Trattoria Contadina

I used to love this place. Service is still great but food was way off tonight. Had veal scampi– shrimp were rubbery and veal was tough. Both over cooked. Too bad… this place used to rock.

After 23 years of living in North Beach, I finally gave this restaurant a chance & was NOT disappointed. The only thing I tried on the menu was the Pesto gnocchi (can NEVER go wrong with pesto) and it was delicious. Came on time for my reservation but was asked to wait at the bar while they got our table ready. Table preparation took a while otherwise service was lovely. The restaurant is tiny and tables are very close to each other so I did feel a little cramped. I could hear our neighbor’s conversation a bit TOO clearly. Other than that, I’ll definitely be back to try other things on the menu.

Very nice, Italian restaurant with friendly and helpful staff. Not too loud. Has the kind of ambiance whee neighboring diners chat with each other. Really glad I found this place.

First of all, great service. Second, the food was fantastic — and by that, I mean absolutely amazing. The mussels were fantastic, the entrees were amazing, the tiramisu was great and even the bread and wine were good. This place is a far cry from a tourist trap and the prices are reasonable too! I strongly recommend this restaurant.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the Trattoria. We have lived in Italy and eaten a lot of great food, and this place is very authentic. The service was fantastic and everyone was so accommodating and nice! Being from the South, we enjoy hospitality :)

Had some wine and dinner and watched the trolley go by a few times. What a nice place! We had reservations and I think that’s a must!

Italian fare that’s executed well and is just the right portion given the quality and price — for example, my namesake, the Vincenzo, which is a fettucine dish topped with sausage, peppers, onions, olives, and tomato sauce. A simple, satisfying, honest-​to-​goodness dish. The venue itself is a cozy, intimate neighborhood joint that reminds me a lot of my favorite trattorias from my time living in NYC. Good food, good wine, and good times all around.

Italian food is about either out of the world quality, or mind blowing portions. Trattoria misses on both. But let’s start from the beginning of this experience.
Came in here because wife wanted a nice sit down place. Seated suitably fast, although in a corner. They were nice enough to bring crayons for my daughter, ok, so far so good.
Both of us thought the bread was cold, so that could’ve been better. Olive oil was meh… So, not off to a great start, the Mista salad was your standard mixed green salad. Nothing spectacular, for $ 9.5, ⁵⁄₁₀ on the honesty scale, my daughter.
Ordered the spaghetti with meat balls and the Carlesimo. And when my daughter said: «am I ever going to get my dinner.» I was ready to knock off another star. Luckily, dinner came here seconds after that.
The portions were relatively tiny for the pricing they were charging, Bucca had better size. So, I was expecting something quite out of this world as far as the pasta is concerned. The spaghetti with meatball was just plain, so not really special. The Carlesimo was something other Unilocalers raved about, but I thought the noodles were a little too tough. They did get the spices right, so wasn’t a complete disappointment, overall, I would hope if the noodles were boiled a little longer, it would be just about right.
My overall opinion of Italian restaurants is that they were either mind blowing in terms of quality or they overwhelmed you with portions. The best case is that you get both. Trattoria missed on both opportunities, only the reasonable services redeemed this place.

Your typical Italian restaurant, the food was good but didn’t stand out to me. The atmosphere is very cozy in this little spot, there’s also upstairs seating
They give you complementary bread and olive oil to start off with while you wait for your food. It would’ve been better if the bread wasn’t cold.
— Fruitti di Mare
spaghetti with clams, mussels, snapper, calamari, prawns, scallops in a tomato sauce
— Osso Buco
red wine and tomato braised lamb shank, served with saffron risotto and peas.
Portions are shareable and recommended!

Not worth of your money. Nothing is authentic or Italian. The only decent wine is the sangiovese.
Save your money
The service is nice, hence the two starts

Phenomenal pasta. Came here because a friend was visiting from out of town and the four of us split a bunch of dishes.
Family style is far and away the way to go. The pasta isn’t too heavy and is bursting with flavor, I’ll definitely be back.
The Carlesimo is a must try.

Run if a Moscow mule comes in a glass, Trattoria Contadina serves theirs in a copper mug so we were off to a good start!
I had their house speciality, the Carlesimo, which was cooked perfectly al dente and hot when it came out. The pasta itself looked like big macaroni with a spicy tomato crime sauce, mushrooms, pancetta, and peas. I was worried about how spicy the sauce is because I’m a wimp, but I wouldn’t say it’s spicy at all. So if you’re really looking for a kick, I would ask the waiter to bump up the hear for ya. But it was utterly delicious, I would order this again for sure.
Really cozy vibes, a little bit of a blast to the past with the wood paneling, but well decorated and clean! Great service as well.

I feel as though I have been blessed with the ability to use language in a fashion that allows me to communicate ideas in a way that people may easily understand. I’m not claiming to be Hemingway or Joyce. I’m just saying. So, it frustrating that I don’t seem to be able to organize the appropriate words to describe the Salvatore Chicken Ravioli that I just ravished at Trattoria Contadina. So, here is my straight forward assessment of the meal I just had: this might be the best Ravioli dish I have ever had.
Imagine a flavor and texture that tastes the way that fine silk might feel when pulled across your exposed skin. That’s as close as I can come to describing it. I did not try anything else on the menu because it would have felt like cheating.
I met Vince, the founder’s grandson, and he was great. Professional, friendly and diligent. He clearly has great pride in the restaurant and is a wonderful ambassador. The atmosphere was «neighborly» and appropriately vibrant for this neighborhood spot.
I loved it and I’ll be back.

