Ricominciare Cucina italiana — Restaurant in San Francisco

Ricominciare was a disappointment. Perhaps we were expecting much more after all the hype surrounding the place.

From the moment we arrived, things felt off. There was no formal greeting station—just a vague walk-in approach where we had to look around for someone to seat us. The tables were bare, without tablecloths. The ceilings and industrial air conditioning ducts were fully exposed, and a secondary entrance/exit leads directly into the office complex that houses the restaurant. Even the bathrooms were oddly located—outside the main dining area, near the entrance—with just one stall for men and one for women, and a shared outdoor double vanity.

Once seated, no one attended to us. Two servers stood in front of us, engaged in a conversation, and we had to flag down another employee to take our order. We weren’t offered water, drinks, a wine list, or a cocktail menu—even though Ricominciare has a Negroni bar prominently displayed at the entrance.

The server seemed unsure about our order, and I eventually suggested he write it down rather than rely on memory.

The food began to arrive. We started with the Caprese and Caesar salads. Both were fine, but nothing memorable. The pasta courses followed. What should have been pappardelle or another rustic pasta was substituted with basic spaghetti. The pomodoro sauce was just that—basic. My wife’s ravioli carbonara, on the other hand, was good, and she enjoyed it. I had the roasted fresh fish of the day, served on a bed of cream sauce with thinly sliced, roasted eggplant, carrots, and zucchini. The fish was very good.

For dessert, we tried the cannoli and the tiramisù. The cannoli were tasty but not something I’d return for. The tiramisù was lackluster and under-sweetened.

Overall, the experience was underwhelming. Both my wife and I, independently, agreed we wouldn’t return to...

Very good Italian style restaurant. Pizza was excellent, reasonably priced ($12), not too oily or anything like you sometimes get. The place itself is nice, well decorated. Service was a bit slow, I didn't time it but it might have been more than half an hour for the pizza, but the place was pretty much full at the time so reasonable enough, all the staff seemed decent. Drinks are a bit expensive, 5 USD for a bottle of beer (all foreign) or 4 USD for a soft drink. They also ask for a tip on the bill with the minimum option being 10% on the keypad, fair enough but worth noting.

Overall very...

Great addition to the Italian food scene. The food is truly enjoyable, with the pizza being the real standout: fresh ingredients, great dough, and excellent flavor. They also offer a solid wine selection that pairs very well with their menu. Service could use some improvement, as attention to detail and timing were a bit off during our visit, but nothing that took away from the overall experience.

Definitely worth visiting, especially if you’re in the mood for authentic pizza...