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    Serafina

    4.5 (216 reviews)
    PriceyItalian
    Open 5:00 pm - 10:00 PM

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    SERAFINA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Intimate
    Romantic
    Classy

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    Recommended Reviews - Serafina

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    Risotto Cremolato con Fontina, Radicchio e Spek
    Lizzie S.

    My pilates instructor is Italian and says Serafina is some of the best Italian in SF. I agree! I live in the neighborhood but didn't remember seeing Serafina before! There's good views and parks within block (and hills.) Boy made a reservation for a rainy night and it was packed! Cozy and intimate, good service, get some wine. We've also gone for SF Restaurant Week and can confirm that it is always packed. Seems like a good place for date night or for a girls' night out. He enjoyed the Trofie con porcini e pomodorini and I really liked my Reginette al Pesto di Spinaci con Pinoli Tostati. Rich, creamy, and flavorful, but not too much. Everything was fresh. We've also enjoyed the tortelloni and risotto. We were surprised that the calamari appetizer was not fried but it was also good. Would also recommend the bruschetta. Service is wonderful. Love the owners! Great neighborhood gem. It's small and intimate, but very cozy and warm. Great views of the Bay Bridge. Will be back!

    Bombolotii al Pesto di Spinaci con Pinoli Tostati
    Shannon P.

    Visited Serafina on a Thursday evening. Friendly staff. Neighborhood restaurant / cozy ambiance. But only okay food. I'm honestly surprised they won a prestigious Gambero Rosso award. I've had much better Italian food in other places in the city. If you do go here, the salmon carpaccio and pesto pasta were the best. Unsure if I'll be returning.

    Vidhi P.

    Wow!! This is such an amazing hidden gem neighborhood Italian place! The service was great and the food was absolutely amazing! We came by on a Friday night with a late reservation and the place was absolutely packed. The interior is so cozy and the servers are very nice. It really feels like the restaurant is packed with locals keeping this gem a secret. We ordered the beet salad as an appetizer. It comes out as a split salad, which was a nice surprise! For entrees, we got the bombolotti pesto and fettuccine with shrimp. The pasta is SO fresh and tastes absolutely homemade. The pesto was light, flavorful, and so unique. The shrimp pasta was incredible as well. The seafood was perfectly cooked and juicy. Incredible pasta overall! We also got the tiramisu, which was a little too sweet but a huge portion. Absolutely amazing dinner and I would definitely recommend and come back!!

    Mussels yum.
    Lenore N.

    Serafina is our go to neighborhood cafe. Small with a great kitchen and reasonably priced wine list. Last evening we took out of town guests. I wasn't that hungry bro I had a bowl of mussels. They were huge, tender and sweet. The spicy tomato broth has just the right amount of heat. We usually have a pinsera, which are wonderful. I'd recommend them to anyone as a first course to share. The

    Spaghettini. 9/10
    Matt H.

    Slipped in on a cold winter night. Nabbed a last minute 5 p.m. reservation. We were a little early and welcomed in by Mauricio. We got the corner table inside looking out at the street, definitely the best seat in the house. Food was excellent. Everything I tried tasted authentic and flavored impeccably. Beet salad - excellent. A little honey cuts through the bitterness of the arugula and this is a refreshing, delightful starter. Squid ink pasta - excellent and everything a squid ink pasta should be; a little briny but not salty and not too fishy. Sphagettini - very good homestyle, tradition spaghetti. I'd guess it's boiled in tomato water and while not the best I've had much more authentic and delicious. Halibut - came with a small side of sautéed spinach and a couple roasted potatoe medallions. The fish was sautéed with meaty mushrooms in a wonderful truffle sauce. This was a superb dish. Tiramisu - I thought it was pretty good, and yes, authentic. Any tiramisu lover should be pleased. All in all this is a cute neighborhood spot perched right on top of Russian Hill that feels almost more Manhattan than SF. It's a great neighborhood spot with fantastic food so we'll be back for sure. Mauricio took great care of us and we loved getting to know him a little bit.

    Veal
    Ada H.

