotel Lord Byron, a truly elegant, hotel experience for those who would enjoy the privacy, intimacy and patrician-villa environment of one of the Leading Hotels of the World.  Here you’ll find the best of two worlds, consisting of close access to Rome’s main attractions as well as the quiet, unhurried seclusion found in a private manor.