Cinecitta Ristorante & Bar

I’m not entirely surprised to see this place is closed. Although the service was friendly, all that sticks in my mind is how poorly presented the antipasti plate was. I tend to judge an Italian restaurant by this measure, and in this case a lot of the ingredients were in tiny portions or looked like they were scooped out of a Safeway deli container. It wasn’t worth the price. I’d recommend the antipasto plate at Puccini Café on Columbus much more.
That being said, the best Italian appetizer plate I’ve had in my life was at La Contadina, where I became enamored with the antipasti of salame and pepperoncini and other delightful ingredients, which makes me wonder why I haven’t gone back in over 30 years. Now I remember: The last time we went, La Contadina was jam packed with an hour wait, plus we were in a hurry, having made plans to see Jon Lovitz at Bimbo’s. Considering our disappointment with the show, we would have been better off waiting and enjoying dinner at La Contadina instead of suffering through Jon Lovitz’ standup.

If you’re looking for authentic thin crust pizza this is your spot. With very minimal seating on the inside it definitely has a more intimate feel. The pizza was the star of the show by far! Also, the lady running the restaurant seemed to be the owner and was super friendly and helpful! If you’re looking for a place that doesn’t have a tour hour wait (I’m looking at you, Tony’s) and has equally amazing pizza– this is for you!

My lovely wife and I had a quick lunch and we ordered the vegetarian calzone. It should just be called a spinach calzone. When you say «vegetarian» I assume more than one vegetable is in something. We dined during typical lunch hours (12−3pm), their prices reflect what dinner should cost. It was delicious, absolutely, but I asked for a side of marinara to dip our calzones. You see, a whole lotta cost for something that’s crackers thin that it’s a bit dry. The proprietor told Me, «it’ll need to heat», when I asked for a side… I politely smiled, as in «please, I’ll wait». It never came! Never came!!! They should automatically offer marinara as an automatic dipping well for their calzones. My two cents;)

Amazing! Number 18 pizza is the best!!! A lot of arugula and the White House wine PERFECT pair.

The pizza we had was delicious (Trastevere w/​
prosciutto, tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, arugula) — however the pastas were «OK», not great.
I was under the impression that their pastas were hand-​made but I couldnt taste the difference between boxed and Cinicitta’s.
It was a little hot inside (No AC) so we decided to sit outside.
Value-​wise, this place it a little on the pricier side for the food and quality received.
Service — eh, ok. Nothing to rave about.

Delicious cracker thin pizzas, large tasty salads and nice people watching when you sit outside. Owner is straight from Rome and cooks up the dishes herself. Definitely a great gem in North Beach.

I went to this restaurant yesterday afternoon for a quick lunch, before work with some friends. The atmosphere was very welcoming and the lady who works was very sweet and welcoming. I ordered the ravioli with the Bolognese sauce, and I must that it was ver delicious and filling. You can really tell the difference when the pasta is home made. My other friend ordered the lasagne, and even though I didn’t try it, it also looked delicious. I will definitely go back and try some other dishes when I have extra time.

Got the prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella and arugula pizza. Food was okay and service could be better.

First off, the food was fine, it was other things that turned me off.
First, we went with a bunch of college students and a few of us tried to order drinks, not all of us were 21, but only the people of age ordered drinks and it was just a couple of beers. The waitress wanted to card all of us so none of us could drink. Lame
Also the waitress was just plain rude. There are plenty of other Italian choices around. Go somewhere else

When we went to this restaurant it was a weekday evening, so it was pretty empty. The waitress was very kind and knowledgable and was helpful when deciding what to eat. My mother in law ordered the pear salad, my partner had the white pizza, and I had the eggplant parmesan with a side of lentil soup. Everything was delicious (we always share our food so I got a taste of everything) except for the lentil soup, but it was made enjoyable with the addition of salt. We had a lemon pie for desert, and even though I am not very fond of lemon flavored food, I loved it! The reason for the subtraction of a star was due to the flavorlessness of the soup, the lack of music, and the ambiance not being very inviting (could have been decorated better, could do with some upkeeping).
However, if you can avoid the lentil soup, you will not regret eating here!
Fun fact: The restaurant was opened by an Italian actress :)

