Montesacro Pinseria-Enoteca

Wow. Just Wow. Randomly stumbled across this place and so glad that I did! This was the best flatbread pizza I have ever had. The dough is freshly made and cooked right in the middle of the restaurant. I got the Margherita pizza special and I’m still dreaming of it. I can’t wait to come back to San Francisco just for this pizza. It was THAT good.

Delicious!!! Amazing crust, flavor and vibe. authentic Italian feel right in the middle of SF.

The Best Dinner in SF I’ve had in 2016!
The bustling atmosphere, great service, lovely smells and gorgeous tastes at Montesacro makes one feel transported to bygone times at a homely rural Italian village:-).

Overall 4.5 Star Rating
Décor: ⁴⁄₅
–Small dining area, best for parties of 2
–Gets very warm from the oven
Service: ⁵⁄₅
–from the time we ordered to finishing the pizza, less than 19 mins. Now that’s efficient
–yes to reservations
Food: ⁴⁄₅
–Margherita pinsa ($ 15) dough was light and fluffy. The ingredients were fresh and flavorful however a bit on the pricy side.
–The pinsa comes in an oval shape with a pizza cutter to satisfy both triangle and square pizza eaters.

Make Reservations! Theater nights can fill this small authentic Italian restaurant to capacity!
We ordered the Margarita Pizza, and added Lamb Sausage. This is a thin crusted pizza, made in the Italian fashion, so more about flavor, and no gloppy cheese. Pizza was great!
For dessert, we enjoyed the Chocolate Mousse, and a Vanilla Bean Fennel Panna Cotta. Yummy, yummy!
Our neighbor table enjoyed their food, and it looked great too!

I came to this place because it was close to the Orpheum for a show and it delivered what I wanted. I wouldn’t say this is overhyped, I think it delivers what it claims — a quality pinsa made the way the restaurant claims is a tradition. They also claim the wheat flour is imported from Rome, not sure if that would truly make a total difference.
The lunch special is hard to beat — for only $ 15 you get a salad (subtlely oiled and salted), a beautiful and generously sized margherita pinsa (well cooked with nice chewy dough), and an espresso.
Location is less than desirable on a side street next to a plethora of homeless people. After the sun sets, it may not be the kind of street to walk down for some folks.

Overhyped.
The ambiance is great. Rustic modern interior, servers with a thick Italian accent, fresh pinsas in the oven… I had high hopes.
I remember eating pinsa for the first time in Rome. The perfectly chewy and flavorful dough with fresh rucola and fragrant olive oil left me forever romanticizing Rome.
Unfortunately, the pinsas at montescaro left me feeling like a hopeless romantic still fantasizing about the real deal.
Beet Salad: 3.5 stars — Nothing special, but the quality of the goat cheese was memorable. Slightly underdressed but that is my preference so I welcomed it.
Margherita pinsa: 3.5 stars — meh. As a Margherita pizza fanatic, I can confidently tell you you will find better Margherita pizza in the city from at least three different locations. The dough was underseasoned, and there wasn’t enough tomato sauce or basil. Overall tasted a bit bland. Decent pizza but not worth the hype.
Anchovy pizza: 3 stars — my friend got the anchovy pizza which looked and tasted very similar to mine, but a shit ton saltier. The flavor fell flat for me, maintaining only the one salty note throughout.
Overall, disappointing experience. Might give it another try in a bigger group setting so I can try their meat and cheese plates and a few other dishes.

Amazing pinsas/​pizza! Definitely one of the top 3 in the city, and we eat a lot of pizza.
Unfortunately, the starters were really lackluster– we ordered the porchetta which tasted like store-​bought deli turkey (sigh– maybe it’s unfair to compare to Roli Roti?)– flabby, thiny sliced, cold, slimy. And the «farmers market» salad which was really just $ 9 for a spring mix.
The pizza made up for it though! I will still be back. TL Location had broken glass right out in front, and plenty of homeless/​interesting characters, but still worth the trek.

