Il Casaro Pizzeria & Mozzarella Bar

Was in town and had to stop by. Nothing has changed same amazing pizzas and the ice cold Peroni. The meatballs may be even better than my last visit. I’d love to recommend a specific pizza but they are all great and I hate to limit anyone from trying them all LOL. ENJOY!!!

Had dinner here on a rainy Sunday night as we were walking around North Beach looking for a place to eat. Il Casaro on Columbus Ave was among the restaurants that had later hours on a Sunday aside from the usual suspects that have sidewalk dining. We looked at the menu outside and decided to try it out. First impression aside from a semi-​busy crowd for a late Sunday night is how warm the room is because of the wood fired pizza oven. It definitely warms up the room. But even on a cold night like that, it was still a little too warm for my liking.
We were seated at one of the high tables towards the back side of the space. Our server was attentive and friendly and knew when to leave us alone & when to ask us if we needed anything. We started off with some mortadella which was served with some crostini, arugula and roma tomatoes drizzled in olive oil. It was excellent. The mortadella along with the crostini and greenery were great. It had great flavor and was a perfect appetizer.
The pizza we ordered was the broccoli & salsiccia. It came with italian sausage, broccoli rabe and mozzarella cheese. The crust was good, the cheese was great, so was the italian sausage but the broccoli rabe was just too bitter to my liking. I dont think I would get that pizza again. They have several other choices that I would rather try out.
Il Casaro was a nice option for a casual meal in North Beach. Street parking only. Open late. Good service. Decent food.

We walked in per our reservation we did online. We were told there was no dough left a few couldn’t eat there. So much for that.

Hands down the best pizza we have eaten in the USA. They have wood fired thin crust pizzas. We had the tuna and prosciutto pizzas. Both of them were excellent, the dough has a magical quality and the tomato sauce is out of this world.
Go and eat here if you like pizza. Go even if you hate pizza. Their pizzas will convert you.

Authentic Italian cheese and pizza selections here. Today I tried:
–Burrata ($ 9): cheesy, creamy, specially imported from Italy, and served with arugula, cherry tomatoes, and bread. This was a good appetizer. The consistency of the cheese was perfect!
–Proscuitto pizza ($ 17): consists of ham, arugula, and topped generously with cheese. Pretty good pizza.
One thing I noticed was that they serve broccoli pizza here! I never knew about that until the movie Inside Out.
I would give 4 stars but I’m giving 3 because when I called twice before coming in, someone picked up the phone and hung up twice in a row. Not professional guys!

This is the best pizza I’ve ever had!!! I had the Diavola and the II Casaro. Also, try the mozzarella burrata and calamari skewers. They will not disappoint!
If you’re with a large group be sure to make a reservation. The place isn’t that big on the inside, but definitely worth the wait.

Delicious and authentic Italian food.
This restaurant is located in the heart of SF’s Little Italy. There are tons of comparable restaurants around, but this one is sure to please your palate.
We came here based on a friend’s recommendation, and it did not disappoint. The interior is quaint… there’s an open bar area and a visible pizza oven. They also have a couple of tvs in case you want to catch the latest game or fight.
My fiancé and I ordered the spaghetti carbonara and buffalina pizza to share. We also ordered buffalo mozzarella and prosciutto to share with the table. Everything was delicious. I particularly enjoyed the buffalo mozzarella. It was so fresh and creamy and was delicious paired with the prosciutto and arugula. The spaghetti was equally delicious although the portion was kind of small. I loved the crispy bits of pancetta. The pizza was my least favorite. The crust got soggy really quickly, but it had good flavors.
Service, however, was on the slow side. We also had to remind our servers a couple of times what we ordered. I was told that this isn’t typical from my friend who is a regular. It may have been due to the holiday (we went on New Year’s Day).
It’s definitely worth checking out!

That place is great, I tried the mozzarella and a pizza, both were great and tasty. It is at the heart of the italian neighborhood, the service is great and fast. I will definitely come back. It is everything but a tourist place!

Ate:
Norma (margherita with eggplant). Classic wood-​fired, brick-​oven pizza.
Golden beat and frisee salad. The dressing was lemony and very salty, but paired really well with the beats, goat cheese and walnuts.
Standout:
Calabrian pepperoncini. Un-​fucking-​believably good. These plump, little red hotties are served as an accompaniment in a little ramekin of oil. I bit off the tip of my first, felt the heat… and then the flavor hit me. Sweet, citrusy and warm. By the end of my last bite of pizza, I’d finished all of them and was dipping the crust in the remaining oil.
Update (had additional items):
Roasted cauliflower: they fire these up in the oven with olive oil, capers and a few pepperoncini. Need you ask? Of course they were… delicious!
Calamari and zucchini: tender and juicy squid bites, threaded onto skewers with roasted vegetables, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with plenty of salt and pepper. Simplicity and perfection!
Panna cotta: wow, get it.