Delicious Italian dinner in North Beach!
My fiancé and I strolled in here after a long day of wine tasting in Napa and we were craving Italian. I picked this place after seeing other positive Unilocal reviews. I’m glad I found them, because it’s a cute little place and I may not have decided to stop in from just walking by.
We were lucky to get seated as there were exactly two spots left at the bar and they were expecting a large party so a lot of it was blocked off. A few others tried to come in and weren’t able to get seated that night. There’s probably seating for about 20 in the entire spot. The cooks were also the servers and it was fun to watch them make everything in the open kitchen and speak Italian to each other.
We were promptly greeted and decided on the margherita pizza and the boscalola (sausage and mushroom) pizza. Amazing, crunchy thin crust and tasty sauce. The pizzas are big enough for two to share but we just couldn’t help ourselves.
For dinner was THE BEST TIRAMISU I’VE EVER HAD. Amazing! My fiancé hates coffee/​espresso but I convinced him to try it and even he liked it.
Sadly I live in Seattle but the next time I’m in town I will be back for sure, and I will recommend this place to friends visiting the city also.

If your idea of thin-​crust pizza is «the thinner the better», then you need to visit Cinecitta. The square pizzas they make here are cracker-​thin, and lightly covered with a variety of tasty seasonings. It’s also a very Italian, very neighborhoody place.
Also: this is a really good place for vegetarians who like mushrooms, especially the antipasti, and the huge salads.

Very small but cute ambiance and the thinnest pizzas ever. The owner is friendly and very Italian. The capuccino is quite good as well.

My friends and I decided to come here for Pizza because Tony’s = wait, Golden Boy = not adequate space for catch-​up/​socializing for more than two people.
Seated quickly and given menus, the host was funny and laughed at our inability to pronounce the pizzas in Italian.
I was between the: Capricciosa (artichoke, prosciutto, black olives, eggs, mozzarella) and the Mediteranea (mascarpone cheese, eggplant, smoked salmon, arucula) both $ 16.75, which I thought was a bit pricey, but then thought about the cost of a slice of Golden Boy $ 3−4…so makes sense since you get basically 4 huge square slices of great thin crust pizza.
I ended up with the Mediteranea (part of me regretted not getting the Capricciosa — but I’ll have to come back another time to try that) which was pretty much like eating a bagel with lochs… just on pizza with eggplant and the cream cheese is replaced by ricotta… so exactly the same right?
My friends got the Alla Romana and Polpettone alla mamma Anna I think — both looked delicious and was devoured quickly — they finished the rest of my pizza too.
The only downside was that we ordered bruschetta… which was good… but would have been better if it was not crazy burnt on the bottom.

WORST EXPERIENCE! RIP-​OFF
Didn’t accept a groupon which didn’t have blackout dates. Was not impressed with food at all!!!

Just popped in before heading to Club Fugazi. There was no one inside but the tables on the street face Washington Square Park so we decided to take a chance. We ordered the Brushetinni. The tomatoes and olive tapenade were Delish. The cook was a little over zealous with the toasting on the bread. ;(It was still good. Just have time to chill out because service was a little slow.

We’ve been coming to Cinecitta for four years since we moved to San Francisco and it’s been awesome every time. We’ve brought friends and family visitors here and everyone raves about the pizza.
Let’s start with the food. It’s all authentic and made fresh. The salads are very imaginative and quite big. The pizzas are out of this world! I grew up in Chicago so I thought I had an idea of what good pizza was. That all changed when we came to Cinecitta. Everyone we bring here says the same thing.
The service is always excellent. Romina, the owner, always make you feel special and welcome.
We will definitely keep coming back to Cinecitta!

This was our final stop for the North Beach Food tour. We were served an appetizer of the ham, tomato, and mozzarella cheese. The tomato acidity counter acted with the olive oil and the cheese. Quite a delicious bite.
The last meal was the margherita pizza. This was one of the best flat bread pizza’s I have eaten. The crust was really thin and crispy. Even after it was served and cooled, the crust remained crispy. The simplicity of the tomato sauce, mozzarella, fresh basil made it a pure pleasure to eat.
Well done Cinecitta Ristorante.

