Ragazza

I’m not sure if it is bad software, or lazy staff, but don’t trust them when they say they will call you when the table is ready. After being told it would be a 25 – 30 minute wait, and providing my phone number, I went across the street for a drink. I got a confirmation text saying I would be notified when the table was ready. An hour later I called, and asked what the deal was. They told me they had called, which they had not, and that they had cancelled my place in line. I had to walk back across the street and show them my call history just so they would admit there had been a screw up. But at that point they were not taking new tables, it was 10PM, and our plan to get dinner was ruined. General incompetence is my best guess.

It was a friends b-​day and we had a group of 5 for dinner. I loved the décor as it had a modern appeal yet old school. Theres photos of italian women and travel posters on the wall. This restaurant is in the haight/​panhadle area and me and my friends were trying to figure out what neighborhood we were in for like 20 minutes.
We were not able to get a table right away, so we were seated in this beautiful patio area in the back of the restaurant. It has really nice glass string lights and park bench seats. We waited out there for about 30 – 40 minutes due to how busy it was. We were given a free glass of Prosecco for waiting.
Once we were seated we choose the Lacinato Kale salad which was delicious! It was mix of kale, avocado, farro, and radish. We ordered the large portion and shared it with the table. We also ordered the Moto pizza which has tomato, Calabrian chilies, portobello mushrooms, red onion, sweet Italian sausage and mozzarella. This pizza had a little kick and lot of flavor it was really good. One of the best pizzas I’ve had in awhile. We also ordered the Bianca pizza which has onion crema, shaved garlic, preserved lemon, aged provolone and wild arugula. Although the pizza came with mixed greens instead of arugula. It was really good, it has a really savory taste and although it was a vegetarian pizza it felt like it was filling and hearty. I’ve never had a pizza like this one and it was extremely good.
I’d definitely return back to this restaurant. Great ambience, great food, and the staff was very kind.

Amazing pizza, love the crust. Toppings make for nice presentation. Meatball appetizer is nothing special and overpriced, among some others. Get the pizza and some drinks, you’ll be set

The best pizza place I know in the city. Can takeout or eat in. Always busy but never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a table.
Unlike most pizza around here this one actually tastes great.

Food and wine are great. Wish they took reservation though since it’s hard to wait for a table without unknown wait time when you have a toddler.

There are so many amazing pizza places in San Francisco that I couldn’t give this one 5 stars but it is still good. They have a good selection of wines by the glass.
If you are sitting in the back patio tent just be aware that it gets very loud.

My boyfriend and I came here on a recommendation for a date night last night! It’s really cute — kinda small and stuffy inside but there’s a cute heated gazebo outside that’s better for chatting.
We shared the Lamb & Pork Meatballs w/​yogurt which was really good! Came with 6 — perfect for splitting. It had a mediterranean taste with the yogurt sauce.
We both ordered the House Made Ricotta Cavatelli w/​walnut pesto, wild arugula & Parmigiano. I asked if I could add in meat because I saw the option at the bottom of the page to add onto pizzas, but alas they would not let me. Italian places always deny my request to switch things up! However, I ended up loving it without the additional protein. It was the perfect serving size. I ate the whole thing and didn’t feel overly full.
The big mystery is that my boyfriend got food poisoning :(We ordered the same thing and I felt fine but for him it was pretty immediate — maybe an hour after we finished he went running to the bathroom. He hadn’t eaten anything else that day since breakfast so we really didn’t think it could be anything else. Bummer because the food was so good!

Visiting San Francisco for a few days and an old Boston friend’s birthday brought us here for a enjoyable backyard patio dinner. The appetizers, pizza and dessert were all really tasty. My personal favorite was the kale salad with avocado. Yes, it was a salad, but it was so damn fresh. California, man. So fresh. Avocado. Yeah. The pizza was surprisingly good for California. Not to say you cannot find good pizza in California, it’s just not common place like on the East Coast between Boston and New York. The pizza that came to the table were: Moto (tomato, Calabrian chilies, portobello mushrooms, red onion, sweet Italian sausage & mozzarella), Bianca (onion crema, shaved garlic, preserved lemon, aged provolone & wild arugula) and Zucca (Italian butternut squash, sage, ricotta & ricotta salata & almond scented brown butter) — all great flavor combinations. The pizza is not doughy, nice and crispy thin crust divided into small slices.
The indoor dining area is pretty small and intimate, but we walked all the way to the back stairwell, up the stairs and out onto the backyard patio and dining area. The outdoor dining tent was pretty cool and it is a great spot for a small private event. We had a very friendly and attentive server who helped make the overall dining experience fun.

Stop reading and go have the Moto, it’s epic. Rest of the pizzas are legit if not outstanding. Props to the Nutella dessert pizza, quite good as well. Nice vibe in this joint too. Well done, West Add, well done.

