Il Casaro Pizzeria & Mozzarella Bar - North Beach

Il Casaro Pizzeria & Mozzarella Bar in North Beach was the perfect dinner spot for my family of four on NYE. We wanted a casual spot to do an early dinner after exploring the city all day.We arrived at 4:45pm and were able to get seated immediately. Our waitress was attentive and helpful in getting our order placed. We enjoyed the Norma pizza, the Margherita and the Diavola pizza.The pizza crust had the perfect combo of that crisp and chewy that a good Neapolitan style pizza should have. We did not leave any behind. Thank you Il Casaro Pizzeria & Mozzarella Bar for a wonderful final meal of 2024. We look forward to dining with you again in the future.

Honestly, I was very surprised how well this pizza came out. I feel like many of the restaurants in little Italy are tourist traps and I thought this restaurant would be one of them, but I'm happy to say I stand corrected. They have a wood fire oven inside the restaurant and it smelled like fresh baked dough when you walk into the restaurant. I was famished when I sat down to order. I came at 9 or 10 pm on Sunday night and it wasn't packed, which meant I sat down fairly quickly. I ordered the ll casaro because I wanted mushrooms (to feel a little healthy) and prosciutto (for protein). I enjoyed my pizza, it was fresh and hot out the wood fire oven and it smelled divine. You can ask them for chili oil if you want to have a little more kick to your pizza. Personally, I would've loved my pizza more charred or crispy but I thought it was fine. It wasn't burnt at the bottom and it had a nice bite/chew to it. It held up fantastically, so you know I don't have soggy pizza! The pizza itself had a nice flavor, the mushrooms were cooked perfectly (not watery) and the prosciutto was thinly sliced to perfection. I highly recommend this pizza if you enjoy mushrooms!!! Is this the best wood fire pizza I had? No. But it's probably top 10 in my list. Give this place a try ! It's not a tourist trap, at least with the pizza. When I come back to SF I would definitely eat here again.

Stopped in for a quick lunch and there was no wait. Service was fast and the food came out quickly. The North Beach area is very lively and there was a Lunar New Year festival going on in nearby Chinatown that day so there was a lot going on!The pizza was good and my boyfriend and I enjoyed it but they put a little too much of the calabrian chili oil on my pizza and it completely overpowered the pizza. I would recommend requesting it on the side since it has a very pungent taste and is better in smaller quantities.My boyfriend liked his pizza and we would go back if we were in the neighborhood again!

I was honestly underwhelmed by the food here. Between 3, we split the roasted cauliflower and 2 diavola pizzas (subbed pepperoni for mushrooms). The food came out with a plate of chili flakes, chili oil and calabrian chilis. The cauliflower didn't have much flavor, it was roasted and lightly salted. The pizza said it would have chilis and chili oil on top, but honestly it tasted like a regular mushroom pizza and we had to top it with the chilis and oil ourselves. The ambiance is nice, it's a cozier restaurant and the servers were friendly and attentive.

The ambiance was great with an open kitchen layout, indoor/outdoor, and bar seating. Service was quick and friendly. We were able to stay at our table for a bit longer to chat after the bill which was nice. In terms of the food, it was good. We ordered the diavola (with mushrooms instead of salami) because we thought the Calabrian chili oil and peppers would come already on the pizza. Instead, we were just given a side dish of chilies and a bottle of oil. Similar situation with the roasted cauliflower dish we ordered. No drizzle, just plain cauliflower and very light seasoning. It just felt like we were finishing making the pizza and adding flavor to the cauliflower. It was a little underwhelming.

We were in the city for a day of fun and my pizza snob of a husband wanted to find a place with a good pie. Seems like there are a million to choose from but we settled on Il Casaro. We parked in a nearby garage and walked a minute or two to the restaurant. Surprisingly easy for that area and how busy it was. We were greeted and seated inside right away. Both the host and the server were very nice. Husband started with their beet salad and I went with the insalata romana. For our mains, I went with their rigatoni carbonara and hubby chose their Diavola pizza. Their wood-fired pizza oven was gorgeous. Our salads were amazing. Mine was chopped romaine, toasted pine nuts, lemon, and the most amazing shaved Parmesan (sheets of it!). The dressing was so good- really tangy and bright. The pine nuts were such a great touch and complimented the citrus in the dressing. My husband loved his beet salad which was frisee, golden beets, walnuts, goat cheese, with an Apple cider dressing. They are large salads, easily shareable, and I was nearly full after completing mine. I appreciated that they served our salads first and gave us a little time to work on them before serving the pizza and pasta. My carbonara was good- still creamy and rich when served- though really, really peppery. The crispy pancetta was terrific. My husband was a tad disappointed with the pizza. The spicy salami that came on it was gamey in his opinion, and the pizza crust lacked flavor. We lamented that we hadn't ordered the margherita instead. Perhaps next time! Based on the excellent service and meal quality (aside from the salami and overpowering pepper), I think we'd be willing to give this place another try.

