THE SPIRIT OF NORTH BEACH The year of 2023 unfortunately means "closing" especially for me in the world is sports. First was announced that the Pac-12 Conference a college athletic conference, which has over 100 years of history, will cease to exist July 1, 2024. Next came the news of Golden Gate Fields Racetrack, which was originally supposed to come closed in December 2023, but will now close in June 2024. Late fall of this year it was announced that North Beach Restaurant will be closing after the end of this year. I wanted to come eat here before this restaurant will close. I came to North Beach Restaurant to eat the Thursday before Christmas. I ate at this restaurant several years ago. That time I ordered the lamb shanks. I didn't want to order lamb shanks. In the past when I used to go eat at Italian restaurants I would order three items - antipasti, pasta, and entrée. This time I took a different approach. When I watched Marco Pierre White's "The Great British Feast" he designed the menu by starting with the main entrée then created other items surrounding the main dish. I first started with ordering the main entrée. As this place specializes in Tuscan cuisine with its rustic, elegant decor in the restaurant I ordered the t-bone veal that included tomatoes, pancetta, mushrooms, and potatoes. I asked server since I was going to order the veal chop what pasta dish she would recommend. She showed me three pasta dishes - cannelloni, ravioli, and risotto. I eliminated the cannelloni as veal was included. As I was going to order veal as my main entrée there was no need order pasta that included veal. At the end I choose the risotto because I felt that would complement with the veal chop. For the salad I choose arugula salad with burrata grilled bread. I didn't order wine, but a cocktail daivolone, which consists of vodka, ginger beer, ginger ale, lime, and cherry syrup. For a hearty dinner the daivolone was a soothing cocktail I needed to balance a filling meal. I requested my server that I wanted my salad first then the risotto and veal chop served at the same time. Growing up the only way I would eat salad is if crotons were served. As I grew older I found them to be filling. The grilled bread from the arugula wasn't hard and crunchy as crotons, but they tasted delicious the arugula and burrata. The next dishes were the risotto and t-bone veal chop. The t-bone veal chop tasted like pork chop, but more tender. The tomatoes and the roasted potatoes made the t-bone veal chop dish hearty. A sign of a very good cook is the quality of the risotto. If the risotto is undercooked it can be too crunchy, but if overcooked it can be mushy like congee. The risotto I ate at North Beach Restaurant was soft, but not mushy. The risotto with the porcini mushrooms made my dinner filling. The served then asked if I wanted dessert. I looked at through the dessert menu and nothing stood out, but I was also full. I heard a rumor that North Beach Restaurant may not be closing as it might be for sale. I asked my server about this rumor and she said there were a couple of proposals, but nothing set in stone. An old-school Italian restaurant like North Beach Restaurant would leave a void in North Beach. If North Beach Restaurant does close its doors for good at least I enjoyed my last meal there. read more

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I heard they might bring closing soon, so I decided we had to try it. The photos on Yelp didn't do the place justice. The inside was beautifully decorated for Christmas.. lovely lights and tinsel all around us. The lights were dimmed in a romantic way, though that did make getting food photos particularly hard. The server was friendly and went over any questions we had. I ordered the aperol spritzer which arrived quickly. The menu had lot of great options Overall the food was delicious.. We did the mushroom bruschetta, seafood pasta and polenta. I'll be sad if this place closes, such a gem. read more

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This place is closing soon. It has been around a while. Of course the night we were there Willie Brown and his cronies were occupying the front table - Willie is everywhere! Our waiter was new to the place but has worked in North Beach for decades. We started with the Burratta salad. It was pretty standard. I got the pasta (with the veal and mushrooms) - I thought it would be pieces of veal, bt it was more like a ground veal. It was good, but pricy at $30. Good news is that there was plenty and I got to take some home for lunch the next day. It was our friends bday so they did bring out tiramisu with a candle for dessert. The pace of the meal was excellent, zero rush at all. Is it weird that there is a bidet machine in the bathroom??? read more

The food was delicious. The appetizers were so good. Some of the best calamari I've had in the city. We loved the buratta as well. Everyone loved their meal. I got the tagliatelle bolognese and it was amazing. Very filling and flavorful. The restaurant was fancy. We were very underdressed but it didn't seem to be an issue. The service was great. Very fast. Very personable staff. The bathrooms were boujee af. Heated seats & a bidet! read more

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Excellent. Hope new owners will breath new life into this classic family owned restaurant. Without conventions and tourism it is difficult to survive post pandemic San Francisco. read more