Solid Italian place on Divis. I came here with three other people on a Saturday night, and the wait was around 45 minutes. My friend conveniently lives literally around the corner, so it worked out well since we just had to wait for a text from the restaurant saying our table was ready.
Between the four of us, we ordered two appetizers, three pizzas, and one pasta.
Appetizers: fried arancini & brussels sprouts. The fried arancini (stuffed rice balls) was good because I enjoyed the spicy tomato sauce they came with. The brussels sprouts were a little too soggy in my opinion, but the rest of our group enjoyed them a lot.
The three pizzas we got were: bianca, brussels sprouts, and pear. I think the bianca was the best — the use of lemon in the pizza really brought the whole thing together for me. I also loved the arugula on top and provolone as the cheese. The brussels sprouts pizza sounded a lot better in my mind. There was way too much bacon on top; it was super aggressive. The shaved brussels sprouts and caramelized onions underneath the slightly burnt bacon layer on top was just too much going on. I didn’t get a taste of the pear pizza, but my friend enjoyed it a lot, so I will take his word on it. My friend ordered the ricotta cavatelli and said it was very rich.
I think the best part of the meal was the bianca pizza. It’s a pretty good go-​to place for Italian food, but I wouldn’t say it’s super casual or anything since it’s more a sit-​down meal. Since it’s not a super big place, I imagine the wait here can get pretty bad at rush dinner hours.

This place is really good!
Atmosphere: You can’t make reservations, but there was little to no wait when I went. It was pretty crowded and the tables are very close together, but it’s okay. The outdoor Gazebo is really cute but you need to have a party of 6 or more to make a reservation.
Food: I heard the Kale salad was amazing so I definitely wanted to try it. My thoughts: It was good and I would eat it again, but it was by no means amazing. I would rate 3/​5, just because I was all hyped up and expecting more, so I was slightly disappointed.
We also got the Cherry Tomatoes w/​Niman Ranch applewood smoked bacon, basil, mozzarella & wild arugula pie (split between 2 people). It was really good. 4.5÷5. We even had leftovers. I need to come back and try the pasta, and the margherita pie, so I can compare with other margherita’s I’ve had in SF.
Overall: Good food, small and quaint, down to come again.

Was looking for a good Italian restaurant to seat 4 without a wait on a Friday night and we found our winner — Ragazza! Don’t know if we just got lucky, but we arrived around 7:30 and were seating right way, I’m definitely not complaining!
We ordered the Fried Arancini to start. It comes with 3 large-​ish balls of fried rice in a spicy red sauce. To say the least, it was delicious! Definitely recommend that to share. For our mains we shared the Ricotta Cavatelli, and the Bianca, and Brussel Sprouts pies. I enjoyed the Cavatelli because it had a citrus-​y flavor which was very unique for a pasta dish. Out of the two pizzas, I like the Bianca a little more, although it was pretty heavy and a little more cheesy than I like. The brussel sprouts were a little overwhelming and the pizza had a unique chewy texture that I’m not sure I liked.
Overall, I would recommend this place because they have such a variety and their food is good! They only take reservations for a group of 6 or more but it didn’t look like it gets to crowded based on my experience! The bill came out to $ 20/​person — more than reasonable for some good quality food in SF!

Went to this restaurant as a recommendation. Very small restaurant and very quaint, fits about 38 people inside. Place was packed and we got there at 9 o’clock — an hour before they closed.
Excellent food, from the appetizers, to the pizzas, to dessert. The only reason I didn’t give it five stars is because even though their pizza and appetizer selection was great their actual pasta dishes are very limited. 3 to be exact. We were looking for more pasta choices.

Originally, we were meeting at Brenda’s Meat & Three, but I guess none of us were feeling it after all. My friend suggested Ragazza and I am so glad she did! We ended up getting a fig salad appetizer, a pasta and a summer squash pizza with ricotta, hold the pork.
The figs with honey was served with honey and goat cheese — it featured just a few greens and was quite the small portion to share between three people. The pasta was unmemorable, but the pizza was definitely where it was at. The crust was the perfect texture and the toppings were delicious. We all agreed that the pizza was the star. I would definitely come here for the pizza and some of the apps (there was a squash blossom appetizer that looked interesting); skip the pasta. Dessert looked amazing but we decided to go to Bi-​Rite instead. We were all comfortable-​y full, though we thought at first we may have ordered too little food. Bill ended up about $ 18 w/​tax and tip per person.
I would certainly recommend this place, but be prepared to wait — I think we waited about 30 mins on a Thursday night.

Oh my.
Un samedi soir, à San Francisco, nous voilà prêts à nous résigner à aller manger un énième burrito tant tout semble compliqué partout: temps de réservation méga long, plus de service… On se heurte à pas mal d’obstacles avant d’aller pointer le nez juste à côté de l’hôtel: chez Ragazza.
Un restaurant italien comme on en imagine peu dans le coin. Les pizzas étaient (vraiment) bonnes et généreuses, et le service impeccable: le juste milieu entre l’absence de considération parisienne et le serveur américain overfriendly. Parfait.

