Pausa Bar & Cookery
Italian restaurant · San Mateo ·
House-cured salumi, wood-fired pizzas, fresh pastas, great cocktails
House-cured salumi, wood-fired pizzas, fresh pastas, great cocktails
"Thanks to its modern setting and late hours (by San Mateo standards, at least), a growing crowd of smart couples and tech types flock to this San Mateo sweetie. Everyone is here for the authentic Italian eats from Chef/co-owner Andrea Giuliani, who dishes up the cuisine of his native Veneto.The dining room has a view of the charcuterie-aging room and those artistically presented salumi boards of fennel-flecked finocchiona and exceptional salame al parmigiano. The wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas are equally strong—try the porchetta variation, topped with gorgonzola and radicchio. Of course, the pastas don’t disappoint either: spinach spaghetti amatriciana with house-cured guanciale, piennolo tomatoes, calabrian chilies, and pecorino is downright perfect." - Michelin Inspector
"For those looking for a unique variety of pizza and pasta, Pausa has you covered. The restaurant relies on local, organic ingredients while staying true to the Italian craft of pizza making. All of the pasta, bread, and pizza dough are made in-house with flour imported from Italy, in a dedicated “dough room” that guests can peer into. Pausa is also the third restaurant in California that’s licensed to produce its own cured meats, so don’t skip out on the Butcher’s Board, a selection of various salumi cuts. The menu changes seasonally, but some of the consistent favorites are the Margherita pizza and pork sausage ragu." - Cathy Park
"Sekoya is the newest restaurant from Steve Ugur, the co-owner of San Mateo’s Pausa, and he’s running this restaurant alongside his uncle Sean Ugur, a restaurateur in his own right who was a part-owner of Cafe Pro Bono just a few blocks away on Birch Street for 18 years." - Paolo Bicchieri
"I note that Pausa Bar & Cookery in San Mateo, co‑opened by Steve Ugur, has been recognized by Michelin as a Bib Gourmand five times since opening in 2018 and was named a top Italian restaurant by Gambero Rosso. It became the third restaurant in the state licensed to cure its own meat, which made it hugely popular among salami and charcuterie fanatics, and its pizzas use dough shipped from Italy that’s crafted in a “dough room” where guests can peek at the process. Ugur — who grew up in San Mateo working in his family’s businesses and spent time doing butchery at Harris Steakhouse in 2013 — helped shape these house practices." - Paolo Bicchieri
"Rustic Italian pastas, wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas, and charcuterie reflect chef-owner Andrea Giuliani’s native Veneto." - Dianne de Guzman, Clair Lorell, Paolo Bicchieri
