Il Cantuccio

I went there last night, but it was closed, and from the looks of it, it has shut down for good.
RIP.

Okay so after all this talk about getting together to have some good Italian food, it finally happened. Christina and I have been talking about this for over a year. The reason it was Italian food is because that is her particular favorite. So when we talked about getting together for dinner and catching up after such a long absence, I highly suggested that since she’s big fan of Italian, she should choose. Tonite, it happened, and it was random but they say those are the best.
After texting one another this morning she decided on Il Cantuccio. I was honest and told her that my brokeass got a budget of 20 bucks and she said, «I’ve got the perfect place.» Trusting her judgement, I wasn’t at all worried because, like I said, she know her Italian food.
Sure enough, it was the sureshot! She gave me her recommendation to try the Norcina. A delicious homemade tubed pasta dish with mild Italian sausage, peas, in a creamy McCream sauce with saffron, white wine and garlic. Oh, the sauce was so good, you would lick the damn bowl! I didn’t though, it just wasn’t one of those nights. Big up the bread appetizer with the pesto sauce.
The ambience was cool. Nice, quaint place decorated like I would guess a nice little restaurant in Italy would be decorated. The man serving us was also the owner who was quite friendly and always checking to see if things were alright.
A perfect place to take someone on a date and the price ain’t bad at all. I will be coming back because the cream sauce is the bees knees!
Stank you Christina!

OMG this is a fat girls’ dreams come true. Not for the skinny minnies. Lots of sauce and butter, packed with a lot of meat.
In San Francisco if Italian food is great it’s not cheap, and in my opinion there are not a lot of places that are GREAT. I have become frustrated with many of restaurants in the mission. The same tasteless small portions that are way too expensive even on a pay day.
When I tried Il Cantuccio for the first time I relieved to finally feel like I’m having some real home cooked Italian food, and the décor kinda makes you feel like you are eating at someones house.
My favorite pasta dish is the Norcina. The very first time I came here I had plate envy, because my date had ordered it and I just drooled from across the table. So the second time I was here I was able to savor it and LOVE it. All of the dishes I tried here are very tasty with lots of flavor.
Big tip. Wear your buffet pants. You are gonna need them.

Besides the fact that this restaurant has delicious Italian food at very reasonable prices, I just want to give them a shout out for going above and beyond the call of duty and letting me have my birthday here!
They let my SO make a reservation for 32 people without asking for a credit card on a Saturday night, which, considering they only have seating for 39 people in their diningroom, is very risky business! But they had faith in us, gave us a very reasonable $ 25/​person prix fixe menu which included healthy family-​style caesar and spring salads, fried calamari, polenta with gorgonzola, and a pasta of our choosing, and were very attentive! The servers were polite, the food came out of the kitchen at regular intervals, and we actually all wound up eating our entrée at the same time, which is hard to do for a small restaurant and a party of 32 people!!!
My pasta was a tube pasta with a saffron cream sauce and mild sausage… it was SO GOOD!!! And while it didn’t look like a lot, I could barely get through it!!! I think it grew on me :)
I’ve been here before, three years ago, again for my birthday. Last time, they let us have a reservation for about 25 people WITHOUT a prix fixe menu. WOW. Food was also divine then, which led me to want to go back last week!
I would definitely recommend Il Cantuccio for small and large parties alike! It’s an intimate, warmly lit diningroom, mouth-​watering menu, and good service. I think my SO and I will be back very soon for date night… next time I’m going to make sure to try their desserts!!!

Had dinner here last night, perfect!
I love love, love this place.
And someone commented about getting gummy bears with the check… i want to say it is a cute touch, thanks for the gummies, and a great meal
we will be back!

Been here twice, once for a close friends birthday, and once a few months after with the same friend. Both times I was very impressed. Our server looks like the guy from «Ratatouille» and spoke Italian.
This place has a very «authentic» feel to it. The employees speak Italian and I’m sure they are natives. The wine was delicious as was the bread and pesto spread they brought out.
The check ended up being huge on my friends birthday, but all in all the food was worth it.
If I still ate meat, I’d go more often.
Nonetheless, a great spot for Italian.

