Trifter

San Francisco has its fare share of great Italian Restaurants and picking one to eat at, can be a hard decision.  To make deciding easier, these are a few of the greatest and most popular Italian Restaurants San Francisco has to offer.

Delfina

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Delfina, which is located in the San Francisco Mission District, opened in November of 1998.  Since its opening, owners Anne and Craig Stoll, have continued to serve great Italian food.  Fresh ingredients are used daily and at Delfina’s they make their own gelato, sausages and pasta.  The menu often changes daily depending on the availability of produce, meats and fish.  Along with the great Italian food, Delfina’s also offers many wines from Italy as well as California.

The excellent wine selection includes, but is by no means limited to:

Verdiccio dei Jesi Spumante Brut – Bonci NV Marche
Lacrima di Morro d’Alba “Le Rosa di Settembre” – Giusti 2007 Marche
Unti – 2005 Dry Creek Valley
Montefalco Sagrantino – Planiarche 2004 Umbria
Fiano di Avellino “Pietramara” – I Favati 2006 Campania
Chardonnay “Poseidon’s Vinyard” – Molnar Family 2006 Napa Valley
Sauvignon Blanc – Saracina 2007 Mendocino County

Here are a few dishes that may or may not be on the dinner and dessert menu:

Grilled Fresh Calamari with warm white bean salad
Beef Carpaccio and radicchio, salt-packed capers and Parmigiano
Romano Beans Stracotto with smoked bacon and fresh tomato
Chard sauteed with lemon and garlic
Northern Halibut Roasted on a Fig Leaf with Brentwood corn and prosecco-caper butter
Stracciatella- Roman style egg drop soup
Insalata di Campo with bitter greens, pancetta, walnuts, Parmigiano and balsamic vinaigrette
Grilled Local Albacore with cranberry beans, garden beans and salsa verde

 Deserts

Honey Blaze” Peach Sbriciolato with house-made mascarpone and blackberries
Warm Scharffen Berger Chocolate Torta with Olive Oil Gelato and Maldon Sea Salt
Lemon Verbena-Buttermilk Panna Cotta with raspberries
Albana di Romagna Passito – Leone Conti 

Dinner dishes cost between $12 and $19 per plate and desserts range from $5 to $19, Visa and MasterCard are accepted.

Delfina’s hours are Mon-Thur 5:30-10pm, Fridays and Saturdays 5:00-11pm and Sundays from 5:00-10pm.

Delfina is located at 3621 18th Street San Francisco, California, 94110 and can be reached at (415) 552-4055.

Capannina

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Capannina is a very lovely restaurant with a calm, relaxed yet elegant feeling.  This is a great Italian Restaurant to bring your boss to impress, or that special someone for a quiet evening in a private room.  Also available is outside dinning, a bar and takeout.  

Here are a few of the many wines available:

Nero D’Avola, Sciara                      Sicilia              2002
Pinot Grigio, San Angelo, Banfi      Toscana          2005
Basilicata Bianco, Remanfredi       Basilicata         2003      
Chardonnay, Sonoma Cutrer         Russian River   2005      
Castello Di Fonterutoli, Badiola    Toscana           2003
Pinot Noir, Buonocore                   Napa                2005      
Perrier Juette Grand Brut             France

These are just a few delicious items you will find on the dinner, cheese and dessert menus:

Insalata Mista Invernale Con Caprino $8 Baby Greens with Goat Cheese, Walnuts and Shaved Parmesan
Salmone con Crosta al Pesto $20 Pesto Crusted Salmon over Zucchini and Artichokes in Black Olive Vinaigrette
Penne alla Arrabiata $ 17 Penne with Spicy Tomato Sauce, Prawns and Arugola
Costoletta di Maiale alla Milanese con Insalata Tricolore $20 Breaded Pork Cutlet with Tricolor Salad
Fusili con Salsiccia $17 Fusili with Spicy Sausauge, Broccoli Pesto and Pecorino

Cheese
Robiola Delle Langhe Tre Latti- Made from a Mixture of Cow, Goat and Sheep Milk
Scimudin- Made from Cow’s Milk
Pecorino Lucano- This Farmstead Pecorino is Made with 100% Sheep Milk

Desert
Custard Filled Profiteroles, Chocolate & Caramel Dipping Sauce   
Cranberry Pear Tart With Vanilla Bean Gelato
Creme Brulee with Blueberry & Lemon
Sicilian Style Cannoli with Espresso Crème

Along with Capannina’s incredible menu, between the 5pm and 6pm there is a prefixed menu consisting of a three course meat for $25, per individual.  Regular menu meals cost between $10 and $20.

Capannina’s hours are Sun-Thur 5pm-10pm, and Fri-Sat 5pm-10:30pm.

Capannina is located at 1809 Union St., San Francisco, California, 94123. And can be reached at (415) 409-8001

Perbacco

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At Perbacco’s there is plenty of seating and great Italian food.  Sit in the 18 seat ‘Barolo’ room, which features a wine cellar, the ‘Barbaresco’ room, a 40 seat semi-private room, the ‘Mezzanine’ which overlooks the open kitchen and dining room and can seat 80 guests, or the ‘Chief’s Table’ for 8 and enjoy the action in the kitchen.  Perbacco’s is elegant, sophisticated and you are sure to leave full and happy.

These are a few samples of what you will find on the excellent menus at Perbacco:

Wine
2007 Monemvasia, Casalone, Piemonte
2007 Collio, Sauvignon, Russiz Superiore (Sauvignon Blanc)
2002 Ribolla, Anfora, Gravner (Ribolla Gialla)
2004 Arboreus, Paolo Bea (Trebbiano Spoletino)
2006 Vermentino, Tablas Creek Vineyards, Paso Robles
2005 Hanzell, Sonoma Valley

Lunch
Trofile-Lingurian Pasta, basil Pesto, Haricots Verts, Summer Squash, potatoes
Grilled Chicken Breat Battuta- Spinach Salad, Portobello Mushrooms
Subrich- Pork and Ricotta Meatballs, Sweet Peas and Tendrils, Potato Puree, Wild Mushrooms
Fritto Misto of Rock Shrimp- Seasonal Beans, Olives, Fennel, Lemons Aioli

Dinner
House Cured Sardine Fillets- Salsa Verde, Celery Heeart, Slow Cooked Egg Yolk
Vitello Tonnato- Slow Roasted Veal, Lemon and Albacore Tuna Sauce, Capers, Arugula
Paccheri- Large Pasta Tubes, local Albacore Ragu, Tomato, Capers, Chili Pepper
Porchetta- Roasted Devil’s Gulch Pork Loin and Belly, baby Turnips and Greens, Tomato Marmellata

Desert
Sweet Corn Panna Cotta
Honeyed Nectarines
Piedmontese hazelnut Cookies
Panorte by Marge- Spiced Nut and Dried Fruit Cake

Cheese
Toma Maccagno Rosa- Cow’s milk cheese from Biella, firm texture with intense flavors
Boho Bel- Bel Paese style cow’s milk cheese, semi-soft, sweet, rich
Robiola tre Latte- Traditional three milk Robiola, sweet flavors, Semi soft

Perbacco is open Mon-Thur 11:30-10pm, Friday 11:30-10pm, Sat. 5:30-10pm.

Perbacco is located at 230 California Street, San Francisco, California, 94111 and can be reached at (415) 955-0663.