Loved this place. I’ve had crazy-​good pizza in Rome, and this is the closest to it I’ve had in the States. Even better than Baonecci’s, Tony’s, etc.
THE MARGHERITA pinsa (Mozzarella, Tomato, Basil) gets 5 stars. Our favorite. So simple, so good. The Corviale pinsa (Buffalo Mozzarella, Porcini Mushroom, Lardo, Parsley) was double the price and not nearly as amazing as the former.
Only difference between this and Roman pizza is that they’re slightly heavier on the cheese here, which is understandable given American preferences, but I’d say go for more sauce, less cheese, and let the impeccable crust shine. Because it’s impeccable.
As for the formaggi — out of the selection of cheeses/​meats we ordered, the STRACCHINO — «Delizie Casearie» Puglia-​Italy was the best. The jam it’s paired with *works*. The crostini with housemade veggies was alright, filling. Next time, I’d skip it.
As mostly gluten-​free diners (not Celiac), this place was perfect. The crust is made from mainly non-​wheat flours, and the small amount of wheat flour they do use is friendly: non-​GMO and Italian. We had happy bellies during, and after.
With the Austrian red wine by the glass (really good) and some smooth espressos, we’re talking a European-​style blissed-​out meal. That usually means way-​better-​than-​here. But not anymore! :D

now open on weekends, and quite a unique place — both for its historical oven and antique décor collection as well as introducing pinsa to the area, which is more like a crisp airy bubbly oval flatbread but still with a good chew. Rome inspired, back alley location. 3 people can share two pinsas. light toppings.
Marcella — Burrata, Broccolini, Spicy Pork Sausage — excellent spicy sausage, slightly superior to the lamb sausage
Trullo — Tomato, Lamb Sausage, Mushroom, Yogurt, Mint — also great but a bit much on the yogurt which added a lot of tang. overall good but not able to eclipse the top brick oven pizzas.

Food (⁴⁄₅): Between the 8 of us, we shared 2 tagliere misto platters, 1 radicchio salad, and 5 pinsas. Each platter came with 3 different types of meat and 3 different types of cheeses, all of which were tasty. However, it came with cold bread that could have done with a good toasting. Each platter is a good size for ~3 people. The radicchio salad was just okay, although I don’t think it was a good idea to share it among 8 of us.
The pinsas, however, were really good. Out of the five we got, three were memorable: Maranella (burrata, broccolini, and spicy pork sausage), Carviale (buffalo mozzarella, porcini mushrooms), and Trullo (tomato, lamb sausage, mushroom, yogurt sauce). The crust was light and chewy, but supported the toppings well.
Service (⁵⁄₅): Amazing service — our waiter was friendly and hospitable without being overbearing, and he had some great recommendations for us. The restaurant was also accommodating of our lactose-​intolerance friends!
Value (³⁄₅): As solid as the food was, I think the prices are a bit on the higher side, especially for the quantity of food you get. Each pinsa is basically the size of a personal pizza, so your bill can add up fast if you add appetizers or wine.

We used Unilocal to find this place while we were on vacation. It was a little off the beaten path, so pay attention to the map.
We had a super picky eater with us, and this was very traditional Italian pizza. We told our waitress what our picky friend normally eats, and she recommended something for us. Although hesitant before the first bite, she actually ate practically the whole thing by herself.
Being a non-​picky eater, I loved the spicy sausage and broccolini. Highly recommend.

I am giving this place 3 stars because I was honestly underwhelmed by my experience here. That being said, I do assume that the rave reviews are for a reason and given how close it is to where I live, I do plan to give it a second shot.
First time I tried to come here, it was a week night and fairly crowded. I tried again a few days later when I was working from home and needed to eat lunch. At lunch time, it was not too busy at all (I don’t remember exactly but I think it was a little after normal lunch hours, maybe 1:30).
Tried to start with the eggplant sottoli (marinated eggplant) but they were out so I got zucchini instead. I found it to be very underseasoned and oily. It just needed a lot more salt and a lot more flavor in general. I would like to try the eggplant if they have that in the future, and a few of their salads look interesting as well.
For pinsa (not pizza!), I ordered the Maranella– burrata, pork sausage, and it was supposed to come with broccolini but I think they were out so they used broccoli. The broccoli was not good (it was also not cooked very well) — I think broccolini would have been so much better and I wish they’d told me about this substitution because I would have asked them to leave off the broccoli and/​or substitute another vegetable. The pinsa as a whole was alright, but I was not a huge fan and I think the ingredients just didn’t complement each other well. The best part of it was definitely the burrata. It was very big and pretty filling though– should be enough for 2 people, especially if you get it with an appetizer or one of the cheeses or meats on the menu. I tried the biscotti for dessert as well; it was alright but again, nothing special. I should have probably tried one of the chocolate desserts though, so this was my bad.
Not the best first impression but I am definitely willing to give it another try and order something else. Hopefully the second time will be better and I will understand why people love this spot so much.

The Pinsa was absolutely delicious! A nice mix of salty and sweet. It was very well balanced.
The Tagliere Misto was an excellent sampling of cheeses and meats!
Loved the Cavolo Nero! Dressing was not overwhelming and tasted phenomenal!

