L’Osteria Del Forno

Delicious food at a great price. We had vegetarian pizza and a mixed green salad. We split the salad between two people. It is not small for a side salad. Club Fugazi (Beach Blanket Babylon) is right around the corner.

The food is pretty good, I’d even recommend this place if it weren’t for the… cockroaches!
One was crawling on the wall the other day. Restaurant manager killed it with one of our napkins and said he was sorry. They were very nice about it, and talked about construction work on Columbus, they even gave us some free limoncello. Still, I do not recommend going here until they’ve resolved this issue.

We came here a few months ago & really enjoyed it so thought we’d give it another whirl. Wow, what an unmitigated disaster. We were asked to wait for 15mins outside (that’s okay, it’s Sat & you’re busy). This swiftly turned into about 30mins. They kept us informed though so we were still fairly happy — if a bit cold!
Once inside it went more rapidly downhill. It took a LONG time to even take our food order. For the first time in our history of dining out about ¾ times a week over the past 4 years we actually managed to ALMOST finish an entire bottle of prosecco before the APPETIZER arrived. It was salmon carpaccio — so not exactly something that takes a long time to prepare. In the meantime they had tried to keep us happy with baskets of focaccia bread, which to be honest was welcome because we were getting seriously hungry…
Problem was, we were so full of bread and — to be quite frank — anger by the time the pizza arrived that we just weren’t into it. It had been about 90−100mins at this stage. The pizza itself was fine but a little soggy and definitely not worth the wait. We took it in a box but it wasn’t the sort of pizza you would even want the next day as it turns out… :(.
We eat out A LOT & we understand that things can go wrong, but the thing that really frustrated us was that we didn’t even get an apology or an acknowledgment that we had been kept waiting and, in truth, ignored for a lot of the evening.
It’s expensive to eat out, and it’s a treat. For a lot of people it’s something they really look forward to & I genuinely think to waste people’s time, completely overlook them as a customer & not even show that you’re sorry is a poor way to treat people who — at the end of the day — were just hoping to enjoy your food.
PS: we live in SF but we are British so I’m sure they thought we were tourists = no repeat business. They were right on one thing!

I would go to this North Beach restaurant in a heartbeat! It is the kind of place where I would lick my plate clean if I could get away with it. But you know… manners and all that.
The Ravioli Di Ricotta was the best ravioli I’ve had. Hands down the best ever ravioli. I still think about it. It was that good. Creamy, freshly made with a nice tomato sauce. It was simple and filling at the same time. The house focaccia was so warm and delicious we had about two baskets full.
You can’t go wrong here. Everything we tried (see my photos) impressed us.
The Italian speaking owners from the Old Country are charming and attentive without hovering over the table. The restaurant has a cozy European feel. Seating is intimate. This definitely isn’t the Old Spaghetti Factory where Italian food is made for mainstream American middle of the road palates.

A winner!
My friend’s idea to go!
Super friendly for starters!
Tasted 4 different dishes and all
were super yummy!
1. The pizza
2. Polenta side order
3. Swiss chard torte
4. Pork with potatoes and carrots
Thrilled with the prices!
And to boot, had very good attentive service!
L’Osteria truly stands out in North
Beach as the one that I’ll be back
again & again!
Did I tell you I’m having my bday
Party catered by them!

So far I have not enjoyed the SF food scene but remain optimistic. This spot gave me hope. Super cute, pizza was good, and the meat and cheeses were yasssss. Loves it.

Great little spot in the middle of Northbeach. Second generation owners. Worth a stop!

I really enjoyed this place, ate here for lunch. Our waiter was extremely nice and attentive. The Insalata Caprese was excellent. I also had the Pasta Alforno, it was great. It’s a tiny place but nice inside, reminding me of Europe. I checked in on Unilocal resulting in a free dessert. I initially refused because I was so full but by waiter encouraged me to take it home and I’m glad I did. Delicious chocolate cookies! I would definitely recommend this place.

Disgusting food and weird smells.
But for a good laugh it’s excellent, you can have a lot of fun joking on the awful food

You know how there are those restaurants that are just as much about the atmosphere as they are about the food?
This is one of those restaurants.
The ambiance is intimate & memorable. It’s tiny & simple. It’s charming. It has an old fashioned & very European feel to it.
The food can be hit or miss. They do make a strong thin crust pizza. And the salads & pastas are very good.
A lot of people assume that if a restaurant is in North Beach, it’s automatically a tourist trap venue. That just isn’t so (Park Tavern is a perfect example; it’s packed w locals every night). L’Osteria is a good mix of both.
Since it only takes about 16 people to fill the place up, dinner gets busy fast. To avoid a long wait & the crowd, try going for lunch.
The tables in the window are the best seats in the house. Ideal for watching the people go by, & romantic too.
4 stars.

Are 1 st. Night in San Fran great food great waitress great littleiplace you can’t go wrong made us feel some welcome xx

3.5 Stars.
Quite good, and for the most part reasonably priced. I ordered the pumpkin ravioli and a martini. The ravioli was delicious – though the portion was TINY for the $ 14 that were charged (–1 star). I ended up eating almost half of my son’s (very good) Margherita Pizza because I was still so hungry. His pizza, by the way, cost less than my ravioli and consisted of twice as much food. The martini was good.
The focaccia, which was the pre-​entrée bread was delicious. Even better, our waitress was quite liberal in bringing more bread. Speaking of our waitress, I couldn’t help feeling that she was a bit rude when being asked questions about dishes and drinks (–1 star).
Lastly, the tiramisu was DELIGHTFUL (+.5 star). However, I could see someone commenting on the fact that it was 85% mascarpone with very little ladyfinger. Seeing as I have never complained about extra cream filling, this was a plus for me, but a reasonable mind could differ.