    Been here a few times with reservations and it has always been pretty crowded. Service, unfortunately, is typically slow and the older gentleman is always standoffish making the experience every time lackluster. Dishes here are a hit or miss. Tortellini in cream truffle sauce (5/5)- my favorite dish here! The tortellinis are stuffed with veal and prosciutto and the sauce is rich and creamy. Lasagna Serafina (2.5/5)- the lasagna was lacking of spices but I did enjoy the cheesiness. Fettuccine Pomodori (2/5)- the pasta itself was overcooked and the dish itself lacked depth in flavor. Bistecca ribeye (2.5/5)- the veggies and potatoes on the side were great but steak itself fell short in flavor. Serafina has a lot of potential.

    Squid ink pasta with octopus.
    Doug M.

    Truly authentic Italian food. A quaint restaurant where Italian accents are the norm. The food is served fresh. Great service. Reservations recommended. Bottom line - Delicious authentic Italian food. Highly recommend. Bon appétit, y'all. Or I guess this time, Buon appetito, y'all.

    Lasagna Nonna Serafina, squid ink pasta
    Anne C.

    Decided to try this neighborhood spot after seeing it many times. I loved how cozy it was, and felt very family like. They had a very low corkage fee as well so it's worth bringing your own wines! Some of their dishes were hit or miss but we enjoyed most of the pastas and pizzas generally. A solid neighborhood restaurant with good vibes

    Profiterole al Cioccolato
    Jamee S.

    Quaint restaurant in the beautiful North Beach neighborhood. Very nice inside. Felt like we were in Italy as the waiters are Italians from Rome with the accents. Felt authentic. Friendly but the service was a bit slow. They always made sure we had water and if the waiter was at your table, order quickly and know what you want before he gets preoccupied with another table. Food was good. Great flavors and good pasta. The table bread was amazing! I love that they had bottles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar at the table. We ordered: - Pinsa Margherita - Gnocchi di Patate con Spuntature di Maiale - Tonnarelli al Nero di Seppia con Polpo - Fettuccine Gamberi, Rughetta, e Pomodori Freschi - Spaghetti con Melanzane e Provola Affunicata - Bombolotii al Pesto di Spinaci con Pinoli Tostati All the pastas have fantastic flavors! The pasta was not al dente but not overcooked. They were all delicious though. Desserts: - Profiterole al Cioccolato - Tiramisu - Tartufo al Cioccolato They were all delightful. I think my favorite are the profiteroles. They were gooey and chocolatey!

    Katie M.

    Booked a table for two at this neighborhood spot for dinner on National Pasta Day. We ordered the Lasagna Nonna Serafina and Bombolotti al Pesto di Spinaci con Pinoli Tostati. Both dishes were delicious. The restaurant was small/cozy, and the tables are set close together. The servers were very friendly. It felt like we were in Italy!

    A delicious hazelnut ice cream with berries
    Gina M.

    This cozy little restaurant was a great place to have our last meal of 2024! It's tiny and cozy and it makes you feel like you're in Italy. My sister and I shared petrale sole (delish!), and everybody else ordered the tortoloni (so good!) I had a bite of the pasta and it made me very happy. Dessert was also delicious. We shared Tartufo al Cioccolato and a cheesecake. It was the tartufo for me! I would definitely go back.

    Pinsa
    Kellie C.

    A wonderful experience. The host of the restaurant was extremely friendly and talkative, introducing himself and sharing about his back story. The restaurant itself is small, and will get pretty packed around 7pm, so be sure to get a reservation! We ordered the calamari and a pinsa. both were delicious! I was more impressed with the appetizers than the main pasta dish, although it was still good. The spaghetti alla vongole was good but very seafood-y. He originally asked me if I wanted to take out the fish roe, because it makes the dish very seafood-y but I asked him to keep it in. I don't have any regrets because I wanted to try it, but he definitely did not lie when he gave me that notice. There's actually plenty of street parking as most neighboring streets park perpendicular to the road. Definitely come give Serafina a try!

    Tiramisu was awesome.

    True Italian meals! Quality ingredients and clean eating. Fantastic! We had arugula pecorino salad, two dinners and shared a tiramisu. Too many delicious choices!