Oh my gosh, pinsa is amazing. So light and airy and crispy and delicate. Whichever one you pick, make sure it has a tomato sauce base to it because their tomato sauce is absolutely DIVINE. One full pinsa should be good enough for one moderately hungry person.
I’m a big fan of the Pigneto (tomato, mozzarella, anchovies, and oregano). It’s simple, exotic, and to the point. This pinsa made me fall in love with the concept of anchovies on pizza… not that pinsa is pizza because it’s technically not ;-)
Just how I feel about the ambiance of its sister restaurant, 54 Mint, I absolutely love, love, love the ambiance of Montesacro. Rustic but modern, metal chairs, slightly loud, and there is a huge, electric vintage oven in the back. Italian farmhouse takes on an artsy, retro 1980’s garage?
With its novel concept and successful execution, restaurant is always very busy. Unfortunately, service is quite slow too.

There are VERY few things I’ll brave the Tenderloin for, and even fewer things I’ll brave the TL for at night. But, after having pinsa (which isn’t the same as pizza) at Montesacro, it’s absolutely something I’m willing to add to list. I don’t pretend to know or understand the difference between pinsa and pizza, but honestly, the food here is good enough to where I know I’m willing to come back and try it again to figure it out.
My husband and I were fed up with Thanksgiving leftovers and decided that we needed something that looked nothing like turkey and sweet potatoes. Montesacro had been on my To Try list for awhile now, and knowing that the day after Thanksgiving usually means that restaurants aren’t always open, we went with what was available in Montesacro. We made a reservation for dinner and much to my surprise, this place was PACKED. After perusing through the menu by our server (who was just as authentic and Italian as the décor and ingredients), we decided to go with the Pecorino Calabrese Riserva cheese and Finocchiona Salumi to start, and shared the Margherita and Maranella Pinsas. For two (very) hungry adults, this was definitely the right amount of food to share. Between the two pinsas, I definitely loved the Margherita. The Maranella was good, and if you like spicy, this is definitely one you should consider. It was a little too spicy for me, but I know my husband loved it.
Service wise, dinner moved at a fairly slow pace. I know we shouldn’t always be in a hurry to eat, but when pinsas are being dished out right behind you and you can’t wait to dig into the delicious looking flatbread that’s been slathered in sauce, cheese and toppings, it’s hard to not want your food ASAP. Some people complain about the fact that the pinsa doesn’t come pre-​sliced, but honestly, what’s wrong with working for your food just a little bit? I loved our entire meal here, and will absolutely brave all the craziness and weirdos that 6^th/​7^th Street & Market has to offer for dinner at Montesacro.

This place was incredible, absolutely incredible! The alley where it is located looks like it is straight out of Italy, but just don’t venture out to the main road because it’s a little dicey. The male waiter and lady who helped us were beyond nice. Ok, food time…
We ordered 2 salads to share between 3 people, and there was plenty! The salads are actually a decent size. One salad was with baby beets and goat cheese, where the other was arugula, pear and blue cheese. We ordered the meat and cheese plate, with 3 types of cheese and wild boar, prosciutto, and speck. The presentation was delightful and tasted amazing.
Ok ok ok the «pinsa». Tasted a lot like pizza, haha. Was freaking delicious. I think it was the best crust I’ve ever had, and I imagine it is how pizza is done in Italy. We got 2 pizzas and it was perfect between the 3 of us with the other food too. One pizza had lardo and mushrooms and buffalo mozzarella, and the other had prosciutto and artichoke hearts and hard boiled egg. I would definitely return to this place, and I recommend you try this if you’re going to sf

I loved the pizzas (or more accurately, pinsas) at Montesacro and can’t wait to come back.
The crostini with anchovies ($ 13) and robiola ($ 6) were delicious. The porchetta was seriously divine. The 4 of us shared 3 pizzas — the corviale (buffalo mozzarella, porcini mushrooms, lardo, parsley — $ 22), maranella (burrata, broccolini, spicy pork sausage — $ 18), and margherita ($ 15). All of them were pretty much perfect. The corviale and maranella were white pizzas, which often end up being too dry at other restaurants, but they were just right. If I had to pick a favorite of the 3 pinsas, I’d pick the maranella.
The only drawback was that we waited more than half an hour for our table. I had so much wine I lost track of the time, but under other circumstances, I might have been pretty irritated. The staff were really apologetic.

