08/15/09

best Italian restaurant in town

by sftussey

I've been eating at this restaurant since it opened many years ago. I have never had anything short of an excellent experience there. The food is consistently superb. The atmosphere genuinely Italian friendly and the service is always right on the mark.

It is small and usually crowded and a bit noisy but it all fits perfectly. Everyone i've taken there has loved the place.

If you've had a less than ideal experience there, it's an aberration, I assure you. Go back and try it again. You'll be glad you did.

• Pros: great everything
• Cons: none

07/30/09

Florence in SOMA

by CAC2009

I was looking for some neopolitan pizza and a decent glass of red wine after 9:00 on a Wednesday evening. I've lived in the area for several years so I am stupefied as to why I have not discovered this place yet. The place was packed and alive and I was promptly greeted and seated by Massimo. I ordered the minestrone (MMH, soup of the day), prosciuto and arugula pizza (delicious) and I saved room for the tiramisu and grappa. I cannot wait to come back to try some of the fresh pasta as well as the seafood dishes. The servers were attentive w/out being obtrusive and I appreciated their passion for the food and wine. I'm looking forward to making this my neighborhood haunt.

• Pros: Excellent pizza, exemplary service

07/09/09

Great food, wine and atmosphere

by tootx

I visited Pazzia after it was highly recommeded, and WOW what a great find!

The wait was about 20mins (weeknight), but well worth it. I ordered the seafood rissotto ($14), which was excellent, it had the best tomato flavor. I accompanied this dish with a bottle of chianti (can't remember the exact brand; $30), one of the best red wines I've ever had. The tiramisu ($6) was perfect, it went great with the wine as well!

The patio seating was small but very homey. The owner came by to introduce himself and was very friendly. This is VERY small place, but they are expanding soon. I will definitely be coming back here the next time I'm in the Bay Area.

• Pros: Food, service, price and location
• Cons: Long wait

11/25/08

Amazing Food with Great Atomsphere equals great time.

by IanScott

Love this place. Everytime I come here the food and atomsphere are great. Everyone there is friendly and always there with helping advice on wine and cusine. I am looking forward to the expansion of this place. If you have not been do yourself a favor and try it, you will not disappointed.

11/20/08

Fresh Pasta and Great Wine

by IanScott

Love this place. It is small but very busy. I like that. All the different types of pasta to choose from are excellent, try the torteillni. Asked the server for a recommendation on wine, she came right back with a great selection. The Owner is out to greet all of the guest. Great place, please try.

• Pros: Everything is Fresh

08/01/08

Great authentic food, friendly service

by rebogamy

Pasta was fresh and delicious. Pizza was thin-crusted and delicious.

Service was friendly and willing. Went out of their way to check to make sure that we were enjoying the food. The server was particularly kind to our 11 year old boyl

My family was reminded of a local trattoria in Italy.

We'll be back.

• Pros: Great food & service.
• Cons: A little noisy.

02/01/08

Prison Food?

by opinion94130

We heard this place had great pizza, but we never found out.

We were abandoned by the host at our table. Neither of the two servers acknowledged us or gave us any menus. Thank goodness for the busser who dropped off some bread and water. The host had time to canoodle with almost every other patron, but none to give us a menu? Are you kidding?

After 30 minutes of watching the busser work and the others stand around dumbfounded, we left. What a waste of time. Good luck staying in business, people!

• Pros: Easy to find
• Cons: They don't care for your business

06/20/07

Skip It

by josechan

Upon reading some of the reviews about their pizza, I had to try this place out, since I was in the area. Walking up, it was a cute little italian place that was packed. No mind though, I'm patient. Upon being seated, it took 20 minutes for anybody to acknowledge us. We were about to just walk out, but finally someone came and brought water and took our order (I didn't want to wait another 20 minutes to order)! The pizza was not bad I must say, but nothing all that special. My fiance ordered a pasta dish. Now, I'm not a picky eater, but it was not quality food. I could have done better at home. On top of not-great food, the utensils were disgustingly dirty, did they even run them through a dishwasher?! It just had been so talked up, but in the end, was such a let down.

06/12/07

Setting the record straight

by romabellasf

After reading two reviews below, the only two with a single star, I have to write and set the record straight and say that in the first case, I have been to this restaurant many, many times in ten years and I have NEVER seen the owner belittle anyone, much less his staff. Many of his staff have been with him all these ten years I have been dining here. In an industry where frequent turnover is the norm, if he was indeed so horrible, I think he would have much more turnover than he does. She must have this place confused with another.

In the second instance, I don't think you can hold someone to online prices since anyone can write ANYTHING on the web and information is outdated rapidly. If you did call IN ADVANCE of ordering to confirm the prices, then how can you argue when you find out, that, like most things in the world the price has gone up instead of down. I checked online in curiosity and have not found a menu with the prices mentioned in her review, nor have I found an official restaurant website, so I wouldn't necessarily trust another site's menu with prices to be accurate.

Most importantly, each time we have been there, we were made to feel that our business was appreciated by being greeted upon arrival and personally thanked upon departure which is something he does for all of his customers, not just us. This place is ALWAYS very busy (reservations recommended BTW) because the food is fabulous and because of the personal demeanor of the owner who makes his patrons feel welcome and appreciated. I can't say the same for very many places.

This place is a must go, especially for the arugula and prosciutto thin-crust pizza and the to-die-for funghi pasta (that is if you can eat mushrooms). I cannot recommend this place enough! I think the two sour reviews are an anomaly rather than the norm. After all, look at all the other positive reviews...

• Pros: Great food, great personalized attention, friendly service, ample portions.
• Cons: Can get VERY loud at times, sometimes slow service, but you never wait long for food.

04/27/07

Counter-statement to a previous review!

by littlegordy

One- I am Italian, from Florence. My family owns a pizzeria IN Florience.

I also happen to be good friends with many of the staff- We Italians all hang out together. This is the best Pizza in San Francisco, and frankly would even be competition in Italy. The owner, not only is friends with the staff members, but has gone above and beyond the call of duty in making sure that their experience here in America is right. The other review was completely out of line, and saying that the owner should be deported only shows what kind of close-minded person he or she is.

The restaurant busiess is difficult. Over the past 10 years, I don't think I have ever gone in there and NOT seen the owner. He is passionate about the business, and his food. The fact that ANYONE on THIRD STREET has been able to remain profitable for all these years (dot GONE) speaks for itself.

If you want a REAL Italian experience, then go there. If you want a fake experience, then go somewhere else.