Can’t believe I waited this long to visit Saponara, an islington local favourite for amazing Italian food. The place looks like and probably also serves as a deli with some indoor and outdoor tables, it’s casual, authentic but also well looked after. Tortellonis are to die for, with a great selection of different fillings and sauces. The pizza is so delicious too. They had run out of Tiramisu so will try that next time, but the affogato was a good compromise for the time being! Good Italian wine selection too. The prices are quite reasonable. Highly recommended for a nice meal!

Terrible and very slow service. They brought the menus after 30 minutes of being left unattended, we had to ask 3 times for the menu! The prices were ridiculous especially as there are no expensive ingredients in most of their dishes and the portion sizes are quite small. We order two pasta dishes, they arrived after exactly 50 minutes from ordering. The dishes tasted okay, nothing special. Definitely would not be going back

If you're looking for an authentic Italian place around Islington, this is the spot. "Just half of the menu card was real food, great presentation". Food was really great and reminded me of my travels in Italy and the local food quality. If you're able to get table here, you'll not regret the visit. If you love Italian food you need to try this genuine spot run by Italian people. Besides you can order food here, you are also able to buy some imported Italian products in here. Great concept, great restaurant. If I would be able, I would come every day.

So, I reviewed Saponara pizza about a month ago and gave it my highly subjective 4.0/5.0 "Best Pizza Rating" (trademark). Well, I went back, as predicted then, and as I have but one review to give, I've amended this one. Boy, this was a game changer. Had me the Saponara pizza, the namesake of the restaurant, which is essentially a sausage and mushroom pizza. And it was perfect. It was a little difficult for me to come to terms with this. I think because we are looking for faults when we rate - and that is inherently a flaw - that when we don't find one, we are hard-pressed to say so. But nevermind about this soul searching. The pizza. The crust was thin, yet held to folding and lasted throughout the duration of the meal; everything was flavourful and meaningful on that pie. And extremely affordable! Between the two of us, one negroni, one peroni, two pies, and a chocolate mousse dessert which was amazing cost about 45 pounds. So, I give this pizza a BPR rating of 4.9 out of 5.0. Only to keep everyone honest. Will definitely be back again, and thanks for the great pizza! My review from over a month ago is below. My overall pizza score is 20/25 (4.0) based on the following highly subjective ratings across my equally-weighted pizza categories. So, out of 5: Dough: 4 Sauce: 4 Toppings: 4 Bake: 4 Price: 4 Dough: flavoured, seasoned, textured Sauce: classic, seasoned, flavoured Toppings: variety, quality, traditional Bake: good, though just a touch of wet Price: decent local prices Other: smaller, cozy local restaurant with indoor delicatessen for your Italian grocery needs. Great fresh pasta offering and selection. Friendly native service (with a little italian lesson on the side). Several tables outside for a nice summery meal. A place to come back to for sure. Thanks for the great pizza!

Lovely place to enjoy homemade delicious meals in a very welcoming atmosphere. You'll feel like you're sitting in the dining room of a sweet Italian family. Must try!

An unfussy Italian place where people clearly love food and put great care to it. The pasta is all home made and varies depending on what's available - the staff will bring you a board with the actual (uncooked) pasta options for you to choose. Everything we ate was delicious, fresh and great quality. My only downside was that the antipasto platters were straight-out-of-the-fridge cold, which undermines the flavour.

A little pricey, but for that you’ll indulge in Beautiful Tortelloni Truffle Pasta, although the portion was tiny, like five piece small, it was bloody gorgeous, topped with the Salmon & Prawn freshly baked Pizza, washed down with the House Red & freshly squeezed orange juice, cute little pasta sample board, lovely meal all in, will surely be back!

A nice restaurant with good food. The service was very friendly.

Best pizza I have had in London and all the pasta types we have tried every time we have gone are amazing. It is a must go for us now when we have someone visiting us in Islington! Definitely recommended!

This is my favorite Italian restaurant with my Brazilian friends. The appetizers, pasta or pizza are all very delicious. The tiramisu is great. I will definitely eat here when I visit London again.