Family owned and my husbands family has been friends with the owners for over 30 years. It's just the perfect spot with excellent service, primo menu selection and overall never disappoints. read more

I miss the north beach, the staff, the food and the ambiance was wonderful! It will be missed and I surely miss the crew. read more

North Beach Restaurant - Ambience - Italian Near Me - San Francisco, California

A very good Italian dining experience here tonight, where good Italian food, pleasant and amicable staff made it unique. In the middle of "little Italy of San Francisco", the place has a style of a good Italian establishment - white table clothes, waitress who at least says "buon appetito" and "buona serra", and food is very good. Had a risotto con funghi (mushrooms), which at $20 was a good choice for "I primi piatti". For secondi, I tried a veal saltimbocca - Veal loin, prosciutto, sage, fresh mozzarella. Came out cooked to perfection, and at only $36, was a great choice. I asked for polenta on the side to complement it. All while enjoying a cold Sauvignon Blanc. Would come back anytime! read more

North Beach Restaurant - Risotto con Funghi - Italian Near Me - San Francisco, California

So I'm giving this place 5 stars for 2 reasons. It was reasonably priced very well made Italian food. The risotto was amazing and their Bruschetta was some of the best I've had. However, the second reason is that they messed up. That sounds like an odd thing to compliment but ehat I'm complimenting is their manner of recovering. They didn't try to hide or pretend it didn't happen. The staff came up, explained what happened, and apologized. The situation was rectified and we continued on. I respect an establishment that can do this and I will be returning. Seriously though if its available get the Risotto Pescatora. read more

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Poor service - the waiter kept rushing the three of us celebrating an Italian friend's 70th birthday. Pushed constantly to order more food and drinks, and the waiter was intimidating. No warm welcoming experience: They knew that was a birthday celebration - there was no sense of festivity, no cookie with a candle or something, no offering to sing Happy Birthday; not even an acknowledgment of a birthday except for Mr. Warren. The food was a good-not amazing! For $317,00 dinner (no wine), it was a disappointment. read more

Had a rough work day and was looking for some good food, wine, and a quiet but inviting atmosphere. I actually went to Original Joe's across the street first, but that place was way too loud, crowded, and they didn't even acknowledge me when I sat at the bar. I made a beeline for NBR and am so glad I did! From the bartender Trevor to the Wine Director Indy this place knows exactly how to treat their guests. Trevor let me sample some other red wines and we did some limoncello shots also:) I ordered the warm spinach salad with pancetta which was delicious as well as the eggplant part which hit the spot. After chatting with Trevor about their extensive wine list and enjoying all the wine bottles on the wall, Indy came over and gave me a tour of the private rooms downstairs as well as the kitchen. If you are looking to host a small or large party they absolutely can accommodate any size party and each room has its own unique decor. Last(but certainly not least) is the detail in the restrooms. A little odd to be commenting on this but nice touch with the heated Japanese toilets! I left NBR recharged to go back to my work meetings and will definitely be back to this place when I am in North Beach again. Thanks to the staff for making an out-of-towner feel special! read more

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Absolutely love this place, could not wait to return here. The part that stands out for me is the warm, friendly atmosphere. The staff have been working at this very restaurant for many years and their love for their job really shows. The food is authentic and everything delicious from appetizers, main course, to the desserts. Highly recommend this spot for Italian in North Beach, San Francisco. read more

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Food priced fairly for the area and was pretty good. 4 stars for that. The service was terrible though. Our server was slow, absent minded, and tried to give us an item that wasn't as described as one of the specials. When asked about it they blamed the kitchen. We picked a different item. Upon receiving the bill we noticed that the "special" that we had to send back was on the bill. It was taken off, but only after approval from the manager. 2 stars. This won't deter us from returning, but the service needs to improve. read more

A San Francisco classic. Traditional Italian food, impeccably served. A family tradition since 1980.

