Skappo Merkato

Sometimes I just wanna eat a good sandwich on crusty bread. Their pulled pork on a ciabatta roll is great. Always hits the spot. One day I’ll force myself to try something else but I know the pork sammie won’t disappoint so probably not.

We stopped for sandwiches and coffee. We noticed a sign in the window that said ‘Come Strangers, Leave a Friend’ and felt it was very true! The food was handmade and beyond savory, and there was a large selection of local Italian market foods. We had a large order which the owner’s daughter happily accommodated us with, and when we left she sent us on our trip with some free cookies. A lovely place to stop! (PS — no public restroom)

This is one of the best Italian Mercata around very family oriented as always but this family is very down to earth lovable people I know. My family and I are honored to know them. Visit there if you are in the neighborhood

I was returning to the office downtown expecting to work through dinner when I passed Skappo Merkato. While I’ve enjoyed parent restaurant Skappo before, I hadn’t tried the shop around the corner. I’m glad that I did. Rather than try and parse the sandwich offerings, I decided to start on the top of the menu with the Parma. All I can say I’m glad that I did. Prosciutto di Parma, tangy goat cheese, homemade fig spread, balsamic glaze and mesclun on a Ciabatta. Not cheap but excellent. Almost perfect. There is no question that this strong showing has resulted in Skappo Merkato’s placement in the power rotation of my dining stops in New Haven. You should do the same.

I had passed this restaurant so many times and was so delighted to try it last night. First impressions were very positive. Small, setting with a homely feel and comfortable seating and nice lighting. It was nice to sit by the window. Mary our Waitress was pleasant, polite, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We ordered the gnocchi do Ricotta e melanzane con Sugo di and the Risotto Nero con Pere. Both excellent and tasty, well presented and hot and had some Chianti wine which was equally enjoyable. Earlier the owner Anna had come out to introduce herself. She was such a lovely person. I really liked that she did this. I don’t have anything negative to write about Skappo… Overall. I feel Skappo is one of those little gems hidden away that must be experienced. I will definitely return.

Skappo Merkato is fantastic. In addition to being an Italian specialty food shop (great products, if a little expensive), they make some of the best sandwiches you’ll find in New Haven. The Parma and Porchetta are favorites of mine and are both delicious in completely unique ways. Excellent quality in every ingredient and put together with care. $ 9 – 10 for a lots of toppings on a pretty huge ciabatta roll isn’t a bad deal, either.
I would highly advise grabbing one of their Italian sodas to accompany it, as they’re equally tasty. The blood orange would be my recommendation – unlike many blood orange-​flavored products, it tastes more or less like the real fruit. I’ve heard from others that the service can suffer a little when they’re busy, but never experienced it personally. In either case, the sandwiches definitely warrant a visit if you’ve never had them before.

Amazing Capresse sandwich. Fresh and delicious each time. The cookies are great too.

I love supporting local businesses. So I was excited when I learned this was the «sister store» to Skappo around the corner, which I loved when I went there.
Whenever I have walked by it has either been closed or empty, but today when I decided to give it a shot it was packed. I even saw my coworker there– who has excellent taste– so I was excited to give it a shot.
I got the parma on a roll which has prosciutto, goat cheese, fig spread, and mescalin. I had to wait about 12 – 15 minutes for it, but I wasn’t really surprised because of how packed it was. While I waited I noticed they had a lot of homemade products they were selling, which I will probably go back and try.
The woman who was taking orders/​ringing folks up was kind to me, but I saw her make some under her breath comments to some other customers, which was off-​putting. But I also noticed that they knew a lot of people’s names who were coming in, which I like.
My sandwich was very good, but you could tell the guy making the sandwiches threw it together. The fig spread wasn’t all across the bun, and the goat cheese was globbed on. Nonetheless it was delicious, and next time I am going to try it on ciabatta.
I also got a blood orange italian soda which they made for me right there— VERY good.
It is on the pricier side, but everything is fresh.

Skappo Merkato is a tiny store/​café operated by the same family that operates the restaurant Skappo. The two businesses are actually connected together in the back. However the restaurant entrance is on Crown Street and the store entrance is on Orange Street.
To be honest I quite can’t figure this place out. It has a few Italian imported items on the shelf, but nothing on a grand scale. And they sell a few sandwiches but again, nothing on a grand scale. Whenever I visit I usually find myself to be the only customer.
So I’m kinda surprised they’ve lasted as long as they have. I think if it weren’t for their main restaurant this part of their business wouldn’t be around.
But don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I’ve had a few of their sandwiches over the years and all of them have been very good. Stopping here after work makes for a quick and convenient supper when I don’t feel like cooking. Plus, they’ll usually have some sort of treat or something in a jar, which makes for a nice dessert.
Speaking of dessert, I had high hopes for their new cannolis, and in all honesty, Lucibello’s really has nothing to fear in maintaining its reign as local cannoli king.

