Diners' Choice: Italian restaurants in San Francisco Bay Area

OpenTable

Updated December 05, 2024

Looking for restaurants with the best overall Italian cuisine in San Francisco Bay Area? You’re in the right place. Each month OpenTable analyzes more than 400,000 new diner reviews. We sort the results by category to help you discover new favorites. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Luna Ristorante - Concord

4.9

4.9 (482)

$30 and under

Italian

Concord

About the restaurant

“I’m the owner and the chef, so I’m always here,” he says in his lyrical Mediterranean accent. “It’s nice to do business with locals.”

Jacifi describes his menu as a blend of new and old: “You get old-school tastes with a modern presentation.” The restaurant specializes in northern and southern Italian standards like saltimbocca, chicken cacciatore, and risotto. But the eighteen-year-old Luna takes these familiar dishes very seriously. Redoune, partner and co-chef Hafid Tadri, and co-chef Habib Jacifi don’t so much replicate the old standards as define them.

Take the fettuccini with Bolognese sauce. Many restaurants make a Bolognese; few do it well. Like the sly smile on the lips of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous lady, this brick red sauce reveals a depth of character beyond its simple appearance. Carrots, celery, and onions add a layer of sweetness, while bacon contributes a sultry, meaty backbone.

Top review

Kimberly

Dined on Nov 26, 2024

Luna was a delightful evening! Excellent food, nice ambience, friendly and professional attentive service. We even got to meet the owner and chat a bit. I will definitely be back!

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4.9

4.9 (1253)

$31 to $50

Italian

Russian Hill

About the restaurant

Welcome to Amarena, our beloved classic neighborhood Italian restaurant.
Proudly serving the Russian Hill Neighborhood for over 20 years, dishing out delicious Italian classics while providing loving service. We hope to see you soon!

Top review

kim

Dined 1 day ago

We love this neighborhood gem! A quick trip to Italy without the jet lag!

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Popular dish

Ravioli di Zuccca

Popular dish

Pappardelle al Cinghiale

Experience

Special New Year's Eve Prefix 4 courses menu $95

Baci Cafe & Wine Bar - Healdsburg

4.9

4.9 (3704)

$31 to $50

Italian

Healdsburg

About the restaurant

Baci Cafe & Wine Bar invites you to enjoy its fine regional Italian and Mediterranean food, paired with wines from Sonoma, Napa and Italy, in a casual dining atmosphere.
Baci's wine list is thoughtful and well-priced, and features many small artisan wineries. Baci's menu is creative and offers a large selection of dishes. It's focus and commitment to local fresh seasonal ingredients has made it one of our Sonoma County favorites.

Top review

ericVIP

Dined 7 days ago

Baci has been one of the top restaurants in Healdsburg since it opened about 15 years ago. The husband and wife team of Shari (Chef) and Lisbeth (front of house) have created a haven for locals and tourists alike. The food is great and they have an excellent (and well priced) wine list. It is always fun to go to Baci!

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Popular dish

Spaghetti alla Bolognese

Popular dish

Gnocchi alla Bolognese

Popular dish

Carpaccio

Serafina SF

4.9

4.9 (434)

$31 to $50

Italian

Downtown / Union Square

About the restaurant

Serafina is a little gem of a restaurant, perched on top of Nob Hill, with views overlooking the city and Bay Bridge. Serafina was owner Maurizio Bruschi’s grandmother, and the name of her eponymous restaurant in the heart of Trastevere (Rome), where Maurizio first began making pizza at the age of 14. The executive chef is Umberto Cannarsa, a successful chef from Rome, who left his own restaurant in Rome to work with Maurizio again. The menu offers everything, including vegetarian options, but specializes in innovative Italian fish dishes, including fresh calamari, stuffed with olives, escarole, anchovies, drizzled with a potato leek sauce, as well as homemade pastas and dolci. The space is warm and elegant, where neighbors and friends can come together.

Top review

Julie

Dined 2 days ago

The flavors and freshness of the food was extraordinary. So delicious! We will go back, for sure

Caffe Fiore - San Francisco

4.8

4.8 (389)

$30 and under

Italian

Mission District

About the restaurant

*For online orders, please visit www.caffefioresf.com*

An OpenTable favorite, Caffe Fiore is where European café culture meets fine Italian cuisine on the Mission/Noe Valley corridor in San Francisco. Serving classic Neapolitan and contemporary Italian favorites for dinner, our kitchen offers a fine selection of homemade dishes Tuesday through Saturday. Whether just for a glass of wine or a big dinner party, we look forward to seeing you at our home away from home, just a block away from the bustle of Valencia Street!