Definitely a must try before it closes in early Jan! Loved the food and classic ambiance read more

North Beach Restaurant - Vegetable Fettichinu w Pink sauce! Cant say enough about this dish, one of my favorite vegetarian pastas since my trip to Italy. - Italian Near Me - San Francisco, California

I was not impressed by the food we had at all. It was a private event so it was a pre-set menu. the salad had nothing to it. The chicken Marsala was super bland and Luke warm. The tiramisu was good. read more

They messed up our order on new years eve. Food never came out. We just left. Server was rude n the food was blend

I ate here last night took my mom out for her birthday the food was amazing very good I would give this place a 5 star for the food but I have to give it 4 stars because our waiter seemed kinda rude and seemed like he didn't want to be there customer service is always key but if it wasn't for the waiter who seemed kinda rude I would give this place a 5 star read more

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Came in last night was a nice ambiance, I loved how the staff treated my family and I. We were seated right away. Tucked away in a corner next to some big time politicians which made us feel honored to be in a local public restaurant with significant people. So, we were looking at the menu which had so much to choose from. Was nice to have so many options but made it hard to choose from. Our waiter was attentive and recommended the mozzarella with tomato basil and balsamic. So we got the appetizer that was recommended. We got the appetizer and it was as great as expected. Eventually we ordered our pasta now, which had so much flavor, I ordered the pasta with tomato cream sauce with shrimp. Yummy! The best. The waiter was very sweet. I would come back, but not impressed for a 4.5-5 star restaurant. However, the owner and staff are very alert and smiling every time they make eye contact. read more

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When I lived in the neighborhood, I'd pass this place and it would be hopping with customers. We finally tried it for a friend's birthday and the place was not busy at all for a Sunday evening. Staff was polite but nothIng special. Our wait staff had such a flat affect that I wondered if he was over medicated on sedatives or plain depressed having tp wear a tux at work. The bread was ok but polenta soup and minestrone soup were good. My linguini with fresh clams was OK. Mixed under the pasta were chopped clams. It was too salty. Nothing I i couldn't have made myself at home. One of our friends ordered spaghetti carbonara. That one tasted better than my dish but again, too salty. BFF had the delicious osso bucco, special of the day. Hubby had slices of lamb, it was tender and OK. We shared a tiramisu and it was not infused with rum but a different syrup I it alcohol whuchbtasted weird. The chocolate ice cream was good but it's just ice cream. Not great enough that I'd make a return trip. read more

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The waitstaff wear tuxedos here which help to exude a professional air and sets the tone that you will be treated well. Service was excellent-- although, when I walked in and heard a lot of Italian--- I decided to order in Italian. Our server replied with, "English, English, English." I was like....okay..? Just my luck that the server we had did not speak the language. He was a bit brusque and totally in control. Not my style but non c'e un problema. The minestrone soup was very good. I appreciated the fact that they circled back and offered grated cheese to go along with the soup. It was excellent. The standout was the veal parmigiana. Tender, well seasoned and covered in a wonderful red sauce. I was disappointed that the answer was a firm, "No" when I asked for a side of pasta instead of the potatoes and zucchini that come with this dish. I was told that if I wanted pasta, I could order a plate for the table and share. I thought that was rude and cheap considering the price of the veal. $34.00 Dinner was finished with coffee and a $9.00 plate of biscotti. Six people--$453.00 not including valet service. read more

North Beach Restaurant - minestrone - Italian Near Me - San Francisco, California

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We paid $140 (including tip) for two glasses of wine and two main courses. Very expensive for what it was. The restaurant was very noisy and difficult to have a conversation in. Staff were not particularly friendly or nice. My friend noticed that at fork was dirty and asked for a replacement. The server started to argue with him that the fork was not dirty then the server turned it over and saw that there was food attached to it. I don't expect staff to argue over whether a utensil is clean or not. When my friend's dinner was delivered the server said it was saltimbocca, which is not what was ordered. Turns out it was the correct dish but for the price I would expect them to get this right. read more

Looks like it could be a good place to eat but they are so arrogant you get punished for wanting to substitute pasta for the potatoes and vegetables. Let's see if I have this straight- you are an Italian restaurant but I can't get pasta with my meal with out a hassle because the chef is fussy! Give Me a break. If I'm too much work to serve then obviously I shouldn't be eating there. On to the next place in little Italy. read more

We've been coming to this restaurant for two decades. We decided to jump on a plane from LA to get one of our favorite items, their cannelloni. When we arrived, we found the restaurant interior was refurbished and looked great. When we got seated and reviewed the menu, we were surprised the cannelloni wasn't on the menu... after asking and being told it wasn't available, we were so disappointed to say the least... The waiter then told us they were going to provide an appetizer on the house. Although what we ordered was good, it didn't compare to the cannelloni... and to top it all off, they charged us for the appetizers... read more

North Beach Restaurant - Italian Near Me - San Francisco, California

I love this old school place. The service is friendly and excellent. The cocktails are perfect. The food is yummy. And the presentation is beautiful! read more