My level of Unilocal dependence has reached nearly pathological levels, so I have to be pretty desperate, confident or adventurous to step into a restaurant I haven’t Unilocaled first. But there we were, stepping out of the comic book store at 6 pm, and there were our children, saying things like «I’m hungry» and «can’t we get something to eat?» (Oh, kids… it’s always something with you.)
Ragazza looked decent, and it was busy, but not so busy they couldn’t seat it. So we took a leap! And miraculously, it paid off. Our melon salad was fantastic, as was the salad of tomatoes in brown butter — I know it sounds crazy but it was delicious! Our mains (ricotta cavatelli and chicken breast) were good but not extraordinary.
What *was* extraordinary was the pizza. Our daughter, who normally eats like a bird, ate two entire full-​sized pizzas! That’s because the Ragazza Margherita has hardly any cheese: it’s basically a really delicious crust with a layer of fresh tomato sauce. It’s ruined our daughter for any other pizza.
I’d love to say that this ushers in a bold new lifestyle in which I try restaurants without Unilocaling them first, but who am I kidding? What are the odds we’d get this lucky twice?

The food at Ragazza was solid. I would definitely eat here again. There is always a wait to eat here, and the restaurant doesn’t take reservations (although parties of 6 and over can reserve the gazebo), so we were pretty excited when we walked by shortly after 5pm and saw that the dining room was still empty. We aborted our grocery mission and made an impulsive decision to eat here.
* Fried arancini with spicy tomato sauce — $ 9
The tomato sauce was not at all spicy, despite the description. It was tasty though.
* Roasted summer squash with smoked paprika yogurt, snap peas, nepitella, toasted almonds — $ 9
This dish was the perfect combination of tastes and textures.
* Housemade ricotta cavatelli with sage brown butter, wild arugula, parmigiano — $ 16
The sauce was light and delicious. I find cavatelli unappetizingly larva-​like in appearance, but I still devoured the pasta.
* Maitake mushroom pizza with walnut purée, smoked mozzarella, upland cress — $ 17
The crust had the texture of chewy breadsticks. The upland cress complemented the toppings well with its slight bitterness.

Looking to try something new and feeling in the mood for pizza, we took the bus over to lower haight to try out Ragazza. This place made a few appearances on the 7×7 list so we went in with high expectations. Getting there a bit early on a Sunday afternoon we were lucky enough to get the last open table.
Arancini — ²⁄₅ — Decent arancini. The pesto got drowned out in the sauce by the tomato flavor.
Mozzerella, Prosciutto & Crackerbread — ³⁄₅ — Tasty dish with a generous serving of mozzerella and crackerbread although not quite enough prosciutto to pair up with.
Pizza — ⁴⁄₅ — What stood out the most to me was how thin and crispy the crust of this pizza was, which I enjoyed. We started with a margherita and added pancetta, garlic, mushrooms and an egg to it. While this was a quality pizza, I don’t think it earns a spot as a top pizza option in SF.
Overall, I had a decent experience at Ragazza. It wasn’t exceptional and I don’t think I will be returning, but I will say that it was «A-​OK.»

Delicious pizza!
The pizza is thin and on the wet side (some people might not like), but the crust is really good, and still good after two days in the fridge! Pizza is not super cheesy either so you won’t feel it’s too rich or heavy. You can add things like egg, anchovy, etc to any pizza, too.
Space is nice and comfortable, more comfortable than their other restaurant Gialina. Staff is super friendly and nice too. Came here on a Tuesday night and the restaurant filled up quickly after 7:30pm.
Parking can be a not challenging so allow some time to find parking!

I was super excited to try Ragazza for SF Restaurant Week this year but left feeling disappointed about the underwhelming experience.
My boyfriend and I got here around 8 pm per their advice to avoid the rush (they said they didn’t take reservations). We both chose the Restaurant Week menu.
Food:
The ingredients were good in their freshness but overall bland.
–The kale salad was aesthetically pleasing but too creamy and slightly blah. It may have been the inclusion of the farro which made it more filling but also more subdued. This could be a main dish in itself (for future reference).
–Hanger steak was served cold and was tougher than it should’ve been to chew. The gorgonzola on top was a nice touch and made the steak more flavorful. The potatoes were decent but the side of veggies was also cold with SUPER hard pieces of ham.
–Dessert of the chocolate pot de crème was the saving grace and I feel like it was a good move on their end to finish the menu off with this. Light, delicious, and not too sweet. I went back and forth between 3 and 4 stars but feel 4 stars is seriously inflating this menu. 3.5 would be more accurate.
Service:
–Not good. Our waitress was pretty rude and seemed annoyed when coming back to our table to check how things were. Don’t ask if you don’t care would be my preference.
Atmosphere:
–Cute spot and I liked the interior. It seemed warm and inviting.
I had to knock off two stars due to the lackluster food and service. I would’ve expected that both of these would be spot-​on during Restaurant Week to attract a more loyal following. Maybe the menu highlighted the wrong dishes? I’ll give Ragazza the benefit of the doubt after seeing the other reviews and probably be back to try something else, but there are other restaurants I would prioritize.

08.25.12 | bookmarked 10.07.10
Amatriciana Pizza. Get it.
Worth it.