    Panna cotta

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    Itria - Food IG: @eat_with_lily

    Itria

    4.3(432 reviews)
    3.1 miMission

    10/10 loved! The food was fabulous and flavors were unique and well done-- not just "good" food,…read morebut memorable. My favorites were: the chef's choice crudo, specially the tuna and hamachi(?). The tuna was rich and smokey in a great milky and fragrant fennel sauce. The hamachi in the root veggie wrap with a slight kick, awesome! And the scallop was good too! My boyfriend liked that one, but I thought the chip on top was over powering. My other favorite, the lamb pasta! Loved that texture. Flavor wise, savory and spicy. It was cold out and really warmed me up. Loved the experience. Our waitress was also awesome and patience. She let me try a few of the wine before settling down on a full body red that went very well with my pasta. Oh and the affogato, yum!! Exactly what we were looking for. Milky, almost sticky gelato, with a great bitter espresso

    This place was exceptionally delicious. Perfect date night spot with moody ambiance that travels…read morethroughout the restaurant. Most of the staff were kind and accommodating women who routinely refilled your water. Even the bar seating wasn't too bad nor crowded! Definitely make a reservation! Now I'm personally not too concerned with pastas, I always think it's better to make it at home and not my first choice to seek it when eating out. But the pasta here is so flavorful, just perfect down to the texture and portion size. To start, we got the Hokkaido scallops with preserved lemon and sea beans. Refreshing and satisfies. For the pastas, we ordered the Cencioni with five mushroom sugo. A mix of cremini, shiitake, oyster, and porcini mushrooms with a deep, umami-rich flavor that's paired so well with crisps, a perfect pasta!! We also ordered the Paccheri alla vodka with tomato, cream, and nduja. Silky and a bit spicy, super delicious. I would most definitely come here again, this is probably my favorite Italian spot so far, ever. It's that good. I'm not even a pasta fanatic nor go out of my way to get Italian, but this place exceeded all my expectations.

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    Itria - Interior

    Interior

    Itria - Glazed Lamb Belly w/ date mostarda, warm panzanella ($45)

    Glazed Lamb Belly w/ date mostarda, warm panzanella ($45)

    Itria - Crochette Di Patate w/ roast pork belly, fermented radish, calabrian chili aioli (3 pc - $25)

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    Crochette Di Patate w/ roast pork belly, fermented radish, calabrian chili aioli (3 pc - $25)

    Luisa's Restaurant

    Luisa's Restaurant

    4.7(182 reviews)
    2.9 miMission

    This place is phenomenal! As longtime SF residents, I was shocked we hadn't been here before…read more Incredible food, attentive service, and a pleasant ambiance. The fact that the 97 year old owner, Luisa, was there to greet us was an added bonus! Our family of 3 had the following: 1) Garlic Bread to share - tasty 2) Meatballs - delicious (we appreciated the fact they are not made with cheese, which made them accessible for my cheese-free husband) 3) Shrimp fettuccine- my husband enjoyed this 4) Gnocchi in vodka sauce - amazing! 5) Paparadelle -excellent We enjoyed our glasses of wine (though were a bit surprised they didn't have house wine by the glass on the menu) as well. The staff was friendly and attentive, though the service was a bit slower than we would like at times. The space is spacious and welcoming. Overall, we had a fantastic meal here and look forward to returning!

    Really solid Italian restaurant with surprisingly good gnocchi…read more Caesar salad: 3.5/5. To "anchovy" for my taste. Next time I will ask them to leave out the anchovies or pick a different salad. otherwise the salad was quite good. Spaghetti carbonara: 3.5/5. A solid version of this dish, but not exceptional. Great pasta, nice texture, but the meat could have stood out better. It sort of hid in the shadows. Gnocchi: 4.5/5. Since I make my own gnocchi this is a very high rating from me. Excellent texture and taste for this gnocchi and the vodka sauce complemented it really well. I would definitely have this again.