I saw some very good reviews for this place from my Yelp friends I follow. I felt a very lively vibe as we walked in. We were greater and seated promptly.Friendly servers came right away to take our drink order. Someone else came by asking to explain if we had questions on the menu. I planned on getting the Margherita Pizza as it appeared to be the most popular item according to Yelp. We also ordered the Insalata Romana after hearing that the other salad option may be more salty.Once we ordered, we were setting up to receive our food. We noticed broken dishes on the table... Both dishes were broken. See my photos. This was quite surprising... I expected more from this place.The Insalata Romana was very good... Very light dressing and very refreshing. This was a good choice. I would have like a little bigger portion as a meal. The Margherita Pizza was good too. I felt maybe there wasn't enough mozzarella.... See my photo and judge for yourself. The service was great all the way thru and servers were friendly. They don't have to do much to upgrade my rating to 4+ stars. Replace the broken dishes, and be generous with the cheese. I expected this especially based on the name of this place. I hope to try again on my next visit to the City.

We visited Il Casaro for a late lunch around 3 PM and were pleasantly surprised to discover it was happy hour. The $7 Aperol Spritz deal was amazing, though I didn't order one this time. The restaurant was empty at that hour, which made for a cozy and relaxed experience. The interior is clean and charming, and the staff was welcoming and attentive. From the happy hour menu, I ordered the Margherita pizza, and from the regular menu, we chose the lasagna with Bolognese and imported burrata. The food arrived quickly. The burrata was simple--served with a drizzle of olive oil, black pepper, arugula, and cherry tomatoes--but didn't stand out. The Margherita pizza was fresh, with a soft, super-thin crust that we loved (big fans of wood-fired pizza!). However, it could have used more cheese and basil for that classic punch of flavor. The standout dish was the lasagna. It had a perfect balance of sauce, meat, and pasta--rich, flavorful, and deliciously soft. Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience, and we'd definitely return to try other dishes. The happy hour pricing and inviting atmosphere make it worth another visit!

First I would like to say I love North Beach and little Italy. I've grown up in the Bay Area so coming here is always a treat. Well we were walking and decided we would stop and have a pizza, a glass of wine and a beer. I noticed it was not too busy but had some customers inside and outside. Which was a nice touch to choose where to sit. Our first person who came up was a man with glasses and we thought he was the owner and asked us about water. Then afterwards a younger young lady came out to take our ordered. At the same time we ordered the margarita pizza, glass of white wine and a draft beer which we were excited to eat and drink together. We sat and enjoyed the nice winter day. The man in the glasses came out to check on us. I did notice he took a picture of us at one point which was odd. Next, our pizza came out, which was within 10 minutes. But we noticed we didn't have drinks. Nor was there a lot of basil or mozzarella cheese on our pizza and half of the crust/pizza was burnt. We started to eat Eventhough we wanted to have our drinks with our food. But the waiter and the man were not in sight. We waited and waited, no drinks, finally we had to tell the guy with the glasses and the young girl. He explained to me, "sorry and that the drinks would be completely on the house." With that being said, he also explained the girl was new and didn't know, and she came back also apologized however when she finally did bring the drinks it was dirt swirling in the glass, which happened twice, she also brought a Tiramisu cake, which we did not ask for. I thought it was a nice gesture on top of the drink comp. Lastly, when we had more apologies, she brought the bill. & I admittedly saw we got charged for the drinks. I went inside to the man whom said they'd be taken care of, and told him, he then handed over my ticket to some woman I had never seen through this whole service interaction. So, I then I had to explain to her what I was promised and told, and she asked about the wine and debris in the glass (which it was twice), I explained and she looked very annoyed. Said she check the bottle. And proceeded to comp the drinks. When I went outside with my partner we soon after were finishing our drinks. The woman comes outside, and in a rude tone, comes after us about how we got comp drinks and a cake, which remember I did not ask for! And I was told drinks would be comp for the issues we had dealt with at our diner experience. She made excuses to why the glasses kept having debris in it after she took "care of it." She made it seem we were taking advantage but we were not. She told me, "there won't be a next time." I looked at her and thought in my head, that was very uncomfortable and unprofessional as a manager of a high end restaurant to come out and press the issue when it had already been resolved. So, no, there won't be a next time. And you cannot treat customers that way. -The pizza lacks cheese and basil -wine pour was weak-service for the ones whom try to make it right. -tables are not sturdy -but the cake was good! Last note, I will not be coming back because of how she came out at the end. However, maybe your experience will be better than mine.

Food: Came for the pizza but left most impressed by the lasagna! A solid bite of Neapolitan pizza, but honestly you have to get the lasagna! The zucca and salsiccia lasagna was so creamy and rich--the flavor profile was not something I was expecting at all.Ambiance & service: It gets pretty busy, but walk-ins are pretty doable. The waiters were fairly attentive, but we did have to ask for a couple things. Huge plus is they are super dog friendly, letting us sit inside with our dog!