Dinner review.
Buffalo mozzarella — ³⁄₅
Boar salami — ²⁄₅
I’ll casaro pizza + egg + sausage — ⁴⁄₅
Overall, «A-​OK.»

Thank you to Janice C. and Sebastian F. for taking us here with you! What a find.
This casual restaurant specializes in wood-​burning stone oven baked Neopolitan style pizzas. Don’t expect a plethora of pizza toppings. Here, it’s all about delicious simplicity.
We ordered the popular Diavola pizza with fresh mozzarella and tomato sauce. The spicy salami topping that adorned the pizza was oh so savory. The basic dough crust was delicate and crisp on the exterior and supple on the inside. Yum. My favorite pizza out of the two we tried that evening.
The burrata was heavenly — a must order. It was rich in flavor, unlike many bland ones I’ve encountered at other places.
Don’t leave without ordering the raspberry panna cotta, to end your evening on a sweet note. Creamy, subtly sweet with luscious vanilla flavor.
Great service; you’ll feel right at home. Enjoyable ambiance.

Pizza deliciosa!!! Massa perfeita, saborosa, e ingredientes frescos. A pizza Il Casaro é simplesmente maravilhosa!

TL;DR — Another little gem in SF!
Great food without any pretentious vibes! The only reason this was 4 stars and not 5 was because of the layout. There is only one restroom for the ENTIRE restaurant. Meh. I just needed to wash my hands and waiting for the person in the restroom was no fun. Also, they have some wobbly tables! A lot of the wooden table bottoms were Macgyver-​ed into being stable with help from paper napkins. Yikes.
Now, the food!
Lasagna — Yum yum! I love how it was cooked well and well seasoned. Its good, but nothing to write home about. It came out kinda… lukewarm? But then again maybe it was just the cold of SF haha.
Mozzarella di bufala pizza — WOW. I love the thin thin thinnn crust and the simple but tasty flavors. I wasn’t a fan of the over-​char on the crust, but I guess that can’t be avoided. Haha.
Overall, I’d be back, but not before I check out all the other gems in North Beach.

Burrata délicieuse!
Pizza généreusement garnies et une pâte bien moelleuse.
Lieu très sympa.

Fresh pizza eatery in North Beach. The ambiance is welcoming and dining is of pleasant demeanor.
Open, airy windows and outdoor seatings available. We ordered up their prosciutto, arugula Neopolitan pizza and it was nice. I liked their mozzarella margherita basil pizza more. Maybe it was just that day that I preferred it. Otherwise, I usually like my savory and salty prosciutto.
Ordered up their meatballs and it was good. Their octopus pasta was different and spot on a feasible dish.
I like the contemporary feel of this place — it lightens up the old school shops in North beach neighborhood.

Easy going Italian place in the center of North Beach. We tried 2 different pizzas — Buffalina and a made-​to-​order white pizza with prosciutto and burrata. Both were very good. The dough is soft and puffy in the extremities and thin in the middle. One of the best pizzas I had in San Francisco.
For dessert we had Panacotta but in my opinion that was just okay.
Will certainly come back for the pizza!

I’m in love with their Margherita. Perfectly chewy/​charred crust, tangy sauce, LOTS of milky mozzarella, just enough basil, wet center (yes, I prefer a wet Naples styled pizza — the way it’s supposed to be, over a dry one) and perfect size for one so you do NOT have to share.
The pizza, needless to say did not last long.

After finally trying out the pizza at Il Casaro, I think it deserves a review update since my last review only had me trying their Salumi Plate and Burrata. Ate here for dinner with a few friends and we ordered a couple of pies along with their Buffala Mozzarella
Buffala Mozzarella —
Like their Burrata this was served with arugula, cherry tomato and bread. This was very good! Nice and creamy with a smoked flavor. Though I still prefer their Burrata, you can’t really go wrong with any of Il Casaro’s cheese selections.
Diavola –
mozzarella, tomato, spicy salami
This seems to be the most popular pie at Il Casaro. And it’s a really good one. It’s a simple pie, but the spicy salami does shine and gives the pizza the spicy kick it needs. This was my favorite out of the two pizzas we had.
Capricciosa –
San Marzano tomato, mozzarella, artichoke, black olives, prosciutto cotto, mushrooms
This pizza didn’t hit out of the park for me. It might have been the mix of toppings used which made the pizza very watery and when taking out a slice the toppings would all slide off. On paper it sounds delicious, but it didn’t taste that good for me. It’s possible though I may try this pizza again in the future.
And for dessert, we shared a Raspberry Panna Cotta.
Raspberry Panna Cotta –
You really can’t go wrong with any Panna Cotta. I’m a huge sucker for it. And Il Casaro’s was delicious! Just the right amount of sweetness from the creamy gelatin and raspberry compote.
So after having a full dinner service at Il Casaro, I still think it’s a solid 4 star pizza joint. I didn’t thoroughly enjoy every pizza I had but their pies are still solid nonetheless and their burrata is incredible! I enjoy the casual atmosphere and they always seem to have tables open which makes it a great spot if you’re in North Beach with a few friends and don’t have any dinner reservations for the night.