Top review

Joyce

Dined on Nov 24, 2024

Lovely dinner in our neighborhood restaurant. Comfortable atmosphere, thoughtful decor, delicious food. The owner / chef welcoming. We look forward to our next visit!

Cook St. Helena

4.9

4.9 (1442)

$30 and under

Italian

St. Helena

About the restaurant

Specializing in elegant but straight-forward Northern Italian cuisine, created from local and seasonal ingredients.

A family-owned business, Cook St. Helena, is a neighborhood establishment through and through that continues to bring people together around fresh, handmade, delicious food in a warm, casual atmosphere. We opened Cook in 2004 to show the locals and tourists alike that food does not need to be complicated to taste great!

Top review

Julie

Dined 5 days ago

My friends and I call ourselves the dining Divas. We get together once a month at a restaurant we haven’t been too or don’t visit often. Today was awesome. The staff was so kind and helpful. I hope we didn’t burn them out. The food was amazing. Can’t wait to go again to try something else on the yummy menu

Cafe Pro Bono

4.9

4.9 (1424)

$30 and under

Italian

Palo Alto

About the restaurant

Cafe Pro Bono stands as Palo Alto's premier destination for exquisite Italian cuisine. With a legacy spanning over 30 years, we take pride in offering a diverse array of authentic and reasonably priced Italian and European dishes, each crafted with a dedication to freshness that is evident in every bite.

Whether you seek a romantic evening or a casual dinner, our menu features a wide selection of traditional dishes at accesible prices. From beautifully presented appetizers to homemade pastas, daily fresh seafood, quality meats, and indulgent desserts, complemented by expertly crafted cocktails we strive to ensure every visit is a memorable culinary experience.

Consider our Private Event Room for your next rehearsal dinner, birthday celebration, baby shower, family gathering or business meeting. Our full bar offers a variety of cocktails, including alongside domestic and international wines.

We look forward to welcoming you soon to Cafe Pro Bono.

Buon Appetito!!!

Top review

Christopher

Dined on Dec 11, 2024

I had the rigatoni with boar sausage it was very flavorful. The burrata was quite tasty and tender with nicely oiled tostini. Desserts were perfectly sized and flavorful. Outdoor heating was adequate at 53° but below 50° you need a coat to sit outside even with two heaters going full blast.

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Popular dish

Rigatoni

Valenti & Co. Ristorante

4.9

4.9 (844)

$31 to $50

Italian

San Anselmo

About the restaurant

Welcome to Valenti & Co, Northern Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar in San Anselmo. Farm-fresh Italian Cuisine, thoughtfully sourced local ingredients and wines.

Top review

Joseph

Dined 2 days ago

Wonderful warm service. Used to live in northern Italy for years and this reminds me of many good meals I had there in hill towns and Milan. A place to remember and return to.

Mamma Tanino's Ristorante

4.9

4.9 (1190)

$31 to $50

Italian

Sonoma

About the restaurant

Four blocks west of "The Square' tucked in the Sonoma Valley Center, Italian born chef, Gaetano Patrinostro uses a combination of the freshest local products and Italian imports to prepare authentic Italian cuisine. His pasta sauces are based on the region of origin, seafood and steaks are cooked to perfection and the desserts are not to be missed. Mamma Tanino's is an off The Square locals favorite and the at home feeling makes out of towners love this place.

Top review

Sandra

Dined on Dec 8, 2024

I always enjoy going to Mama's because the food is outstanding. Gaitano cooks everything to order. Because of that the service is slow and one usually has to wait, but last night, we went at 5:30 because we were going to a play that started at 7:30, so the service was fast. The pork chop was moist and tender, and the Veal Katrina was divine.

Chianti Cucina - Novato

4.7

4.7 (910)

$30 and under

Italian

Novato

About the restaurant

Chianti Cucina, an Italian restaurant in Novato, welcomes you to our family, where great food, service and atmosphere await you Italian style.
We invite you to our table, offering a casual & memorable experience. At Chianti Cucina, you'll feel like a neighborhood regular, even if you're just visiting us for the first time. Our restaurant is a family friendly venue where you can feel equally at home as a solo diner, as a family, or as a small or large group of friends.

Top review

Ann

Dined 1 day ago

Love this place. Order the calamari calabrese. Can’t get it anywhere else!

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