There’s a long and wonderful tradition of Italian food in San Francisco. Immigrants flooded the Bay Area during the Gold Rush, and while many southerners stayed in New York simmering hearty red sauces, many northerners landed in San Francisco, bringing a taste for fresh fish, green olives, and bright citrus.
North Beach is the historic Italian neighborhood, and it’s predictably filled with tourist traps as well as old standbys, many ladling out cioppino, San Francisco’s iconic fisherman’s stew. But these days, Italian restaurants are all over the city, serving Roman classics like cacio e pepe and spicy Amatriciana, bold and modern updates on fresh and filled pastas, Neapolitan-style pizzas pulled out of blistering hot ovens, and garlicky fish and steak kissed by wood-fire grills. Here are 16 of the most seasoned Italian restaurants in San Francisco.
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