This place reminds me of something out of the Godfather - "A place with good food where people mind their own business".
Unlike the restaurant in the movie, however, you can expect a good deal of loud talking... which to me is very Italian. The restauarnt is small and the tables are right on top of each other, which makes you part of the conversation from your fellow diners. Couple that with the BYOB policy, and you're in for some loud talking (table next to us had at least a dozen bottles of wine of the table for a party of eight!). You have to shout a bit to be heard by your fellow diners, but that's part of the ambiance.
Aside from the noise, the food is fantastic. I went with a party of four around 9 p.m. on a Friday and we still had to wait for a table, which is a testament to how good the food is in this place. They have a pretty basic menu with a decent sized list of daily specials, which provides more than enough choice without being overwhelming. Everything we tried was delicious - mussels marianara, cheese pizza and gnocchi with the gorganzola cream sauce were the standouts.
Sarafino's represents an outstanding value. The food is well priced and the BYOB policy helps keep the cost of the meal down as well. This is one of my new favorites in Pittsburgh - I'll definitely be back.