Terrible service. This is why people who live in SF don’t eat in North Beach restaurants. They are used to serving tourists who do not give repeat business and, as a result, don’t give a sh*t about how they treat customers. We waited for 10 minutes and nobody paid the slightest attention to us, so we left. They obviously couldn’t care less about our business.

PASTA FOR $ 12? WHAT A DEAL!
And then I saw the portion size…
I came here for dinner with a group of 4 around 6PM on a Friday night. We were lucky enough to be seated right away without any reservations.
The food is absolutely delicious! I ordered the Pasta Al Forno and it lived up to the hype. My friends and I all ordered different pasta dishes from the menu, but the portion sizes looked like they were meant for appetizers (e.g. My friend ordered the Chef’s Special Pumpkin Ravioli and was only given 4 ravioli pieces. 4 delicious ravioli pieces).
Complimentary bread was so perfect. My friends and I devoured it immediately. At the end of our dinner, we used the Unilocal Check In for a Free Dessert. We ordered the Tiramusi, which was creamy and had the right sweetness.
OVERALL:
I’d give this place 3.5 Stars
I have only amazing things to say about its food, but I wish their portion sizes were a bit bigger. Keep in mind that the restaurant is TINY. I also believe they don’t accept credit cards for payments under $ 15. Cash only!

I do not like to write bad reviews, but this one deserves me spending a couple of minutes and hopefully the owner & chef read it!!!
My wife and I visited this place about 3 years ago and the food was amazing. So we decided to go back while we where in town and try it again and to our surprise the food and service was disappointing.
To start the waitress came to our table and looked my wife up from head to toe as if she was some sort of inspector and was very rude. She took our order and brought our food, my ordered pumpkin ravioli and when they arrived they where mush, over cooked and sitting in a pool of oil which they claimed was butter. We called over who we believe was the owner and she was very defensive about her dish. My wife described that the texture and taste bad and that they where in a pool of oil. She claimed that it was butter but I do not think it was, not with the cost of butter can they afford to give you that much butter!!! I read others who Unilocaled this place and they too complained about the same dish swimming in oil not butter.
They brought her a new dish and the pasta overcooked, it looked like they opened a package of Trader Joe’s and put it in a pan. I order a pizza that might have been better frozen.
Bottom line is that this is not the same place we ate a few years ago. Staff looks burned-​out and they have other people cooking in the kitchen that are just putting out food like robots. Sad to see that this place go down the drain so fast.
Good thing is that we ate some great food the rest of our trip!!!

Really well done food, good service, cool atmosphere and deserving of your business.
I had a great meal but we shared a pizza that was incredible. Thin thin crust just right.

This was my 2^nd visit to L’Osteria and I can’t wait to go back. The first round was back in the Fall/​Winter of 2014. I had the lamb and we enjoyed a lovely wine from a limited run.
This time we opted for the $ 7 martini which, in my opinion, rivals the one form House of Prime rib. I got the Penne Pesto and then after the 2^nd Martini, ordered a pizza to share with SO.
Just a lovely evening. Staff is great and attentive. People who waited for a table knew what they were in for or knew to trust the line.
Can’t wait to go back.

Had a great experience in this lovely cozy restaurant. With the small size you are guaranteed good personal service. I had the special ravioli which was delicious and served very promptly.
Everything on the menu looked delicious and deciding on a choice was hard. Not expensive at all. Would definitely go back again

This was a family run small little joint we stopped in when we wanted a little snack and a glass of wine. We ordered the pesto pizza and it was pretty delicious. Very thin cracker thin crust and the bottom
Part crunchy but still it would fold up and was slightly chewy. I enjoyed it. I would return.

A North Beach treasure for true Italian food. I decided to try a new restaurant, and North Beach can be tricky, location does not mean quality. I decided to restaurant hop and order appetizers for the afternoon. It was nice not to have a hawker trying to sell me on food, the menu sold itself. I decided to try the tuna and bean salad. As I entered in the restaurant I was given a window seat which is often reserved for couples and not the solo diner the gesture won my vote. After looking at the menu, I could not resist the spiedini of lamb with salad and roasted potatoes and butternut squash.
The lamb arrived and it was refreshing to see a generous serving and presented well. The lamb was cooked to perfection, medium rare and was so flavorful. I was intrigued that ginger was used as a seasoning in an Italian dish and it paired so well. The potatoes and squash were roasted nicely and a simple salad with a light dressing made for a great meal. I enjoyed a second glass of wine with chocolate blended with biscotti, another match made in heaven. I ended the meal with an espresso. I reveled in a two hour dining experience that brought me back to Italy.
The service was excellent and Cyrian took extra care to make sure my experience was enjoyable. The ambiance is not forced, and as soon as you enter you are brought into an authentic osteria you would find in Italy. Today is Saturday, and I know where I am returning to on Monday. Next year I will be back!
They do not accept credit cards so be sure to bring cash! They were gracious with my run to the bank!