Memorial Day weekend and that means trying new pizzerias in San Francisco for our Great Pizza Tour of San Francisco 2021. We were expecting San Fransisco to be jam packed with tourists for the long holiday weekend but it wasn’t too bad. Today we are trying Piccolo Forno Pizzeria in North Beach, San Francisco’s Little Italy neighborhood.
Piccolo Forno Pizzeria is an authentic Italian local neighborhood pizzeria. It has a casual vibe where tourists and families will feel comfortable. This pizzeria is actually a trattoria serving not only pizzas but a nice selection of pasta dishes, salads, and deserts too. They even have a gluten free selection. But Gary and I were here for the pizza (and a Cesar salad) so we ordered a specialty 12” Italian Pizza called Pizza col Salame which is pizza with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni.
As we waited for our pizza and Cesar salad we took advantage of the people watching as we had a nice table right up front by the window. The pizzeria also has outdoor seating. Inside the restaurant was buzzing and the Italian chef and waiter were hustling. There is a counter so you can see how pizzas and entrees are made and there were platters of the most beautiful grilled vegetables. Truly a feast for the eyes. As we were waiting the waiter brought out some fresh bread and olive oil. He even brought out a cup of fresh chili oil for our pizza if we wanted some spice with it. Our salad arrived and it was a nice generous size that two people could easily share. We ordered ours without the extra anchovies on top and without extra Parmesan cheese on top. The lettuce was chilled and crispy and had a very yummy garlicky dressing (I was craving garlic so this hit the spot) and it was garnished with fresh zesty capers. So far so good!!
Pizza time!! The pizza smelled delicious as the waiter put it on our table. This pizza is very authentic Italian style and baked in a pizza oven. It was fresh and hot. It had a lot of pepperoni and cheese topping. It was not a floppy pizza but it was a little greasy from the pepperoni. The crust was very bread-like, soft in the center but solid all the way around. Not crispy but solid so it absorbed the flavors of the pizza. There was not a lot of marinara sauce but just enough so you could taste the tomatoes and not have your pizza swimming in sauce (although I do prefer more sauce because I am a sauce eater). The pepperoni had a nice tang and the cheese was very fresh and gooey, just like you want on a pizza. I tried the chili oil and it sure did add a nice kick (I love spicy food). The pizza was super yummy and we enjoyed it.
Prices at Piccolo Forno Pizzeria are very reasonable for a San Francisco restaurant and are between $14-$16. The staff was very friendly and took good care of us. I also have to say that we saw a lot of pasta dishes coming out of the kitchen from lasagna to ravioli, gnocchi and spaghetti so we will definitely be back to try some of these soon!!
Let’s rate Piccolo Forno Pizzeria on a scale of 1 (being lowest) to 5 (being highest):
Style/Crust : Oven baked pizza – 4
Sauce: Basic red sauce – 4
Toppings: 4
Taste: 4
Presentation: 4
Experience: Location/Staff: 4
Let us know if you try any of the places we are reviewing, we’d love to hear what you ordered and your experience. Tag us on social media @crazy4thepizza
All pics by my sweet hubby Gary Greco
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