Cotogna
Italian restaurant · North Beach
490 Pacific Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133
Highlights
Hand-rolled pastas, wood-fired cooking, and farm-fresh ingredients
Hand-rolled pastas, wood-fired cooking, and farm-fresh ingredients
"Cotogna in Jackson Square has simple, fresh, and consistently delicious food. This place is perfect for date night, special occasions, or lunches when you call in “sick”/decide to abuse the unlimited time-off policy at work. Maybe it’s the dim lights, the brick walls, the wood oven firing away in the back, or the perfect pasta—or the whole package—but Cotogna has the kind of romantic feeling a lot of places try to fake, but can’t. Reservations are released 30 days in advance on SevenRooms. Or you can walk up and try to go for a seat at the bar. If you want to avoid the dinner rush, come during lunch when it’s less busy—they serve mostly the same menu." - julia chen 1, lani conway, patrick wong
"The ricotta-filled raviolo from Cotogna has a cult following, like Croc charms. It’s face-sized, highly photogenic, and the yolk inside oozes out like lava when you cut it open. Unsurprisingly, it’s also one of the best pastas on the menu, and only one reason to get to this Italian spot in Jackson Square. One more? Incredible, seasonally changing pastas, like corn triangoli and sunchoke tortello, that’ll miraculously ease your anxieties about the passage of time. Reservations are released 30 days in advance on SevenRooms. Or you can walk up and try to go for a seat at the bar. If you want to avoid the dinner rush, come during lunch when it’s less busy—they serve mostly the same menu." - julia chen 1, lani conway, patrick wong
"Cotogna is a celebration of rustic Italian cuisine and offers a daily-changing menu of spit-roasted or grilled meats and fish, wood-oven pizzas and house-made pastas. Cotogna ('quince' in Italian) is a casual, lively and a complement to the adjoining Quince Restaurant, Chef Michael Tusk’s celebrated fine dining establishment." - Volume
"Though rustic compared to high-end sibling Quince just next door, Michael and Lindsay Tusk’s casual offshoot would be elegant by any other standard. It's quintessentially Italian with exposed brickwork, a gleaming copper counter and bar, and wooden tables. The space is designed around a display kitchen, from which crispy pizzas and savory roasted meats emerge. The menu highlights Chef Tusk's flawless pastas, like agnolotti del plin, stuffed with tender rabbit, veal, and pork, or the rigatoni with guanciale, chanterelle mushrooms, and pistachio. Seasonal appetizers like kale and radicchio salad in a tangy vinaigrette are equally delicious, as is the antipasti platter. The plum and ginger torta is moist and delicious, but those sweet, ripe plums steal the show." - Michelin Inspector
"Go to Cotogna on a weekday, and the Italian spot will be full of people finding refuge from the Financial District over great pastas and small plates. But at night, the wood-fired oven, friendly staff, and exposed brick wall make this place perfect for dates. Make sure the giant raviolo filled with ricotta and perfectly runny egg yolk are on your table, along with a board of prosciutto and gnocco fritto. Reservations are released 30 days in advance on SevenRooms. Or you can walk up and try to go for a seat at the bar. If you want to avoid the dinner rush, come during lunch when it’s less busy—they serve mostly the same menu." - julia chen 1, lani conway, ricky rodriguez, patrick wong
