Venticello Ristorante

Delicious food in a cozy intimate setting. We sat up top of the stairs by the bar with a distant view across the bay to Marin. Everything the kitchen prepares is very fresh and the wait staff are as accomodating and professional as can be in a popular, tightly run and busy San Francisco location. Amongst dishes our table raved about were a fresh heirloom tomato soup, a perfectly cooked rack of lamb, an herbed baked fish dish served over chick peas and argula. A secondi daily special side dish from 'off the menu' featured spinach raviolis in a sage butter and we only wished it was double in size! The waiter brought us plenty of local Anchor Steam beers, wine, Lauretana sparkling water, foccacia and even a plate of plain noodles with butter to appease a hungry toddler. For dessert we had a lovely light and liquered up tiramisu and a very rich & thick flourless chocolate cake that was so dense it seemed almost like a creamy fudge. The only dish we were disappointed by was a caesar salad which was served with crisp romaine lettuce and grated cheese, but had no liquid dressing or garlic accent of any sort other than lemon. Maybe we are Philistines and this is traditional, but to plebian pallette it seemed somewhat dull, unfinished, very dry and was the only item that lingered unfinished.

We were looking for somewhere nice to have dinner to celebrate my husband's birthday. Venticello knocked it out of the park. We made a reservation and were seated right when we got there. Its a small cozy dining room. Food was awesome. Wine list was great and we had fantastic service. We will definitely be back next time we are in SF.

Fantastic local spot. Incredible cozy ambiance. Amazing pizza oven. Full bar with great cocktails. Neighborhood Gem. Great for date night.

Enjoyed every minute if my dinner. Pasta Carbonara is a standard at many Italian restaurants, but it's rarely done as well as this. Simple, fresh ingredients made the plate stand out. Paired with a wine that the bar keep Daniel recommended it was one of the best meals in a long time. The Caprese salad was drizzled with a fresh pesto sauce, fresh mozzarella and to me, the most important part of the salad was the tomato. Fresh, sweet and full of flavor. I mentioned to a member of the staff that either someone really cares about what is on the plate or they just had an exceptionally good day at the market. Clearly they care, everything was sparkling clean and prepared so well. The bar and restaurant were full, on a Wednesday night and I was st the bar when several customer went out of their way to thank the chef for a great meal. It seemed every few minutes someone wanted to thank the owner and the chef. The interior of the restaurant was very welcoming and comfortable, subtle lighting, comfortable chairs and outstanding service from the very busy staff. If and when I'm back to Nob Hill, I'll definitely make a reservation and return to Venticello.

I had a Caesar salad and the gnocchi, both of which were DELICIOUS! The line to get in (even with a reservation) took a few minutes, but it wasn't too long and service was great once we were seated. Overall a great experience!