We ordered 2 pizzas for delivery; the Tutta carne, and Tartufo. Well the last I can say is that it was absolutely amazing, even for delivery! Free delivery, aromatic, delicious, fresh, thin hand spun crust! What a great place... If I lived in London that's be my go to place!

Outstanding Italian restaurant with friendly staff and a typical atmosphere. Pizza and pasta dishes are absolutely delicious, deserts are good (although not a must). Reasonable prices. Will come back (again!)

Fun and lively little deli/restaurant. Friendly staff and really great value food

Lovely little restaurant. Stunning food, got a table last minute and they were very accommodating. Will be back soon!

Really delicious and authentic. The pasta selection is incredible and tasted wonderful too. Fresh ingredients, good wine selection. Will definitely be back!

Lovely environment, you can feel the Italian vibes! Good prices for the portion, the pasta menu was very original! They also sell ingredients which all look great quality. Very friendly staff.

Family owned Italian restaurant with superb pizza, homemade pasta and great wine selection. Really friendly atmosphere.

Fabulous food and delightful service! We had two incredible pasta dishes. I loved seeing all the pasta specials delivered via basket of each type of pasta. Our servers were so attentive and kind. Great outdoor atmosphere - it’s on a quiet street. We will definitely be back!

Great Italian restaurant. Super friendly staff and the food is always amazing. Must go to place

Authentic little Italian deli/restaurant. Both pizza & pasta were absolutely EXCELLENT!! Highly recommend to try their truffle pizza. Probably the best one I have ever had.

Fantastic, authentic Italian restaurant. The food is amazing and service very friendly. We swear by it and go most weeks. That being said the restaurant is busy and service may sometimes be slow, but definitely worth the wait.

Gnocchi with walnuts in gorgonzola cheese sauce. So good that I regret ordering anything else!

Sorry but I just don’t get the hype? Lovely staff but food is below average :(

A great find. Friendly, accommodating staff and delicious pizza. I’ll be back!

Don't get me wrong: the place is lovely, food is great, when you finally get it, and it feels really cozy. Sadly last time we had to wait for our pasta for 1 hour (!). We booked a table, there were no warnings they are that crazy busy, no excuses when we mentioned the situation. May be just missed our order, but dealt badly with it. I'd love to give another try just to be sure it was one off.

Absolutely fantastic pizza and pasta - it almost felt like being on holiday!

The cosy, wooden interiors; the sweet smiles from the staff; the mouth-watering handmade pasta... Thank you Saponara, you made a casual Friday evening one to remember :)

After seeing how busy this place is, I had to check it out for myself. This is by far the best pizza I’ve had in the area if not in London. The base is a meal in itself, so tasty. I can’t believe I’ve been going to Pizza Pilgrim all this time. The red wine I had by the glass was excellent which was un usual for a small restaurant. Such a change to be in a restaurant being served by the owner these days. Such a authentic Italian vibe in there. I will be seeing you very soon! Thank you 🔥

If you are looking for real Italian food, this is the place. Great service, amazing pastas and delicious tiramisu. Definitely coming back.

Authentic Italian pasta and pizza. Desserts are also delicious and they have a great selection of Italian wines. The only reason I'm not giving them 5 stars is because the pasta portions are a bit on the small side. Other than that, fully recommend indulging in their menu!

We ordered a takeaway during lockdown 🌈 and my Tartufo pizza was 🔝. I visited after and I found the place and the owner so lovely. Grazie e a presto!

A hidden gem! Highly recommended. Don't be misled by pizza dominating the published menu; everything else is on the daily specials.

Magic happens here. Wild boar ravioli with tomato sauce (if you insist on the meat sauce just have pasta) This family cares about quality food and it gets busy and slow sometimes because the local love it here. So if you need fast food go to KFC or

I really like this unpretentious, Italian restaurant. It's very much a locals' restaurant, tucked away from the throngs on Upper Street, and locals are lucky to have it. I've been three times and it's always had a great buzz, even on Tuesday night. This is certainly helped by the friendly sevice. Both pizza and pasta are great and the cheaper house wines are very good value.