Quaint and charismatic, the new Sole e Sapori Ristorante and Pizzeria is gradioso for authentic Sicilian flavor and tradition. The restaurant rescues the deserted corner of University and Gilman Streets with a bright addition to Madison’s Italian cuisine.

Owner and chef Sam Vitale held his grand opening at the 453 W. Gilman St. location two weeks ago where Siam Square vacated in mid-February. Sole e Sapori is a great place for casual dining, but the lack of attention to detail doesn’t get you more dining for your dollar.

Sole e Sapori — which means sun and flavor — serves a wide variety of meals and offers a laidback casual atmosphere. Its specialties include traditional Italian meals and homemade pizzas. The lunch menu includes calzones ($4.95) and six different choices of panini from $4.95 to $5.95, which are served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The big tables and open dining space provide an opportunity for large family-style dinner parties.

A large portion of the menu is dedicated to homemade pizzas. You have a choice of ordering a 10- to 16-inch pizza and adding your favorite toppings of Italian sausage, pepperoni, ham, mushrooms, onions, tomato, black olives, green olives, spinach, artichokes and asparagus. There is a choice of pan pizza, thin-crust pizza and stuffed pizzas. Pizza prices start at $6.95 for a simple 10-inch cheese pizza to $15.95 for a 16-inch eggplant, pesto or specialty pizza.

Each dinner entrée comes with a side of spaghetti, Sicilian bread and salad. The Sicilian bread was delightfully different, sprinkled with mozzarella cheese and anise seasoning, which gave it a distinct, sweet flavor.

The salad was a great, simple introduction to the meal. The restaurant offers only Italian, ranch and bleu-cheese dressings to accompany the salad. The Italian dressing was pleasingly light and homemade. The mixed greens were a bit mushy, and the glass bowl was cold, indicating to me that the salad was disappointingly pre-made and refrigerated.

I had a hard time choosing which entrée to order, since the menu is so extensive with new and different Italian choices. Vitale suggested the Chicken Parmesan, a breaded breast of chicken with Parmesan and mozzarella cheese for $10.95.

The entrée came with the pasta and chicken drenched in an excellent marinara sauce. The chicken was tender and juicy, breaded with savory Italian spices. The spaghetti, however, was overcooked and mushy. It reminded me of the elementary school cafeteria spaghetti-and-meatballs Thursday.

My dinner date ordered the tortellini alla boscaiola for $9.95. The tender tortellini pasta came drenched in a heavy cream sauce accompanied with porcini mushrooms, Parmesan cheese and prosciutto (Italian deli meat similar to ham). The blend of flavors from the salty prosciutto, the sweet cream sauce and the sharp flavor of the mushrooms were excellent.

When asked what sets Sole e Sapori apart from neighboring Madison Italian restaurants, Vitale stated that his secret to great food and what sets him apart from others is that, “I make my sauce from scratch.”

Signore Vitale obviously takes great pride in his food and country. Born in Palermo, Sicily, he brings great flavor and a personal charisma to his restaurant. He personally brings out each entrée to the customer, which adds sincerity to the preparation of the food. His contagious laugh and thick Sicilian accent is the greatest addition of character to the restaurant.

Make sure you ask Vitale to try a rice ball. This is excellent and authentic Italian prosciutto meat, asiago cheese, rice and peas balled into a giant ball. Vitale offers them, but they are not on the menu. He states, “These are excellent. Very popular in Italy. You can’t find these often here in the States.”

The menu offered two choices of traditional Italian desserts. Tiramisu ($3.95), otherwise known as “the Tuscan trifle,” consisted of creamy mascarpone cheese, ladyfingers drenched in liquor, cream, espresso coffee and was sprinkled with cocoa.

Cannoli ($1.75) is ricotta cheese mixed with chunks of pineapple and liquor encased in a sweet cookie shell and sprinkled with powdered sugar. This dessert was different and unlike anything I have previously tried. Again, the overwhelming liquor flavor took away from the creamy and simple, sweet medley taste of the pineapple and ricotta cheese.

Although Sole e Sapori is a refreshing addition of home-style authentic Italian/Sicilian cuisine, the negligence to detail keeps me from claiming it my new favorite Italian restaurant.

During my recent Sunday-evening visit, the restaurant was initially eerily dark and quiet. The lack of music created an uncomfortable atmosphere, causing me to whisper my order to the waitress. The almost-deserted dining area and unlit candles on the table only added to the awkward experience.

The strange choices of eclectic art and cartoon murals on the walls were interesting and almost comical. Artist Guzzo Pinc creates all the art displayed in the restaurant. Most of the art contains bright colors and cartoon caricatures. I can’t decide if the large cartoon mural in the dining room containing green cartoon monsters and Popeye was entertaining or frightening.

While bringing out the Sicilian bread before dinner, Vitale realized the lack of music and selected the radio station The Buzz 105.1. The sudden blast of Heart’s “Barracuda” didn’t exactly add to the authenticity of the restaurant’s Italian dining.

While glancing around Sole e Sapori, my dinner companion, Francesca Cherubini, said, “Unless the food is exquisite, they are going to have a hard time staying in business. There are so many other great Italian restaurants in the area.”

Surprisingly, this Italian restaurant does not offer a wine list or any other alcoholic beverages. The only beverages offered are soda and coffee for $.95. The neighboring dining parties actually left their dinner and went to Riley’s Wines of the World to buy a bottle of red wine to accompany their pasta. I must admit, the sweet carbonation of my Diet Coke didn’t enhance the flavor of my chicken Parmesan.

Before you go, also remember that the restaurant does not accept credit cards, only check or cash. This caused me to annoyingly leave the restaurant in search of a nearby ATM.

Overall, if you are looking for cheap, casual and authentic Italian dining, Sole e Sapori is great. However, in order for Sole e Sapori to outlast its competitors in the downtown area, the corner of Gilman and University Streets may see another restaurant come and go.