I decided to give this place another chance since it seems like the trend for me lately on my Unilocal reviews. I was also drawn in because I had seen «prix fixe menu» specials promised on their chalkboard outside and their website for Mondays and Tuesdays. After, we were seated the waitress told us they no longer had prix fixe available since no one ever asked about it. So I guess we were the first ones to ask and they had already decided to chuck the idea. Great.
Now, the last time I was here I enjoyed the bread a lot. I filled up on it since my gnocchi portion was so small. The free bread last night was still delicious, warm and crumbly with pesto.
Appetizers: Octopus Stew had a good amount of baby octopus but the «stew» was thin and salty. Calamari was definitely too small to share with even two people, let alone the five at our table. The buttery Bruschetta came with three pieces. Again, small portions all around.
Entrees: Grilled Flat Iron Steak AND the Sole dish were served with potato wedges. I like fried potatoes as much as the next person but how is this Italian? The menu promised «roasted potatoes» and these were definitely NOT roasted. Risotto with calamari and squid ink was probably the best dish even though it was the most unappetizing looking one of our table. It was just a straight up black mound of rice. I think even a tiny sprig of parsley would have helped its appearance tremendously. This time I did get full but only after paying $ 18 for an average piece of steak.
Our bill came out with a small cup of gummy bears. Again, like the potato wedges, nice but very out of place. Whats going on here? I don’t think there will be a third chance unless it becomes a different restaurant.

I thought the dinner was alright.
We had great service, our waiter looked like Linguini from Ratatouille, dead on! He was kind and helpful and was very attentive.
I loved the bread and pesto they give you to start, it was really good.
We were able to purchase a few bottles of wine at a reasonable price, that were all very good. The food was great, but very small portions, especially for the price.

This is my best Il Cantuccio story. My parents had just gotten back from Italy after my father had spent 50 years wanting to visit his grandmothers’ homeland, we headed out to dinner to celebrate me starting grad school. I had been to IC a couple times before, but this was their first time.
My dad had a playful argument with the owner (which didn’t exclude heated and funny with these two) about whether he could buy one of the water carafes painted with lemons (IC gets them made and painted by hand by a woman their family knows in Italy), and the food start arriving.
OMG! My parents are so funny. The swooned. I had eaten their before, but this was the most fun. We ordered salads that were excellent, split a pasta dish, and traded off with plates of pork loin and lamb shank (just like my great-​grandmothers). They swore up and down that they did not have better food in Rome!
My mom apparently cried in the airport when she had to leave Italy and she was thrilled to recapture some of her trip. They called me two months later to tell me they were going back. I wasn’t invited!
It’s expensive, but get ready to eat a lot and love all of it.
Some notes because the low reviews are shocking:
You were still hungry?! Next time order an entrée, not pasta. Pasta isn’t an entrée. You are supposed to still be hungry after the pasta.
It was slow?! It’s supposed to be.
You’re a vegetarian and you had a bad experience?! Fine, but you’re not being fair. You should really excuse yourself as a judge of Italian food, since you have already excused yourself from the traditions and customs that craft it!

Food = good. The table started off with a plate of foccacia and pesto, which were delicious and addicting.
For a starter, I tried the beet salad, and very much enjoyed it (pleasant surprise). Delicious beets, good flavors, and yummy but not overly strong goat cheese. I found the calamari frittati to be a bit on the boring and doughy side.
However, I did enjoy my linguine with meatballs, although I think the meatballs was missing a key ingredient. they just didn’t dance on my tongue. They had a decent wine list… could use a bit of sprucing up on selection of glasses though.
My dinner companions tried the short ribs on polenta which was nicely seasoned, well-​cooked (melted in your mouth), and salmon which was a nice size and not overly cooked. Also, they tried the peas with pancetta, which was delicious but I’m not sure if the peas were ‘fresh’ or flash frozen. *shrugs* (Yes, there is a slight difference.)
Portions were decent-​sized, enough for one person, but not over the top. So I felt the prices were reflective of the size and the fact that quality was there.
Service = good. They were attentive (especially since it was slow, I suppose.) Water pitcher was left at the table for self-​service.
Décor = nice and simple, and dimly lit.
Parking = typical Mission neighborhood. So bus it, would ya?
I’m iffy about returning or not with other folks, but I can’t really complain about this place either.