    Photos
    Luisa's Restaurant
    Luisa's Restaurant - ORTOLANA PIZZA

    ORTOLANA PIZZA

    Luisa's Restaurant - GARLIC BREAD

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    GARLIC BREAD

    Emmy's Spaghetti Shack

    Emmy's Spaghetti Shack

    4.2(979 reviews)
    3.6 miBernal Heights, Mission
    $$
    Gift cards during COVID-19

    This spot is so fun and really just incredible overall. Recently a few friends and I made…read morereservations ahead of time for a Saturday evening table inside for dinner. The restaurant was full of life, excitement, and impeccable vibes..essentially it checked every box we were looking for. Also ironically, we were seated by a shrine of Dolly Parton (what our bachelorette theme was). The service was amazing and we loved everyone that came to our table to make our party feel so special. Special shoutout to the cocktail menu (my cocktail had a piece of parm on top!), and food-wise we def had a great assortment: prosciutto zeppole, semolina garlic bread, spicy Caesar, shrimp scampi toast, meatballs, and spicy vodka fusilli + stracciatella. We feasted! I believe there is also an outdoor area and late night weekend menu including meatball and chicken parm subs. Sunday brunch is a thing too, just not sure if it's every weekend. All in all, take a ride share, grab a babysitter, and enjoy the surrounding area of the Mission/Bernal Heights. If waiting for a table, pop over to the Royal Cuckoo for their red margarita. For our friend whose name is actually Emmy, she also approved tenfold. Delish and such a breath of fresh air for the Bay Area foodies looking for something uniquely special.

    Came in for the Monday deal! It's 2 apps, 1 entree, 1 dessert and 1 bottle of wine for $60 cash…read moreonly. We got the spicy caesar, grandma's meatballs, the pasta bianco and a panna cotta. Also got the bottle of red. The vibes are very dive bar-y but I love it! Had a lot of character and the service was good. Spicy caesar wasn't spicy but that works out for me because I can't do much spice and it was just a good caesar. Grandma's meatballs came with 3 large meatballs and they were very tender. I got the pasta bianco because it was the most unique sounding and honestly was delicious, the pasta was al dente. Our server also told us the wine is made for them and a server designed the wine bottle label which is super unique and pretty decent wine! Overall had a great time, I could tell they were rushing us out a bit at the end. Would come back for the deal!

    Photos
    Emmy's Spaghetti Shack - VIBE

    VIBE

    Emmy's Spaghetti Shack - Shrimp Scampi

    Shrimp Scampi

    Emmy's Spaghetti Shack

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    Pasta Supply

    Pasta Supply

    4.4(84 reviews)
    2.9 miMission

    I booked the family-style Pasta Table for my birthday, and it was SUCH a good call. I'm honestly…read moresurprised more people aren't talking about this!? Amelia made everything super easy from the start: she sent a menu survey ahead of time, was really accommodating with a time and headcount change, and was overall just great to work with. The dinner itself was amazing. The space feels semi-private (tucked behind the pasta case), which made it perfect for our group of 9. The table itself was gorgeously set with candles, flowers, and all the little details that made it feel really special. They even customized the menus to say "Happy Birthday Taylor," which was such a fun touch. The food was incredible, and there was SO much of it, no one left hungry. The wine was flowing, the vibes were perfect, and our servers were great. It felt special without being stuffy at all. They also sent us home with fresh pasta, which was the cherry on top. Everyone had the best time, and I would 100% do this again. Heads up, this is only available at the Mission location. I literally live one block from the Clement location, but this was SOOO worth the trip.

    Dropped in here by chance, butc what good fortune!…read more The place was bustling, but it turned out a big group was just leaving, so we ended up seated quickly. Service was outstanding, and pacing was perfect. We started with a salad and the cheesy bread (amazing!), and then tried two pasta dishes - the kabocha squash pillows, and pasta with vodka sauce. Both were delicious and well prepared. We finished with an incredible panna cotta that was finished with caramel and cacao nibs. Everyone loved it! Would definitely go beach here!

