MATTINA Restaurant
Italian restaurant · Lower Pacific Heights ·
Cal-Italian cafe & restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Cal-Italian cafe & restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
"At the adorable Fillmore restaurant, chef Accarrino offers an ‘Appi Hour’ in the form of a worthy combo — a Vermouth Spritz and Pizza Al Taglio for $20. Plenty of vermouths are on offer to choose from, as well as $2 off wines by the glass. The Spiedini — a perfect happy hour appetizer — are also $1 off. Hours: Thursday through Sunday, 3 to 5 p.m." - Flora Tsapovsky
"Offers an a la carte menu with specials for the night, including takeaway options. No need for a big multi-course menu." - Dianne de Guzman
"Chef Matthew Accarrino of Mattina is offering a selection of pies for the Thanksgiving holiday, with both sweet and savory options, depending on where your tastes lie. There are the requisite Thanksgiving slices, such as Grandma Jean’s pecan pie and a standard(ish) honeynut squash and pumpkin pie, but the options get more intriguing from there. Pick up a green tea swirl ricotta cheesecake, or go all out and order the “pasta pie” — savory pie made of pasta and turkey meatballs — in a full-size ($80) or half-size version ($40). Orders are available via Resy, with pickup available on Wednesday, November 27, from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m." - Dianne de Guzman
"While not everyone would think of chic Italian dining with their dog — though Valencia Street’s Dogue SF is right there for that — Mattina in Pac Heights is happy to fill that niche. The sister restaurant to SPQR around the corner is an all-day cafe with outdoor seating, ideal for pooches." - Dianne de Guzman
"At the Cal-Italian all-day cafe from chef Matt Accarrino, I found a slice of pasta pie that might be the new front-runner for cozy, comforting food in San Francisco. Riffing on the classic Italian timballo (called a timpanò in the film Big Night and previously on the menu at Accarrino’s higher-end restaurant SPQR), Accarrino isn’t trying to be strictly traditional; he takes the dome-shaped idea and encloses the filling inside a pie-crust–like dough made with butter, flour and milk to keep it more pliable. Most often it’s wrapped around noodles, tomato sauce, cheese and tightly packed meatballs the size of a child’s fist, though the kitchen sometimes changes it up—for Easter they offer a Torta Pasqualina–inspired version filled with greens, eggs and ricotta. For anyone who grew up on baked ziti or chicken pot pie, the result is a perfect marriage: tender, buttery dough around warm layers of pasta and cheese, with the meatballs adding heft without landing it in gut-bomb territory. The pasta pie is offered as a special most days at Mattina (there’s a menu at the counter) but is limited in quantity and often sells out; whole pies can be ordered with enough notice. With a cold glass of white wine and a seat in the restaurant’s narrow dining room, a slice can make you forget a bad day or dreary weather." - Lauren Saria