This place isn’t bad. We came here on a last-​minute weekend double date with a reservation a couple of months ago. We started with the Sott’oli, veggies marinated in oil and spice. 3 for $ 12. Good enough for an appetizer, something different. For our main course, we ordered 3 different pinsas (the Centocelle, the Margherita, and the Montesacro I believe). They were light, the ingredients were fresh, though in our opinion, nothing really blew us away. And while we’re talking about pinsas, which apparently use a different combination of flour than regular pizza, my partner and I were still kind of iffy since pinsa basically just tastes like thin-​crust pizza. I wasn’t a huge fan that there were several burnt portions. And at how many of them it took to fill us up, I wasn’t a big fan of the prices either.
The service was attentive and friendly, but also dreadfully slow. The space has that dimly-​lit, mostly minimalist, just enough European-​ish touches to be interesting vibe to it. The grit of the surrounding neighborhood I think is one of the restaurant’s coolest features. I wouldn’t write home about the pizza (oops… strikethrough…) pinsa. But maybe we just came on an off night. Willing to try it again.

this place was super legit! i had put off visiting because it’s in an area of town that i dont typically frequent — but i took my parents here they first night they were in town and they reallly enjoyed it too! lots of good beers and wines to wash your pinsa down with as well!
we got — radicchio salad with almonds, pinsa of the daily (burrata and potato) and the maranella with spicy sausage and broccolini — delicious combination! the crusts on the pinsa were perfect — thin but with a good bite, and chewy around edges. it was also my first time having potato as a pizza topping, and it was nicely done. potatoes were soft and yum! service was attentive and friendly too. i’d love to come back and try their panini’s at lunch time!

What a great find! Thank you Unilocal for showing me this place because I would have never discovered it on my own! Was in the Union Square area and was looking for a good restaurant to satisfy my hunger and I came upon this place. After reading just a couple of reviews, I was convinced and headed down to the sketchy 6^th street. Right as we approached the restaurant, I could smell the aromas of the freshly bakes Pinsas and I couldn’t wait to eat.
We ordered a couple of glasses of Italian wine — nothing looked too familiar on the menu so we just asked our server for recommendations. The only thing that was really important about this meal were the Pinsas — they were delicious! When you first look at the menu as a Vegetarian, it looks like most of them have meat, but they are very accommodating and will substitute meats for veggies if you ask! We ordered the Centocelle without the prosciutto and Maranella substituting the sausage for eggplant. My favorite of the two was the Centocelle — all the veggies and egg mixed with the flavorful red sauce created a perfect dish which I would definitely recommend! The Maranella was good, but not amazing. In my opinion, it didn’t have as much flavor as the other one, but the sausage probably makes it better. 2 pinsas was just the right amount of food for 2 famished people. One interesting thing is the pinsas don’t come cut into pieces; instead, you have to cut them yourself with a pizza cutter that is provided.
We were unbelievably full after eating the pinsa, but we didn’t want to stop there. We ended up ordering the buidino for dessert and it was PERFECT! Best end to a great meal!
Come here for a hole-​in-​the-​wall-​ish dining experience! It’s a smaller restaurant in an alley way with amazing food; definitely an experience to be had!

Hmmm… you may be thinking on google maps, it only shows its a block away from the Westfield Mall. I’m here to tell you that it’s a long block filled with quite interesting individuals. I would recommend taking a über, lyft, taxi if possible. It really is in an interesting alley/​area.
Restaurant is very charming, reminds me of being in a rustic Italian café that you would see in Rome/​Florence. The place is known for their cured meats, cheeses, and their version of a flatbread pizza. We ordered the roasted pork, the grilled veggies, and the meatball pizza. All were very good. The place is small but it’s not as inexpensive as it looks.
Definitely a «hidden little gem» in SF.

After a short walk through the gritty part of 6^th Street, we found the restaurant in the alley adjacent to Dottie’s.
As soon as we walked through the front door, we were transported to a warm and rustic place in Italy.
Our waiter, Jose, recommended a bottle of light red that was perfect for our meal.
My husband and I started out with the watermelon salad – which was refreshing and delicious. We also had tastes of the bresola and manchego cheese.
We then tried the Montesacro Pinsa –A M A Z I N G~!
It wouldn’t have been our first choice, but again, Jose was great with his recommendations.
The Straciatella was so yummy, and the crust was crunch and chewy at the same time. We polished the Pinsa in no time.
Our plan is make this our regular date night rotation – but order two pinsas instead of one!

Loved this new pinsa and the new make up of the dough which consisted of rice, soy and wheat flour.
All the pinsas had fresh ingredients and they all tasted great. Came with a group and everyone finished everything.
I hope they open one in Los Angeles soon it would do so well.