    Photos
    Pasta Supply - Store front

    Store front

    Pasta Supply - Lil' juicy meatballs

    Lil' juicy meatballs

    Pasta Supply - Inside restaurant and pasta collection

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    Inside restaurant and pasta collection

    Delfina - pasta

    Delfina

    4.0(2.3k reviews)
    2.5 miMission
    $$$

    Came here for my friend's farewell dinner recently! The ambiance inside is lovely and I enjoyed the…read morelighting as well as how the interior was decorated. It was very vibe-y inside. The service was also good - we had a reservation but had come a little early so we waited by the bar as they prepared our table. I had one of the pizzas, and two of my friends ordered pizza as well and my other friend got a pasta. All the food was delicious! We also got a white wine to pair with the food. The waitress was very kind to us as well even though we spent a while deciding what we wanted to order. Overall, definitely a great dining experience and I'll be coming back to try more pastas and small bites :)

    3.5 Stars We came…read morehere for a close friend's birthday! The service is stand out. They were very attentive at serving everything family style as we were sharing (is caring ). We ordered a lot of food items. Standout: -Grilled Monterey Bay Calamari ($22) - Nice pieces of grilled calamari in a stew of white beans and very high quality olive oil. -Pane a Pala ($7 + $9 for ricotta dip) - the bread was amazing - fresh and wonderfully textured. I'd say this bread pairs very well with the grilled calamari & beans - the dip is forgettable. Okay: -Pizza Margherita ($24) - This was okay. The crust was super crunchy and I don't remember the toppings being very stand out flavor-wise. -Wood-Grilled Short Rib ($86) - HUMONGOUS, but too charred for my taste. -Spaghetti Pomodoro ($27) - this was super tart for my taste. -Tagliatelle al Ragù Nostrano ($33) - This was good but nothing to write home about. Pricey - as all nicer restaurants in SF are. The interior is very cute.

    Photos
    Delfina - Inside

    Inside

    Delfina - Panna cotta

    Panna cotta

    Delfina - Spaghetti pomodoro

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    Spaghetti pomodoro

    Arcana - View from the bathroom and more plants for sale

    Arcana

    4.5(268 reviews)
    2.8 miMission
    $$

    If you love plants you'll adore Arcana in San Francisco because it's a beautiful sanctuary of…read moreplants and cool vibes. Located in the legendary Mission District of San Francisco, this wine bar is a great spot to catch up with friends and enjoy small bites and yummy crafted cocktails. Their decor is very chic and I especially loved all of the hardware, glasses, tables, and benches. This place was styled by a great design artist. Even though the place was pretty packed and can be kind of noisy, I still felt very calm amongst all the healthy plants and loved the sophisticated 70s inspired glassware. Another great feature of this place is that you can buy most of the plants because they have some for sale so after a couple of cocktails, I was ready to redecorate my whole house with all the plants. I ordered a yummy Rose blend that was super crisp. Also enjoyed the Truffle Fungi! A delicious Shiitake and oyster mushrooms with parmesan and arugula on toasted bread. Their Spanish inspired potatoes were delicious with their dipping sauce. They have lots of gatherings there and DJ sets on the weekends. Lastly, a photographer would die to take pictures here. There is no bad shot as the design artist made sure every section of this cute wine bar was picture perfect. Loved all my photos and videos. I look forward to returning to this exquisite wine bar!

    Came here on a Saturday night after dinner for a girls night out. There is a cool photo booth…read moreoutside, which was high-quality and even gave you a video of your session. I love the decor of this space! It is definitely intentionally and tastefully decorated. Loved the lighting and plants. They had Lord of the Rings playing on the wall. The vibe is artsy, warm, a little dark, and overall a cool place to mingle. The bathrooms and tables were kept clean. I liked it that the DJ was live mixing. Getting a drink was fast and easy. The high top tables were a bit wobbly, so we spilled half a drink on there. The drinks are strong. I recommend going upstairs to sit instead if you want to hear your friends better. The tables are bigger up there too. The rooftop was closed off but I'd like to check it out sometime.

    Photos
    Arcana - Downstairs

    Downstairs

    Arcana
    Arcana - Upstairs

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    Upstairs

    Serafina - italian - Updated May 2026

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