Italian restaurant Bosco has taken over the SoMa space formerly occupied by the critically acclaimed Spanish restaurant Bellota.
Coincidentally, Bosco’s co-executive chef-partners Ryan McIlwraith and Kaili Hill met at Bellota’s now-closed Spanish sister restaurant, Barcino. What they and The Absinthe Group (TAG) have created is approachable, warm, cozy, and easy to love.
The recent rise of Italian restaurants in San Francisco might have started with the opening of La Connessa in 2023, followed in 2024 by Original Joe’s in the Marina and Bettola in the Richmond. In 2025, we’ve seen the reopening of Beretta on Valencia, Ama downtown, and Via Aurelia from David Nayfield and Matt Brewer at Mission Rock. On the horizon is Lucania from the A16 team in the Ferry Building.
It’s beginning to feel like we are in the midst of an Italian restaurant boom—which makes sense to TAG’s president, Eric Vreede, who thinks diners are looking for comfort and a bit more familiarity at the moment.
Sweet corn arancini and prociutto at Bosco (Isabel Baer)
Bosco’s cocktail menu is divided into fanciful categories: Canopy for lively/low-ABV, Campsite for citrus, and Forest Floor for “spiritus.” The drinks are bright and creative, but also approachable—as is the wine list and a clutch of five sophisticated NA options. The bar creates many of its own elements, such as an amaro-infused fruit shrub, which combines with passionfruit and soda in the aptly named Agrodolce.
Like the cocktails, many of the dishes at Bosco (which means forest in Italian) use some Italian ingredients, but often have a California twist or two. Hamachi crudo, featuring lightly smoked yellowtail tuna served with husk cherries, cucumber, and bottarga, for example, is fresh and bright, showcasing high-quality seasonal ingredients with an Italian sensibility.
The sourdough pizzette is another favorite on the opening menu—a small pizza with zucchini cream, stracciatella, mortadella, crushed pistachio, and fresh basil that’s light and incredibly well balanced. The puffy and barely burnished crust, in particular, is a wonder, and McIlwraith confirms the toppings will change with the seasons. It uses just one of three doughs at the restaurant along with tigelle (a kind of Italian flatbread) and sourdough focaccia. The sourdough finds its way into a panzanella salad in the form of olive-oil-fried crisp and chewy croutons, and in crumbs on the Bosco Caesar. That panzanella shows off not only the sweetest cherry tomatoes but also figs and a tangy watermelon-rind mostarda on a base of whipped ricotta.
Panzanella with cherry tomatoes, figs, and watermelon-rind mostarda on whipped ricotta at Bosco(Isabel Baer)
Ordering pasta is a must. Another special, the ossobuco agnolotti filled with braised beef and bone marrow, topped with glazed shallots and roasted tomatoes, and resting on a creamy fontina fonduta is textbook in its thin and delicate construction and rich filling; it’s pure comfort on a plate.
Smoked potato “polpette” (Italian for meatballs) are a bit of trompe l’oeil: they look like meatballs and are just as crave-worthy, but are actually deliciously smoked red potatoes coated in Calabrian chili bomba and served with a roasted lemon.
For dessert, gelato and sorbet are made in-house, and the pistachio gelato was the favorite at our table, where we lingered at the end of our meal. A pricey installation from Meyer Sound effectively dampens ambient noise, giving the large space a cozy atmosphere that never feels too loud. You will hear some strains of music, but primarily, you’ll hear your dining companions—and that makes the entire dining experience infinitely more enjoyable, whether you’re sitting at the bar facing the open kitchen, at a booth, or at a larger table.
// Bosco is open Tuesday through Thursday from 5pm to 9pm and Friday through Saturday from 5pm to 10pm; 888 Brannan St. (SoMa/Design District), boscosf.com
Gramigna bolognese at Bosco(Isabel Baer)
Dining and Cooking