Il Casaro is modern, trendy, and authentically Italian at the same time. Great for dates or just a fun dinner too. You won’t miss the flashy red retro wood-​fired oven as you walk into the restaurant and you’ll also appreciate how cutlery/​napkins are placed inside of kitschy tomato paste cans. Snaps for being so hip.
My friend and I were just walking around North Beach and decided to stop by because the menu looked a bit different from the other more traditional Italian eateries that line up Columbus and Grant.
We split a ‘Norma’ between the two of us (Mozzarella, San Marzano tomato, Ricotta salata, fried eggplant) with mushroom added on one half and sausage on the other half. The pizza was absolutely delicious; each ingredient was so fresh and robust. They keep their pizzas pretty simple (maybe a little too sparse) for the most part so you know that whatever IS on it is of highest quality. My only qualm is that the sausage was not evenly added (spilled over to the other half of the pizza) so my vegetarian friend had less pizza slices to eat than I did.
I’ll be coming back here to try the Broccoli & Salsiccia and Capricciosa. A nice change from the really heavy pan-​crust pies that are drowning in shredded moz and commercial pepperoni: P

After the Chinatown bar crawl, we needed food. We walked in on Friday, August 7^th around 11pm for dinner. Our group of four didn’t have reservations. Luckily we got seated right away.
Food:
*Cavolfiori: roasted cauliflower, capers, garlic ($ 8)
*Asparagi: roasted asparagus, raspa dura cheese ($ 8)
*Buffalo mozzarella: served with arugula cherry tomato, bread ($ 9)
*Lasagna: lasagna with bolognese and bechamel sauce ($ 16)
*Il casaro: mozzarella, grana padana, cremini mushroom, prosciutto crudo ($ 16.50)
*Affogato ($ 5)
The cheese was delicious! I love buffalo mozzarella. I wish we had ordered the burrata as well, but I don’t think we would have been able to finish it. Maybe an excuse to go back? The asparagus was roasted nicely. The pizza crust was soft with a nice chew and I loved the mushrooms. I’m not a big pasta or cauliflower person, but everyone seemed to enjoy those dishes. The affogato looked great, but I was too full to try it.
Drinks:
*Double espresso ($ 3)
*Americano ($ 3)
*Pitcher of beer ($ 20)
We of course washed everything down with a pitcher of beer. What better combination than pizza and beer? Their espresso did the trick as we were headed to another stop after this. I needed some caffeine!
I loved Vicoletto when I went. Il Casaro was is a great, more casual version. Next time I have to get the burrata though! And of course, try more pizzas!

Excellent pizza, pizza crust and mozzy. The crust is that nice and chewy napolese pizza crust, not «crusty» at all. What we ordered:
il casaro pizza
prosciutto pizza
margherita pizza
imported burrata mozzarella
buffala mozzarella
Prosciutto plate
spicy coppa plate
The Burrata and prosciutto pizza were my personal favs. They put a very generous amount of prosciutto and shaved parm on top of the pizza. (see pics). Half the restaurants on Columbus are a northbeach tourist trap, but this new spot is not one of them.