Took a client here based on his recommendation. Establishment itself is quite nice, real old school with wood paneling, white tablecloths and a great bar. I opted for the lasagna and a house salad. The salad was large and the dressing tasted like it was made in house, however there was a bit too much of it on the salad. The lasagna was also a large portion for lunch but was made with beef that was a bit dry for my tastes. The sauce however was quite good and I think the dish would have been better if they used pork as well to add a bit more flavor and moisture to the dish. Service was interesting as it was all Asian men who seemed to be playing characters. read more

Celebrated a graduation in the cellar and the staff was amazing. The food was delicious, we had veal picatta for dinner with fresh prosciutto as a appetizer. The bar was busy making an assortment of top shelf drinks. This place offers valet parking. If you've never been there its worth it. read more

North Beach Restaurant - The prosciutto room - Italian Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Best Italian food in the bay area. Waiters are professional and handsomely dressed in suit and tie. Gorgeous inside. Beautiful rennovations even the restrooms are attractive. Fun, relaxing ambiance. Amazing wine and cocktails. REAL ITALIAN. Reasonably priced. Top notch in every way. Highest recommendation. read more

this is a place where I know that everyone in my party will find something that they can eat. this is a place where I know that I would have no trouble coming in without a reservation. this is also a safe bet if you're happen to be in the area and you have a picky eater or non adventurous eater. you will find something in the menu. this evening, we had a reservation and none of us are picky eater. we are adventurous eaters and sometimes you just want a cozy place to dine in. it was raining all day and dined here this evening was the right choice. we ordered Caprese Salads for appetizers, Salmon my way, Fillet of lamb alla Bruno with Barolo sauce, and Veal Milanese. nothing extra special, but the food here are always reliable and will not disappoint you. read more

The only two words you need to know to order here: SPAGHETTI CARBONARA. They cook their pasta al dente and it'll transport you to Italy. I usually don't go to white table cloth restaurants, so it is a little more fancy and pricier than the other Italian restaurants in the area. But the restaurant came highly recommended and the family insisted on going here. The service was excellent and our waiter was extremely attentive. read more

The food here can be hit or miss. I know they claim to have fantastic Osso Buco but it's not very good..at all. If you want a good Osso Buco go to Piazza Pellegrini (but they also have some pretty bad dishes). What I have had that was good was the escargot (5/5) but it's hard to not enjoy something that's in a butter garlic wine sauce. You can practically hear yourself getting fat as you soak the sauce up with bread. They also make an a-la-carte appetizer plate that comes with a mini lobster tail, prosciutto wrapped melon, and caprese. Get a little of everything. The service can also be hit or miss, sometimes you will get someone who makes you feel like family and other times you get someone who is rushing through it all. read more

North Beach Restaurant - Escargot in delicious sauce - Italian Near Me - San Francisco, California

We had a wonderful time at North Beach Restaurant. I hadn't been there and enjoyed a wonderful meal with friends. The service was amazing and our friends enjoyed the food and ambiance. We appreciated the valet parking service! We look forward to returning! read more

Agree with the upsell comments and the wait staff experience was a bit strange. A friend and I ordered a specific drink and were brought back a different concoction (was awful and sent it back). Upsell on appetizers we didn't want, drinks taken away before they were finished, wine glasses removed from the table then brought back when we ordered a bottle of wine (wanted a Chianti and he immediately went to the $122 bottle of wine - no thanks), one person's meal came out 10 minutes after all the other meals were served (waiter came by and said they gave her dish to another customer), and when the waitress presented the check, she stated that gratuity was NOT included (who does that???). The calamari and main dishes were good. Don't think we'll be back, too many other options in North Beach. read more

Upsell! Upsell! Upsell! We are local San Franciscans living in the neighborhood and decided to give NBR a try once business starting opening back up. Waiter comes out (kind of a clown) pushing their house special appetizer, so we said what the hell let's do it. $48.00 for each of us! WTF! Now it's our turn to fuck with this guy! Waiter comes out again but this time with the sommelier indicating they have a rare bottle of Chianti reserved for us and instead of the list price of $340 these wheelers and dealers can offer tonight to us for just $280. We instead ordered TWO BEERS! Yiu should of seen his expression! After that the service fell off the cliff but so did the annoying attempts to upsell us. What was clearly headed to be a $600 bill for two ended up being about $250 so not too bad considering. The clown waiter then took his act to another table and we witnessed the act unfolding again to another couple. Food is not bad at NBR just be prepared for the upsell antics. It's an old traditional restaurant however the time for this restaurant has come now and they probably should fold up the shop. read more

