N.Y.C.’s Beloved Don Angie Just Got a Seafood-Italian Sibling. Here’s What It’s Like Inside.
Don Angie is one of the hardest tables to get in New York City. Well, good luck sneaking into Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli’s follow-up, San Sabino.
The seafood-focused Italian restaurant—the husband-and-wife duo’s second partnership with Michael Stillman’s Quality Branded—opened Tuesday just down the block from the their red-sauce joint, and it’s certainly a worthy sibling. Rito and Tacinelli are whipping up the hand-made pastas for which they’ve become known (although, no, you can’t get that rolled lasagna here), with Italian-American classics as seen through the couple’s modern lens.
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It wouldn’t be a seafood restaurant without a raw and chilled section, so the menu starts off with oysters, crab dip, and scallop crudo. San Sabino’s take on spicy tuna might just remind you of the crispy rice version popularized by L.A.’s Katsuya. Here, though, that crispy rice comes from broken arancini, a delightful use for an Italian standby. Rabe furikake and charred scallion crema finish off one of the best dishes on the menu.
Of course, you’re probably coming here to eat some pasta, with six different selections on the opening menu. The lobster triangoli comes bathed in a white vodka sauce, which takes on its more common pink color once you break into the pillowy pockets of lobster meat. Pasta alle vongole uses Manila clams, while stuffed farfalle features smoked chili crab. There’s even something for the seafood-averse (although you’ll enjoy the experience much more as a fish eater): Pepperoni carbonara sees hand-rolled ziti dressed with Szechuan peppercorn, and the house manicottini is bathed in Sunday sauce and mini meatballs.
If there’s one dish here that’ll become San Sabino’s version of Don Angie’s lasagna, it’s gotta be the shrimp parm—three huge head-on U5 prawns slathered in a sweet and sour arrabiata that packs the perfect tangy punch. There’s grilled Coho salmon and a breaded steak that’s the chefs’ take on katsu, but it’s the shrimp parm you’re about to be seeing all over your Instagram and TikTok feeds.
The food is complemented by a drinks menu that gives classic cocktails San Sabino’s funky spin. The house Martini features garlic-bread vodka made in-house and extra-large olives, while the Belmar Special turns an espresso Martini into a highball. There are zero-proof options, of course, and an extensive list of wines by the glass, including rarer pours such as a white Nebbiolo.
With all that food in front of you and the rather dim lighting, it can be hard to appreciate San Sabino’s design, but make sure to note the curvilinear bar with a woven jacquard ceiling. If you can’t snag a dining-room table, one of the 10 bar seats is a rather glamorous place to post up for the evening. Just take care that you don’t drip any of the bountiful cream or red sauce on your lovely outfit.
Click here to see all the images of San Sabino.
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