As a true pizza fanatic I love many a kind o pizza. So I went binging tonight to sample a few pies in North Beach, San Francisco.
Cinecitta is a very small owner run place making what is one of the finest and most unique pies in San Francisco. It is a «true» Roman pie that many of us may not know of. As it should be as the owner tells me she was born and raised in Rome.
Now even in Rome (and all of Italy) there are different types of pizza. Us Americano’s are now inundated with neopolitain wood burning oven style pies. They are on every corner. Some great, some not so great. But now, its Neo Overload. I need something different to add to my pizza overture.
So here we have a square pie with the most paper thin crackery like dough. It is almost a laminated pie as it bubbles up at the edges and separates a top dough layer of tenderness to hold the sauce and cheeses, leaving this whisp of a crust that is charred and literally melts in your mouth. No chew, no pull, no fighting with the dough. Just kind of dissolves into taste bud heaven. And this is all baked in the classic pizza «deck» oven. None of the wood burning b.s. that people think makes the best pie.
Then you have a perfectly middle earth just barely dense fresh sauce. Enough olive oil in it to give it a great mouth feel. Just the right amount of tomato flavor to not overpower but to complement this tender subtle dough.
Nice quality mozz perfectly portioned to leave a few bare spots around the edges and I got what was a great italian salami, (I’m thinking Molinari) but could be wrong to add to the top. This was a sure winner all around.
As this was my third pizza slice stop of the night I was only planning on a couple bites but found myself cleaning the plate. They sell half a pie (not slices) which is two large square pieces if you dont want a whole one.
Ok. I’m hungry again. Shit. I dont live here. I may need to learn to make this myself as I dont know of a place in LA that makes one as spot on as this.
Now will this be to YOUR liking? Everyone has their favorite style of pizza. And indeed there are MANY styles. So if my description doesn’t float your pizza boat then stick to what you like. But want to experience a different style that may have you wanting a lot more??? Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Now fyi, this place is hot. I mean like hot because the large pizza ovens are in the middle of the tiny restaurant. Look, this place is not about service or charm. I can’t speak for the italian food or other items. But to me, you dont bother with those, so knocking down points on a review for poor service or the other food doesn’t seem right to me. I’m just reviewing a great pie that I love. Nothing else matters in the world right now.
It’s Plain and Roman-​ly simple.

Sophia Loren. Gina Lollobrigida. Marcello Mastroianni. These are just some of the luminaries of Italian cinema who have never been to Cinecittà. Actually, Marcello’s been dead for fifteen years, so he would have to be caught dead here anyway. By the way, I’m guessing that none of them have shown up since I didn’t see their autographed glossies on the wall, just a lot of framed posters of Italian movies and American classics translated into Italian like Vacanze Romane (Roman Holiday) (photo:
). The movie tie-​in is intentional since it’s named after the legendary studio in Rome where they all probably started as extras. I think it would have been nice to play some of those movies in a perpetual spool on a wall, «Cinema Paradiso”-style, but the place is far too tiny for that.
Jamie W. and I came here after carefully avoiding the crowds at the North Beach Festival. In fact, we fully expected the place to be packed, but on the contrary, it was quite empty with just one family enjoying their pizza at the only real dining table in there. The menu is quite comprehensive with a lot of Roman-​originated specialties courtesy of owner Romina Tiberia, the highlight being the flatbread pizzas (photo:
). We started with a $ 10.25 plate of Panzerotti, which are a half-​dozen fried cheese portobello mushroom ravioli accompanied by a tomato dipping sauce. The portion struck us as rather paltry for the price even though we did like the crunch of the housemade pasta and the melty cheese inside (photo:
).
We then went for our own individual, 12-​inch pizzas. Jamie ordered the $ 14 Alla Romana, a meat lover’s concoction with a combination of sausage, salami, and pepperoni sprinkled over tomato sauce and mozzarella (photo:
). I didn’t find it had enough variety in flavor or texture truly to satisfy. Mine was better, the $ 15.75 Trastevere, which combined arugula and thin prosciutto slices over tomato sauce and mozzarella (photo:
). It was quite good, but my one complaint was the rather stingy way the prosciutto was laid out rather than piled onto what is definitely a very thin crust. It just made the pizza even less substantial than it was. In hindsight, I think Cinecittà would have better with a larger group of casual friends out for some truly Roman appetizers before going somewhere else for a full paisan meal. Arrivederci!
FOOD — 3 stars… liked it but didn’t love it even though I’m sure it’s all quite authentically Roman
AMBIANCE — 3 stars… better set up as a bar than a ristorante with old movie posters to admire
SERVICE — 2.5 stars… Romina showed up at the start, but service was spotty after that
TOTAL — 3 stars… the Roman pizzas are worth a nibble, but I may have to get a cannoli or six at Victoria’s afterward