TL;DR:
For the love of tastebuds, have I not been transported to Napoli itself with these familiar flavors?! Yes, brethren & sisters, I’ve been to the Old Country and supped at its greatest pie houses. This is an experience not less glorious.
THE DEETS:
***IMPORTED BURRATA
Though many a burrata have I ravaged, I do declare that never until today have I experienced burrata as it was truly intended. This celestial dairy must have poured forth from the most holy of golden calves, hand-​fed the hand-​manicured artisanal grass of an immortal world. The milk & cream from this cow are superior to all before it, and the cheese-​making methods employed here are esoteric & second to none. There is no toughness, only gooey joy. When you bite in, the fresh panna flows forth as a divine gift.
The bread strips served with this dish were magnificently charred, soft as silk, and drizzled with potent premium olive oil (no canola blend detected). With it was a simple arugula & grape tomato salad, which masterfully satisfied the need for complexity by offering bitter & sweet notes.
I’d come back for this dish alone.
***DIAVOLA PIZZA — Mozzarella, tomato sauce, spicy salami
I’ve searched high & low for true Napoli pizza on this continent and have not once found crust so beautifully charred and yet perfectly supple. Surely a sign of doppio zero flour. It was so soft that you could roll it up and wipe your face with it. The sauce was infinitely light & as delicately fruity as can be, enabling you to eat slice after slice without being bogged down by the slightest shadow of heaviness. The fact that they stuck «Mozzarella Bar» as part of the establishment’s name corroborates my experience – these were sinfully moist, meaty, & yet somehow light chunks of moo product. And yes, the crucial basil centerpiece was equally toasted & wilted as is the divine degree.
The soft red chillies & spicy salami was a lovely treat, providing just enough heat & flavor without overwhelming the batch.
***PROSCIUTTO PIZZA — San Daniele prosciutto, arugula, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese
The crust, sauce, & mozzarella were just as meticulous & present as the last pizza; in addition, this pie was topped with delicious prosciutto, arugula, & raspadura shavings. The prosciutto provided a luxuriously moist layer, while the arugula offered some pleasant bitter contrast. The raspadura, while extremely fresh and flavorful, was in my opinion slightly excessive due to the dry nature of the cheese and the copious amounts that had to be consumed to get to the pizza below. Still, if generosity was their fault, the quality of the ingredients made this more than forgivable.
***PANNA COTTA with raspberry sauce
I’ve had more panna cotta than I can recall, but the consistency of this product (as had become a theme throughout the meal with each additional dairy offering) was much more refined & dare-​I-​say velvetier that anything I’d previously encountered. It was truly a cream-​filled delight, finished gracefully with fresh vanilla bean seeds & tangy raspberry purée.
_​_​
Just remember, you’re very welcome.

Bön accueil (même si un peu théâtral à l italienne quoi LOL)
Né prenez pas une pizza pour 2 ça fait trop juste…
Les produits sont frais, la pizza est très bonne !! le lieu est sympa, ambiance correcte…
Je recommande !!

Großartige Pizza: Dünner Boden, sehr saftiger Belag, fruchtige Tomatensoße, ordentliche Mengen Mozzarella, frische Zutaten mit tollem Geschmack, umrandet von geröstetem aber trotzdem fluffigem Teigrand.
Dazu gibt es Chilis in Öl, die perfekt zu einer Pizza passen: Scharf aber nicht tödlich mit deutlicher Säurenote und kräftigem Eigengeschmack. Genau wie man es eben haben möchte bei einer Pizza.
Als Vorspeise hatten wir außerdem zu zweit einmal die frittierten Tintenfische, die mit Rucola und angebratenen Karottenspänen eine feine Mischung darstellten: Ebenfalls hervorragend.
Dazu gab es noch eine süffige Flasche Montepulciano, die schnell geleert war. Wasser gibt es wie oft üblich einfach dazu.
Inkl. Trinkgeld war man mit 100 Dollar dabei, was für deutsche Pizzeria-​Verhältnisse sehr knackig, aber für diese Gegend nicht untypisch ist.
Das ganze findet in amerikanisch-​typischer, unkomplizierter und lockerer Bistro-​Atmosphäre statt.
Eigentlich wollte ich vier Punkte vergeben, um Luft nach oben zu lassen, aber da es wirklich sehr, sehr gut war und man einen Besuch hier uneingeschränkt empfehlen kann, wenn man sich des Preises bewusst ist und wir glücklich und zufrieden von dannen rollten: Volle Punktzahl!

À la recherché d’une bonne pizza dans North Beach (rien d’incongru donc), j’ai été conduit vers Il Casaro par les très bonnes notes de sa fiche Unilocal.Et j’avoue que j’ai été déçu :
— par le service lent et brouillon, même s’il est sympathique: attente interminable pour prendre la commande, salade oubliée en chemin, bouteille d’eau fournie d’autorité…
— par l’ambiance assez froide et surtout «agrémentée» par des télés branchées sur une chaîné locale spécialisée pour les chasseurs et trappeurs, avec force vidéos de chiens de chasse en pleine action et pubs pour munitions !
— et, le plus important, par la pizza trop salée et sans relief, et par la salade qui souffrait des mêmes maux.
Alors certes le spectacle des pizzaioli travaillant leur pâte (qui était très bonne) à la volée est distrayant mais ça né suffit pas à faire une expérience de dîner italien réussie.