Pizza (ish) restaurant in the same alley as Dottie’s off of 6^th. Same owners as 54 Mint.
Porchetta — ³⁄₅ — Sliced thin, lots of olive oil.
Infernetto — ⁴⁄₅ — Has some kick to it, nduja is tasty. Unique topping.
Quadraro — ²⁄₅ — Tasted like standard pizza.
Overall, I know they claim it’s not pizza but it’s just too similar not to lump it in the same category. Although I don’t think I would return, Montesacro is definitely «A-​OK.»

I just left this place, and I’m already craving their pizza. We only had two pizzas. And honestly, I would have the same two again.
Their crust, yes… that scrumptious crust. They let their dough rise for 3 – 4 days. Most pizza places only let the dough rise over night or 2 days at most. This place has the most moist, fluffy, and crunchy crust. That mozzarella here is so superbly delicate and salty that my mouth waters at the thought of each bite. Their arugula is fresh and the pizza slicer at every table makes me so pleased that I don’t have to cut the pizza with a knife.
This place is new and will probably get popular real fast. Definitely a contender for the pizza places in the city.

I’ve never had pinsa before and I was curious to check this place out to see how it differed from classic «pizza.» To be honest, I’m not sure if I see a distinct difference, as it just tasted like fluffy, delicious crust! I can’t say that’s a bad thing either.
It’s too bad it’s located in a sketchy part of town, as I’d be happy to frequent it more often if it were not. The inside is pleasant and home-​y feeling though. We got the melon & prosciutto appetizer which was delicious, albeit a bit pricey, and then went on to try the quadraro pinsa with pancetta, tomato, pecorino, and red onion. The crust was wonderfully fluffy and chewy, but I do wish they were more generous with the toppings. Next time I’ll try the maranella as that looked delicious.
It looked pretty busy on Saturday night but we were able to get seated for 2 with minimal fuss; they also have a great selection of wine and beer. Definitely a worthy choice if you happen to be near the mall/​mid-​Market.

Area? Yeah, totally sketch.
Food? Totally worth it.
Nothing good comes easy. That may be my number one mantra.
The only thing that’s easy here is… eating.
Take Über or take a cab; no parking & you don’t want to be walking around here at night. You don’t even want to be walking around here in the daytime for that matter. Actually, hell, I don’t even like to DRIVE around here in the daytime… but I digress.
Romance? It’s in an alley. Like Bix. Like Claude (Café Claude, who opened Gitane, in the same alley…). Incidentally, after having dinner here, we went to Bix for drinks… can you say perfect night?!
Food? They serve PINSA. No other restaurant in San Francisco serves PINSA.
What is PINSA? Simply, think pizza, only way better. A fresh, light, clean crust. Pizza, streamlined. We were told by the owner, Gianluca, that despite everyone comparing their pinsa to pizza, the only thing the two actually have in common are the toppings.
Apparently, it’s all about that crust.
Funny. I’ve been saying that for years.
However you define it, pinsa is friggin fabulous.
They only opened 9 ½ weeks ago. In that time, they have everyone going to the most unsavory neighborhood that is 6^th & Market…& not even caring.
The space is minimal & rustic. No frills. Thank God. It has a sort of food hall feel, despite the small size. The great Federico Fellini himself would want to film here. I’ve read several reviews that said eating here reminded them of eating in Rome. Enough said.
We started w the prosciutto & melon & the caprese salad. The melon is organic. It was divine. Perfectly tender. And sweet. The best I’ve ever had.
The mozzarella in the caprese was also perfection. Salty, crisp, smooth in all the right places.
The Porchetta. I had to order it. So should you. Oh so tender & oh so crisp.
3 pinsas we ordered… Collatina, Maranella, & Quadraro.
The Collatina… the freshest buffalo mozzarella, greens, & cherry tomato. They put the toppings on after the crust is made. So, the toppings are not cooked or even heated. My friend Marla said it reminded her of the pizza she had when she lived in Rome. Props, major… for that.
The Maranella. Burrata, broccolini, & spicy pork sausage. White sauce. Delicioso. Just please do it. BUT!!! If you only order one pinsa? Then it HAS to be the Quadraro…
The Quadraro. Wow. The hands down Star. Tomato, red onion, pancetta, & pecorino. Really, ORDER THIS. The red sauce was POETICALLY GOOD. As in, they should bottle it good.
Service? Not perfect, but not far off. I’m only saying this because my friend, Guido, (Marla’s husband) made the comment… our waiter recommended a wine for us that wasn’t Italian?! What?! He’s right, though. Dude, if you’re gonna push something on the wine list here, push the Italian wines for chrisake.
There’s only 12 tables. And one of those is a large group table. Make a reservation.
5 stars.