Jan 30 2007
Savoia
So I took fellow Brooklynite Ben Kweller’s advice and I ate at Savoia on Smith Street for the first time. Don’t know why I’d never stopped by. Perhaps it’s just one of those places that becomes part of the scenery and you forget exists to be tried. On Friday night, we sampled three items: the ravioli special, which was ravioli in a butter-herb sauce, one of the restaurant’s apparently famous wood-fired pizzas–we tried one with a super spicy soppresetta–and shared a fennel salad. The portions were generous, the prices were reasonable ($33 bottle of wine); though perhaps my one complaint is the closeness of the tables. Normally this wouldn’t bother me, but we happened to sit next to a semi-annoying couple. You know, the ones who need attention right away, always ask for something extra, send a dish back, and then rush off to something more important. Besides them, the atmosphere was warm and inviting, and no one rushed us to finish our bottle of wine. I think it’s going to become our new neighborhood favorite. One question: I noticed they do brunch on the weekends–is it any good?
11 Responses to “Savoia”
I’ve eaten brunch there several times, as it’s a few short blocks away. It’s pretty solid — nothing outstanding, but consistently good (which is nothing to scoff at). I’m a big fan of the bread they serve, which is hot & crusty and comes from the same wood-fired ovens.
What is it about Savoia because we have the same story. Walked by it for years until my wife read a review and asked “why have we never been here?”
We went that night and had a very (very) good dinner.
Oh, and I think the tables were also just a tad too close, but, hey. where are they not I suppose.
Savoia is good stuff.
We’ve been eating there for years (ever since it opened).
I think that Savoia is not good at all. The bread is good but then you are too full. The food is too greasy, expensive and the waiters pretend to be Italian. Due to the lack of good Italian spots in a once dominant Italian neighborhood, I sometimes find myself going there without reason and I am consistently underwhelmed. Go to Porchetta if you want to spend the same money.
I thought their pizza (and waiters) were very wanna-be. Not even close to Caserta Vecchia’s or Sam’s.
I agree, kinda underwhelmed by Savoia. But when Lucali’s is a mere few blocks away, everything seems underwhelming in comparison. And yeah for pizza, Caserta Vecchia’s or Sam’s, much better than Savoia and for non-pizza Italian food, there are plenty of other places nearby with better ambience and better value- Fragole, Frankie’s, even Panintoca.
We went there about a year ago (after having lived in cobble hill for more than 7 years and walked by it daily and asked ourselves why we didn’t eat there) and also found the tables to be a bit too close together and service inattentive. It probably didn’t help that there was a private party in the adjoining room. It took forever to get our food and to get the waiter’s attention (and are very non-demanding diners). By the end of the night we just wanted to get the hell out of there.
Now we walk by Savoia and KNOW why we don’t eat there.
I think all you naysayers are nuts. I hate Caserta Vecchia. Their portions are ridiculously small and the staff gossips about patrons. Savoia’s people ARE Italian; the busboys barely speak English. The owners are S. Italian. In fact, I don’t think anyone that works there is American. And as for the pizza, Sam’s if quite good and if you want Brooklyn Italian pizza, eat there. If you want pizza reminiscent of Rome or Naples, try Savoia.
Zagat? Citysearch? . . . who NEEDS them–we’ve got abrooklynlife.com!
That being said, we rushed out to Savioa for dinner on Friday night. And we were disappointed. While there wasn’t anything WRONG with the food (although I thought it was a LITTLE uninspired), it was the service that was really a let down.
As for the bread that was discussed so much?–ours tasted as if it had just come out of the freezer (mine was still cold in the middle, to the point to being a little hard to eat!). The focaccia was really mushy, too.
Nevertheless, though, thanks for the recommendation–we’re ALWAYS on the lookout for a callout on some place we’ve usually walk right past.
Any word on this Jessie’s Brooklyn Kitchen that’s going in on Smigh Street?
I also prefere Caserta Vecchia’s pizza and Sam’s as well. The staff is MUCH nicer there as well.
The food is still very good….but what about pizza and staff???
something changed the Pizza doesn’t taste so good anymore…the focaccia…forget it…and new staff everyday they don’t know who you are anymore, rude and not easy to speak english with….