Columbus Street bisects North Beach from Broadway to Union. Along Columbus, particularly between Vallejo and Green are several italian restaurants seeking to earn your patronage. Which one to go? What is the best? Here are my answers.
First, here are the restaurants: starting on the south end are Trattoria Pinnochio and Colosseo Ristorante. Up north a bit is Caffe Puccini and across the street, Calzone's. Then Caffe Greco and ending at the confluence of Stockton, Green and Columbus is Panta Rei. There are several others on Columbus south of Vallejo: Mona Lisa, Franchinos and the Stinking Rose. But let's limit ourselves to the six that's battling on that one block on Columbus.
Among the six, Caffe Greco isn't a real restaurant. Caffe Greco is a real coffee house. It serves coffee (Illy) and some desserts. There may be some snack-type food, but no full-on dining. I'm not even sure it serves alcohol. The chairs are rickety and tables small. They also lack a nice TV screen for watching games. Of the six, it's my least favorite. But again, because it's not a real restaurant, I don't think it's fair to compare it to the others.
Colosseo is a nice family style restaurant with very solid italian fare. It's rather low-key with the excitement kept to a minimum. However, the food is quite good and the price is reasonable. For myself, it is a great place to go to because the proprietors are a great bunch of people and I can really enjoy myself there.
Calzone's is the most ornate. It features plenty of al fresco dining, amply helped by the large heaters that would be essential during the evenings. It has a full bar and an upstairs section as well. The food is more than pleasant: their seafood pasta dishes are delicious. The wine offerings are tasty. It's a great place to go to sit on the sidewalk tables and watch the people walk by. As a tourist trap restaurant, I would only wish to be trapped by such restaurants. For us regulars, it's a great place to go when having guests over. I wouldn't mind going there for regular patronage.
Panta Rei is a great place to take your hot first date. The food is very good. Try the linguine nero for the shock value. It's a hip and happening place, fancy bar with a large screen for those important soccer matches or the Giants games. The crowd is mostly the younger late-20s group. I think it's the high-energy look of the place, as well as the fetching gal standing at the front luring you in, that makes this place a really popular spot for the twenty-something newly minted locals.
Trattoria Pinnochio is also a great date restaurant. But, it's more suited for the 40+ crowd. There's no blaring music, and the staff and clientele all seem a bit older. Bring your cougars here for your first dinner date. Like the above mentioned, it too has a bar, but it's not situated out of the way of the dining portion of the restaurant layout. The food here is the most expensive of the five restaurants, although all the restaurants mentioned have comparable prices. There aren't any prix fixe $80 per person restaurants among the six. Trattoria Pinnochio also has outdoor seating and a fetching receptionist, but neither work as well with the outdoor seatings at Calzone's or Colosseo, or the receptionist at Panta Rei.
Finally, there's little Caffe Puccini. Caffe Puccini, to me, is my little home in Italy. It's my favorite among the six. Caffe Puccini serves almost only pasta-based dishes. You're not going to get a steak a la Florentine here. But the food is pretty darn good while the atmosphere is great. They don't have a bar, but do serve beer and wine. They also have a juke box with many opera arias available for playing. That's what makes this place a welcomed spot for me. I get to sit in the corner, watch the Giants, listen to Domingo work his magic with che gelida manina. Have a cup of cappuccino or a plate of linguini con vongole. Mmm. You could bring a date here, but I'd imagine bringing your spouse of 25 years here as being more appropriate.
Ciao!
First, here are the restaurants: starting on the south end are Trattoria Pinnochio and Colosseo Ristorante. Up north a bit is Caffe Puccini and across the street, Calzone's. Then Caffe Greco and ending at the confluence of Stockton, Green and Columbus is Panta Rei. There are several others on Columbus south of Vallejo: Mona Lisa, Franchinos and the Stinking Rose. But let's limit ourselves to the six that's battling on that one block on Columbus.
Among the six, Caffe Greco isn't a real restaurant. Caffe Greco is a real coffee house. It serves coffee (Illy) and some desserts. There may be some snack-type food, but no full-on dining. I'm not even sure it serves alcohol. The chairs are rickety and tables small. They also lack a nice TV screen for watching games. Of the six, it's my least favorite. But again, because it's not a real restaurant, I don't think it's fair to compare it to the others.
Colosseo is a nice family style restaurant with very solid italian fare. It's rather low-key with the excitement kept to a minimum. However, the food is quite good and the price is reasonable. For myself, it is a great place to go to because the proprietors are a great bunch of people and I can really enjoy myself there.
Calzone's is the most ornate. It features plenty of al fresco dining, amply helped by the large heaters that would be essential during the evenings. It has a full bar and an upstairs section as well. The food is more than pleasant: their seafood pasta dishes are delicious. The wine offerings are tasty. It's a great place to go to sit on the sidewalk tables and watch the people walk by. As a tourist trap restaurant, I would only wish to be trapped by such restaurants. For us regulars, it's a great place to go when having guests over. I wouldn't mind going there for regular patronage.
Panta Rei is a great place to take your hot first date. The food is very good. Try the linguine nero for the shock value. It's a hip and happening place, fancy bar with a large screen for those important soccer matches or the Giants games. The crowd is mostly the younger late-20s group. I think it's the high-energy look of the place, as well as the fetching gal standing at the front luring you in, that makes this place a really popular spot for the twenty-something newly minted locals.
Trattoria Pinnochio is also a great date restaurant. But, it's more suited for the 40+ crowd. There's no blaring music, and the staff and clientele all seem a bit older. Bring your cougars here for your first dinner date. Like the above mentioned, it too has a bar, but it's not situated out of the way of the dining portion of the restaurant layout. The food here is the most expensive of the five restaurants, although all the restaurants mentioned have comparable prices. There aren't any prix fixe $80 per person restaurants among the six. Trattoria Pinnochio also has outdoor seating and a fetching receptionist, but neither work as well with the outdoor seatings at Calzone's or Colosseo, or the receptionist at Panta Rei.
Finally, there's little Caffe Puccini. Caffe Puccini, to me, is my little home in Italy. It's my favorite among the six. Caffe Puccini serves almost only pasta-based dishes. You're not going to get a steak a la Florentine here. But the food is pretty darn good while the atmosphere is great. They don't have a bar, but do serve beer and wine. They also have a juke box with many opera arias available for playing. That's what makes this place a welcomed spot for me. I get to sit in the corner, watch the Giants, listen to Domingo work his magic with che gelida manina. Have a cup of cappuccino or a plate of linguini con vongole. Mmm. You could bring a date here, but I'd imagine bringing your spouse of 25 years here as being more appropriate.
Ciao!
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