Great every time! Never disappoints. Old world Italian feels with authentic food and severs who speak the language. So sad to see it close. Our family's favorite SF restaurant read more

The atmosphere and location are top notch. The cocktails were decent and the lasagna was perfection. Service was A+. read more

North Beach Restaurant - Negroni - Italian Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Based on our dinner tonight at North Beach Restaurant, our party of seven unanimously agree it is indeed time for North Beach Restaurant to close up shop for good. We have been going to North Beach for over fifty years and tonight, Friday October 20th, we decided we would go there in hopes of supporting their business. We made a big mistake ... Our reservation for 6:30 was filled timely and the place was packed. We thought that would be a good thing for them. We weren't in a great hurry but little did we know that the service would be so horrendously slow. After sitting down promptly at 6:30, it took until 7:00 PM to wave down the waiter to get a drink order in. By 7:15 we got 5 of our 7 drinks. The other two came after we waived another waiter down. One of the drinks, a vodka tonic, had NO tonic in it. By 7:30 we were able to place our order. It took until 8:30 PM to get our salads, a full two hours from when we sat down until we got the first part of our order?!? At 9:00 PM, I waived our waiter down to query where the rest of our food was only to get a shrug about the table next to us not having their food either. Shortly there after, 2 1/2 hours later, ALL the rest of our food showed up all at once. I state ALL at once because we had all ordered a primi, pasta, and a secondi, meat dishes. No restaurant that any of us remember having been to served the primary and secondary dishes at the same time. As a result of what was probably a poor waiter, we got food that was lukewarm at best. The pastas were actually cold and the veal dishes barely warm. We had ordered one of the pastas, the ravioli, with the sauce of the house. It didn't come that way. None of the food was hot nor any where near it. Our waiter seemingly avoided our table until we asked for the check. Then, after 3+ hours, he had the audacity to plunk a dessert menu down in front of us. All we wanted to do was get out of there. Our dinner had been ruined and all they wanted to do was get more money out of us? Unfathomable! Our dinner for 7 ran close to $1000, including the 20% tip they included. Not one to ever not tip at least 20%, this was a case where management should have been called in or to have least have noticed our table suffering through a night of poor service and cold, late food. Or did they know and not care? We highly recommend that the North Beach Restaurant review what's going on in their restaurant or close it immediately. After going there consistently for over 50 years, we cannot say how completely disappointed we were. And after talking out front with others, we were not alone. Closing in December cannot come soon enough. Shame on what used to be one of our favorite San Francisco restaurants.Now it's poor drinks, cold food and lousy service. You cannot blame Covid-19 for that. Where's Bruno when you need him?? read more

Valet parking and suited hosts lend a formal experience. The food is consistently good and the bar is outstanding. Give this experience a try in SF's north beach neighborhood. read more

Hands down best pasta I have ever had. The Pasta Della Casa is amazing. I had the pasta along with the mini lobster tails and it was simply an amazing meal. The service was great, prices were steep but that is what you have to pay to have a great meal in this area. North Beach restaurant is a definite 5 stars and a must visit. This picture is half the pasta and half the lobster tails. Wonderful read more

North Beach Restaurant - Italian Near Me - San Francisco, California

Our food was a 3.5 stars, the waiter was a 2.5. My cannelloni was good, luke warm, not hot. Sautéed halibut had good flavor but was over cooked. Ravioli was good. Tagliatelle Bolognese was good. Fettuccini with asparagus was very good. Antipasto platters were a mixed bag. The waiter was annoying. Reached in front of me approx. 5 times. There was plenty of room for him to go around me to serve my daughter her food, water, cola, etc. But nope, put his big suit coat arm in my face over and over again. Literally 1 inch from my face each time. Never said excuse me once! He also had an issue bringing us bread. My daughter was hungry, we were waiting for our two friends to join us and he just kept not bringing her our bread. Then when our bill came, he hand wrote in his tip & totaled my bill! 20% on the total (food, bar, tax) Not that we would not have done that on our own, but I don't even think that is legal in the state of California. I paid the bill and we went on to a great show at Cobbs. My parents really like the nostalgic feeling they get here at this restaurant. But with all the excellent restaurants out there, I say try Barbacco or somewhere else. read more