Caffe Macaroni

Caffè Macaroni is our favorite restaurant in all of San Francisco. It's a little-known gem, serving delicious Neapolitan food, out of a teeny tiny kitchen.Make sure you get the limoncello cake for dessert, it's not printed on the menu, and we ate it before I had a chance to take a picture.

Saved my 1,300th review for a special place: Caffe Macaroni.I chose this restaurant because it was unique and quintessentially San Francisco to celebrate my son's 17th birthday. Caffe Macaroni is the kind of restaurant where you can go enjoy a great meal, no need to drop a lot of money, yet the food, experience and location are top flight. Caffe Macaroni isn't priced "For Special Occasion Only" yet the meal is everything you'd ever want for dining out. In fact, the restaurant was populated by people who come twice a month or once a week. It truly is that good. The owners were enjoying a glass of wine at the sidewalk table when we walked up. They seated us at the beautiful banquette overlooking Columbus. There's also a parklet to accommodate more tables.And the food, ah.. so, so amazing and authentically Italian.We started with the daily special appetizer, Tagliere, a generous board of mortadella, capocollo, tarelli, prosciutto and olives drizzled with fine olive oil and lightly dusted with peperoncino, delicious. We also ordered the yellowtail carpaccio with lemon, olive oil, red onion and capers. Onto the pasta plate: Ravioli Pecorata ($19.50): Delicious homemade ravioli filled with ricotta in tomato sauce drizzled with pesto, perfection on a plate.The showstopper was my son's dinner: Porkett e Fnucch ($27.95): Finely sliced pork belly and loin with fresh fennel, rosemary and lemon zest. It melted in your mouth and made you wonder how you'd eat pork prepared any other way.I had the gorgeous, perfectly rare ribeye over a bed of wild arugula with pecorino and lemon ($31.50). Every bite was savory. And of course, cake, Meyer lemon and a specialty of the House with a complimentary shot of limoncello for mama. We strolled back to our car, marveled at the meal we just enjoyed and looked up at the beautiful TransAmerica building. I felt lucky to have a wonderful child, live in this beautiful city and to have enjoyed a perfect meal. You must come!

Lovely place, lovely food, lovely staff and owners. Hoped for a bigger portion of the gnocchi dish but it was satisfyingly filling

Cafe Macaroni on Columbus is a solid spot for great food. The dishes are consistently excellent, and you can tell a lot of care goes into the preparation. The owner/chef is always present and incredibly kind, which adds a nice personal touch to the experience.

This is a North Beach gem. It's limited on indoor seating but they've been able to expand outdoors in a parklet. There is a roof and plenty of heaters, so don't let SF weather deter you from checking this place out. I loved the baby octopus spaghetti. The octopus was cooked to perfection - tender and flavorful without being rubbery. Paired with perfectly al dente spaghetti and a rich, mouthwatering sauce, this dish was a symphony of textures and tastes.And they have more than just great food. The owner and his wife truly elevate the dining experience. We had the pleasure of chatting with Stephanie, the owner's wife, who was incredibly friendly. Their genuine warmth and passion for their restaurant make the meal even better.

A very tiny inside Italian restaurant. We sat outside and enjoyed the great service. Dishes were portioned and priced well to allow a diner to try multiple items. Enjoyed the Burrata, Carpaccio, Sicilian cod special and Tiramisu.

I asked the counter guy if I could borrow a chair from his outdoor area and bring it a door down to the next door restaurant so my 93 year old relative could sit down for 10 minutes until that restaurant opened. Without hesitation, he said yes. I took his chair, which was then out of his line of vision and brought it next door before returning it once the restaurant had opened. The fact that he trusted me and was more concerned about my 93 year old relative than his chair shows the care this restaurant affords to people who are not even their customers yet. I will definitely check this restaurant out next and recommend them for the warmth and care they exude.

This place is great. Felt like an Italian grandma was cooking for me (which isn't far from the truth!)Squid ink seafood pasta (5/5)Panna cotta (3/5)FOODWas very pleasantly surprised with the pasta dish. The sauce was super delicious and the seafood was plentiful. The seafood from the shrimp, to the mussels, to the clams were cooked perfectly. The pasta was a perfect al dente. The sauce was so delicious I mopped up all of it with the bread they gave.The dessert was a bit more disappointing. The flavor of the panna cotta was excellent, however the cherry syrup was too artificial tasting and honestly reminded me of cough syrup. And once I bit into the sugar syrup dunked cherry on top it was game over - my entire palette was ruined. A shame really. Next time I'll get the tiramisu!SERVICEThe man who served me was your classic Italian uncle through and through. Very kind and attentive to everything I needed (I think he may have owned the place). Could not have been happier with the service.AMBIANCEI thought the inside of the restaurant looked a bit dingy and outdated. However, the outside had a nice seating area and that's where I chose to dine. Overall, not a great date spot if you're looking to impress, however excellent spot if you're looking for a no frills Italian joint.

I dined here last night with friends.we were WELCOMED and seated promptly.the owners Mario and Stephanie were SOO nice and friendly(it's me Mario,who owns the bar in the Richmond district)we had..the most amazing mealburrata,carpaccio,rockfish a beautiful Caesar salad(with real egg yolk)plus various pastas.one of the best dining experiences I've ever hadand to top it off Mario treated us to 3 tasty dessertsthank you so muchI'll be back

Outstanding! This is a gem. You will not find any place like it anywhere. Mario and Stephanie make you feel like family. The food is unmatched. Once upon a time there were family owned and Italian restaurants all over town. Even then Caffe Macaroni would stand out as exceptionally excellent. Today, no other place even comes close. I will return soon, and again...