I ate at Il Cantuccio for the first time recently. My friend lives near by and is a regular there, and over dinner we had a discussion about the mixed Unilocal reviews. We figure that part of the problem is this…
If you don’t live in San Francisco, or even in the Mission, there is no need for you to come here. It’s not the best Italian food in San Francisco or even in the neighborhood. Make a reservation and go somewhere great.
But if you live in the Mission and want to get Italian food on a Friday or Saturday night, without a reservation or a cab ride, this is a great place to do that. The food is good (though a bit oily), portions are large, and the prices are decent.
I also found the service to be outstanding, despite what people have written here. There was no wait at the door and food came out promptly. I’m actually giving a whole extra point here because the waiter was so adorable and friendly. We wanted to take him home with us.

Thumbs up on Il Cantuccio, where Italian doesn’t just mean pasta. Tasty food, relaxed atmosphere, and a pretty decent selection of Italian wines. We had really good bottle of Sangiovese for about thirty bucks. Our waiter was both adorable and great, and the best part is you’ll probably never have to wait for a table. Yay for a solid neighborhood spot I wish I’d found sooner.

Great food (try the pumpkin ravioli) and a good selection of Italian wines. Service is friendly. Most importantly, it’s quiet enough to hold a conversation.

I really liked this place, just didn’t «love» it. The food could use more flavor to it. I’ll start positively, of course. The Caprese salad was fantastic! They used very sweet heirloom tomatoes that made my evening. Loved the bruschette as well. We also had had the veal with mushrooms and wine sauce, as well as the pumpkin ravioli. I felt that the veal was a little «chewy» for my taste, and could have used more of the wine flavoring. The sides that came with the veal were delicious! Sauteed spinach with garlic and I think some lemon, and very tasty, potatoes. Yum! The raviolis were clearly fresh and homemade, but were lacking in a ton of flavor as well. Maybe more sage would have helped? I will say, the portion sizes were perfect. We all ate every bite and were very full by the end.
The service reminded me of being in Italy. Some may like that’s it’s very slow and relaxed. The friends we were with did not enjoy that too much, as they were jet-​lagged and wanted to get home to bed. It’s a very cute, quaint atmosphere, and relaxing.

Dear Il Cantuccio:
We’ve known each other for quite some time. And we have certainly had some great times together. A number of quiet, great meals together. Some decent wine.
But, the simple fact is, that’s all in the past. And as much as I might love the past, might wish to return to the past, might have loved the past when the past was the present, the reality is the past is over with, done, gone, and dead. The past is not what’s important; what’s important is the present. And here’s the simple fact about the present: you’re not who or what I thought you were. I had you pegged for a small, intimate Italian restaurant, somehow overlooked by the hordes, ready to accommodate a last-​minute reservation and stuff me full of very decent pasta.
And I have to face reality: that’s not you. Maybe it never was; maybe I was wrong from the beginning. I’ve been wrong before, and I’ll be wrong again. Maybe you’ve changed. I know your menu has changed. The service also seemed markedly worse (by which I mean, horrible). Certainly, the pasta dishes wifey and I had today were not nearly up to our expectations based on prior visits. But I don’t want to be that guy. I don’t want to say «man, you’ve changed, man. You used to be cool.» That’s just whining.
So, here’s where I’m going to leave it: you’re not what I thought you were. And that’s totally okay. You are who you are. You can’t fault a sheep for having a fuzzy coat. And so, whether I was simply wrong from the start, or whether you fooled me, or whether you changed at some point in our restaurant/​diner relationship, all of those paths lead to the same point in the here-​and-​now. And, having arrived at this point, I think the best thing for both of us to do is just move on. I mean, I know you can’t actually move, being a restaurant in a fixed location with a long-​term lease and all. But I mean more metaphysically. More in the philosophical sense.
And, just as an aside, you work in my neighborhood. So it’s likely that I’m going to bump into you from time to time. And, because I was raised right, I’m going to smile and say hi, and if compelled to do so, exchange pleasantries about my day and the weather. Don’t let that confuse you as to the status of you-​and-​me. There is no you-​and-​me. I gave you a chance. I opened my heart, my stomach, and my wallet. And it just didn’t work. Time to move on. Bar Bambino is closer anyway.
Very truly yours,
Ben P.