A very small and unique place with a full bar. A huge range of whiskey selections (not much of Japanese whiskeys though). They need to work on their cocktail menu since there’s only about 10 on the list. They have quick service but servers were not too friendly or social.
We ordered the clams and mussels as appetizers and it was nicely done. Very tasty; there’s a garlic taste but not too strong that it takes away the taste from the seafood. We also had the chicken ravioli in a cream sauce. It’s a super simple dish, but their special cream sauce made a huge difference. The chicken inside the tiny raviolis are so soft and tender and it goes well with the sauce. Last but not least, we ordered the «carlesimo» which is just simply pasta, peas, and sun dried tomatoes, but they did a good job. It’s in a semi spicy tomato sauce. It’s not spicy to me so I wish they could’ve made it more spicy. I’ll come back next time and try other items on their menu.

My friend and I were craving Italian food really badly. Bella Trattoria was closed, so we ended up driving all the way to North Beach to try out this spot.
We came here on a pretty slow weekday night, so we got seated immediately. I liked that this place was small yet cozy. We really liked how everything was set up in the restaurant.
We had the Eggplant with tomato sauce for the appetizer. The eggplant was cooked well and the sauce complimented it. I just thought this dish was okay.
For entrees, my friend ordered the Carlesimo and I had the Pavarotti. The rigatoncelli in the Carlesimo resembled macaroni but super sized. The sauce was pretty good but it wasn’t that special for me. The Pavarotti was a huge disappointment. Instead of a cream sauce, the sauce was super thin and there wasn’t much of it. The dish tasted super bland, like they didn’t use any salt or flavoring in it.
Overall, I just think this place has bland food. It doesn’t have enough flavor for me. I probably wouldn’t come back.

My husband and I had such a wonderful dining experience here last night! We’ve lived down the street from this place for 6 years and have never been in; we always talk about going, but then get distracted by shiny new restaurants. The rainy weather had me craving some warm Italian food, so we decided to head over around 5:30. We got sat in the cozy upstairs section, which was already half-​filled with diners. Our server was incredibly bubbly and personable; she recommended a bunch of her favorite dishes and even let me sample one of the wines that I was interested in.
We ordered the special burrata dish which featured persimmons and prosciutto. It was honestly one of the best burrata dishes I’ve ever had, and I will definitely try making this for our next dinner party. My husband ordered the special tortellini dish. The pasta was stuffed with beef and was covered in a pea and prosciutto cream sauce. It was incredibly tasty and I loved the nutmeg flavor. I ordered the the polpettine (spaghetti and meatballs) and was very impressed with the dish. I tend to judge most Italian restaurants by this dish, because it can be very hit or miss. The meatballs were delicious, and the tomato sauce had a lot of flavor. My one complaint was how much garlic was in the meatballs; I felt like the garlic was coming out of my pores three hours later.
I can’t wait to come back here for dinner. It’s a great date night spot, as well as a place to bring family and friends. I’m so glad that this gem is in our neighborhood!

Note: The Unilocal dinner menu is slightly different than the current dinner menu at the restaurant. Some items that are recommended here by everyone on Unilocal aren’t on the menu, but can be ordered there.
Anyway, this is the cutest little Italian neighborhood gem! I love that it’s slightly tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Columbus Ave, but also only a block away from it if you want to go for a post-​dinner stroll.
This restaurant is perfect for a romantic date night! We went for dinner early at 5:45pm on a Friday night and were able to be seated immediately, luckily! …because it seemed they were actually fully booked with reservations for the rest of the night.
We had the meatballs (must, must, must!) and mista salad to start. Both perfect! Then, my boyfriend got the Vincenzo (I snuck a few bites –the sausage is amazing and the sauce has a spicy kick!) and I got the Correnti (super creamy and delicious). For dessert, we shared the Mocha Fango with an espresso each. Absolutely incredible! We kept the wine flowing throughout dinner too, and it was one of the best overall meals we’ve had :)

I love this little neighborhood gem. I had a reservation on a Friday night and was seated immediately. The restaurant has a very homey, comfortable ambiance and you sit so close to your neighbor that you can smell their food (not complaining).
I had the gnocchi and… it was delicious. The sauce is so flavorful and you want to dip your bread in your plate until nothing is left.
I couldn’t decide between a few wines on the menu so the waiter let me test the wines until I was satisfied. I ended up with a Montepulciano that complimented the gnocchi nicely.
This is the type of restaurant where’d I’d like to become a regular!

My boyfriend took me to this cute place for a date night. I have been craving Italian food and he read my mind :)
We came here for dinner and it was pretty packed once we got there around 7, but thank god we made reservations. Service was great, the place is pretty small, so tables are squeezed together, but it’s okay we can all get real personal and intimate.
I had their meatballs and their signature and famous carlesimo. Meatballs were very good, highly recommend. They were juicy and well cooked. The carlesimo was delicious, definitely satisfied by tummy :) It was very creamy.

Amazing little trattoria tucked away in North Beach. Came here on Saturday evening reservation and we were seated a couple of minutes early. After deliberation we ordered the Rigantoncelli alla Carlesimo and Vongole (spaghetti with white wine sauce and seafood). The Vongole is a more traditional dish, but it was probably the best white wine sauce and seafood spaghetti dish I’ve ever had. Other restaurants tend to make it too watery due to the clams, but Trattoria Contadina cooked it perfectly. The Rigatoncelli was very heavy (perfectly al dente and chewy) as the pasta itself was large and the sauce was tomato cream, but still DELICIOUS. I savored every bite of both pastas and would order them again in a heartbeat.
For drinks, I got the Bee’s Knees cocktail and the bf got a Barbera red. Both were delicious! For dessert, we got the Mocha Fango, which is a mocha gelato cake with an oreo type chocolate crust. Very cutely plated, large portioned (good to share) and sooo good.
Already planning the next time I come back :)