Lets get it
Atmosphere:
The man behind the counter was super friendly and knowledgeable, love it. Then the quaint intimate small setting inside was great; light Italian music playing in the background really just set the mood.
Selection:
Although the lunch selection was pretty slim (pretty much assuring everything is fresh) they also had a pretty good amount of other selections for you to take home with you and reproduce these amazing sandwiches.
Food:
I had the Parma sandwich on ciabatta bread and it was glorious. Prosuittio, fresh greens, fig spread, goat cheese and a balsamic glaze all put together for a collection of flavors like no other. The other people i was with got the Assisi and the tomato soup and nothing but great things to say.
Fresh food and awesome service is a great place for lunch.

We were in New Haven on Friday and decided to eat a quick lighter dinner. This place looked wonderful. We loved the decoration of the tiny restaurant. And enjoyed looking at all the products to shop for, and looking at and reading the wall hangings. The two men behind the counter were very friendly and helped us on making choices. We had an Italiano salad — candied walnut gorganzola craisin salad tossed with balsamic dressing and a sole mio on a roll (they also have a bigger one on a Ciabatta) — an eggplant, zucchini feta and black olive sandwich and blood orange store mixed sodas.
My salad was fantastic! So much flavor, I have a hard time getting myself to eat vegetables, and when I first saw how much salad was in the bowl I figured I would be taking some home. Yea, ok… I finished it, YUM!
My dinner companion liked her sandwich very much and even though it looked pretty big (and btw was a pretty looking sandwich, too), she finished her’s also! The blood orange sodas may be good, but with all of the flavor from my salad, I couldn’t really taste it. This soda might be good to have by itself, especially on a hot day.
As far as price, we were in downtown New Haven and enjoying the ambiance of a beautiful specialty restaurant/​market, all of that costs money, and I expected to pay for it so I didn’t think about $ 20 was too bad.
This also would have been fun to eat at the town green just a short walk away, but it was windy and cold and the market was pretty and warm!
Want to go back and bring others!

Everything I’ve eaten in this place has been delicious. I grew up in an Italian family, and walking into this place feels like walking into the kitchen at home. The staff makes all of their food with care and quality ingredients, plus they’re really friendly. They’re a little pricier than other local lunch options, but it’s well worth it. If my waist and wallet could afford it, I’d eat here multiple times a week.

Best sandwich I’ve had in New Haven. Bar none. I would give five stars for the quality of the food alone, but the service was outstanding.
This is my first Unilocal review. I was so blown away by the kindness at skappo that I had to create an account and give these stars. Thank you for making my day skappo merkato!

Sorry to say it was just ok. I wanted to like this place. I’m italian and love a true italian sub. First, zero stars for the girl who makes sandwiches and takes orders. She was not friendly and only answered questions with yes/​no answers. I had never been here before and had questions about the menu. I had the porchetta with provolone and mozz on ciabatta. The bread was great but the pork was dry, plain and zero flavor. My girlfriend had sole mio which was basically a veg sub it had more flavor than mine but not much. At $ 9.00 a sub Iand $ 2.00 for a snapple I won’t be back. I will wait for warm weather and go to sub shop with outdoor seating at other end of orange st which I love

Excellent sandwiches, very good salads. Its all a bit pricey (hence –1 star), but hey, if you’re hungry and walking by, I’d say go for it!

I really cannot say enough of this place. The food, the service and the conversation. I grab food on the go fairly often and try to stay healthy, this is the place to accomplish both. Fresh, creative and unique ingredients. Definitely not your ordinary sandwhich shop.
I go for the ‘bongusto’ or the ‘parma’ but the salads are great. Good spot to even throw together a few items to make a giftbasket for the food lover in your life. The olive oil imported from their family in Italy is awesome. Stop reading this review and start eating there… top it off with a fresh made chocolate chip cookie, theyre 50 cents and who doesnt love a choc. Chip cookie?

Sweet Jebus, those panini’s. Incredibly good. I had the porchetta and it blew me away. FYI they don’t do sandwiches on Sunday since the bakery they use isn’t open and they ONLY use fresh bread, but the tuna salad was a really good substitute. Can’t wait try some other things.
Other positives: very friendly, family run, great homemade preserves/​spreads and imported Italian grocery items, extremely clean.
This would be my go-​to lunch spot if I worked in New Haven. Looking forward to trying out more of the menu.

This place just nails it when you’re looking for a delicious, big sandwich with great ingredients. I’ve never had a bad order there, and the pulled pork on ciabatta that I had the other day (a summer special, I was told) was dynamite.
Nice little seating area and environment plus friendly owners makes it my top lunch destination in this up-​and-​coming little part of downtown.

do yourself a favor.
1. go here
2. order the porchetta
3. if you’re daring, ask them to put prosciutto on top
4. wait a couple minutes
5. waft in the smell of pork all the way back to work while resisting the urge to tear open the wrapper and take a bite
6. sit back at your desk and indulge

The gentleman who makes sandwiches here does so with love, time, and energy. Nothing is fast (call in ahead), but everything is made with such attention to detail. The sign of a truly good sandwich.
Definitely try the Assisi (or «Bollito») and you will die. Also, another not on the menu is without name, but a sandwich with cheese, porcini, and truffles. AMAZING.