Wow! I am stunned at some of the low reviews. My friends and I ate our weight at this place and loved it. Italian food for me is like soul food, comfort food. You want to pep up fried chicken you add gravy or hot sauce, not a plum reduction. Food has gone way too froufrou for me.
Let see — we had nice wine, appetizers — some seafood melody, bruchetta, someone had lobster rav, I had lasagna, someone else had chicken parm. I sampled them all and they were great. I would have been happy with any selection. All the food was fabulous — ahh and the tiaramisi — was the best I’ve ever had.
service is great, staff friendly. I can’t wait to go back. I did think it was a tad pricey, but I am cheap skin flint that lives in the east bay.

Oh! My first Unilocal cliché is on its way, are you ready for it? See if you can spot it! (Hint: it’s the first 10 words of the following sentence).
I’m surprised to read any negative reviews on this place, but it sounds like the food may be a bit inconsistent. Fortunately, the night we were there, the moon hit the chef’s eye like a big pizza pie and my boyfriend and I were in amore.
Well, not quite. It was actually our first date. Not knowing anything about his taste in food (turns out, he has quite the adventurous palette), I suggested Italian, because, let’s face it, everyone likes Italian food.
I knew NOTHING about this place except that it was down the street from us and the reviews on Unilocal (at the time at least) were pretty good. It ended up being far more romantic than I expected, which actually made it a perfect first date spot. I would recommend it (and have recommended it) to other people looking for a romantic date spot.
We shared a salad and bread and I had the gnocchi while he had the butternut squash ravioli. He was in culinary heaven (or just being a gracious date since I picked the place?) and I was pretty happy as well.
Hint: Save room for dessert and walk your date down to Bi-​Rite Creamery for a little ice cream and maybe a stroll around Dolores Park :)

This has been a weekend full of wonderful food, terrific drink, and delicious desert. IL Cantuccio is another fantastic restaurant that we stumbled upon looking for a good place to eat in the Mission, and we were pleasantly surprised.
The place is cozy, intimate and very inviting. I loved that as soon as we walked in we were graciously greeted by a friendly (& good looking!) Italian man who allowed us to pick our table and made us feel at home.
We were served tasty, warm bread with a pesto dip, which they made sure to consistently refill. My friend ordered bruscchetta for an appetizer and it was unbelievable, perfect amount of garlic, basil and oregano seasoning and über fresh tomatoes. For dinner, I asked our waiter to help me choose between the zuccati and gnocchi profunati and he recommended the zuccati, which is the best combination of sweet and savory, a pumpkin riccotta ravioli, yum! I also had a glass of chianti and bowl of tiramisu for desert and they were both equally heavenly.
I will absolutely go back to Il Cantuccio, it was a feel good, belly happy and full! dining experience. I also want to throw out that this is a very romantic venue and a great space if you’re looking to take a date!

This is going to be my onomatopoeia review.
Bleh.
Meh.
Eh.

No no no! I don’t know what these other Unilocalers were smoking before they went here, but I suspect it wasn’t tobacco. First off, the atmosphere is not what I’d characterize as romantic. Lighting was not particularly dim, décor was not particularly stylish, and seating was not particularly conducive to sneaking a kiss.
Service was good, but the food was slightly below average. I had the gnocchi, which had a very bland red cream sauce. My partner in crime tried the duck, which was as dry as the mohave desert. If you live in the neighborhood or work nearby, fine. But simply put, this is not a destination spot and I can’t recommend it.