Fourth Street in San Rafael has another Italian option in the mix with the January opening of Sapori Ristorante, a navy-blue storefront serving a menu of salads, pastas, pizzas, calzones and desserts.
The restaurant is owned and run by chef Jaime Wence and his wife, Esther, who manages the front of house. The couple relocated to San Rafael from Isleton in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, where they own Manny’s Barzzeria, a 6-year-old pizzeria and bar named after Jaime Wence’s father and mentor. Day-to-day operations there are now handled by longtime employees.
“We were at a point where we wanted a new challenge, and this building came up for sale and we got three in one,” said Esther Wence, referring to the downtown ground-floor restaurant and two apartments above.
Jaime Wence comes from an extended Mexican family of restaurateurs with businesses across the Delta and into the East Bay. His father spent years working in an Italian restaurant in Alameda before opening Lucy’s Cafe in Brentwood in 2001 and moving it to Rio Vista a few years later.
He began working alongside his father at a young age, moving from bussing tables to prep and eventually on the line.
“Jaime still laughs about the first pasta dish he ever made,” said Esther Wence, recalling when Jaime’s father first showed him how to prepare a classic spicy arrabbiata. “When he asked how it was, his dad gave a blunt assessment, calling it ‘terrible.’”
That early moment stuck with him, setting the tone for a steady process of experimentation and refinement that he continued to deepen through books, master classes and time with other chefs.
The all-day menu centers on familiar Italian standards, starting with antipasti like burrata with pistachio and olive oil, fried calamari and carpaccio with shaved Parmesan and arugula.
The interior of Sapori Ristorante in San Rafael. (Photo by Julia Zave)
Pastas range from richer combinations like lasagna layered with sausage, ground beef, mushrooms and four cheeses and fiocchi in gorgonzola sauce to seafood-based dishes such as salmon piccata and linguine pescatore with prawns and clams in a creamy white wine sauce.
The original pizza oven, dating back to Napoli Pizza & Pasta (2008 to 2018) and retained through two Nepalese restaurants and the short-lived Il Gusto, has been replaced. The Wences swapped it out for a larger oven from their Isleton restaurant better suited to their needs.
Jaime Wence’s pizza dough is described as California-style, finished with a touch of honey rather than adhering strictly to Neapolitan tradition. Combinations range from classic pepperoni and margherita to more loaded versions featuring toppings like prosciutto and arugula, marinated garlic shrimp and pesto, pineapple and bacon, chicken with mushroom and several vegetarian options, or diners can build their own. Any pizza can be turned into a calzone.
Five salads — house mixed greens, Caesar, arugula, strawberry spinach and a wedge with bacon and blue cheese — come with optional add-ons such as chicken, prawns or salmon. The dessert menu includes house-made tiramisu, cannoli, crème brûlée, limoncello gelato and spumoni bomba, layers of strawberry, pistachio and chocolate gelato coated in chocolate.
Weekend specials are inspired by the Thursday Marin Farmers Market, where the kitchen also sources staples like honey and olive oil.
The wine list focuses on Italian regions, including Tuscany and Piedmont, with a smaller selection from California.
Previous tenants did quick-fix updates, but when the Wences purchased the building, they undertook a year-long full renovation.
The narrow space runs deep, anchored at the entrance by a wine bar with a mosaic tile front and five stools. A row of woven pendant lights illuminates eight natural wood tables with banquette seating along the dining room wall.
Sapori Ristorante is open from noon to 9 p.m. daily with happy hour from 3 to 5 p.m. Sundays through Fridays at 869 Fourth St. in San Rafael. More information is available at saporimarin.com.
Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer and restaurant columnist. Email her at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com or follow The Real Deal Marin at therealdealmarin.com for more on local food news.
Dining and Cooking