Luisa's Restaurant Wine Bar Since 1959

This is an intimate/cozy real deal Italian restaurant in the North Shore Little Italy section of San Fran.Be aware you will receive large portions of delightfulness.Our journey began with Ceasar and Caprese Salads. The Ceasar salad arrived with homemade dressing, and you could catch a whiff of anchovy. This is the real deal. The Caprese salad had organic tomatoes and delightfully soft buffalo mozzarella cheese.We also ordered a Chianti that opened up beautifully and was a wonderful accompaniment to our meal.On to our main course lobster ravioli and my fruit of the sea. My dish had a generous amount of shrimp, scallops, squid, and a surprise large mussels on the half shell. The linguini was served al dente perfectly. Plus 1s Lob ravioli was OK it really could have used more Lob. I called it hint of Lob ravioli. It was delicious but needed more Lob. We are spoiled as we have previously had the best lobster ravioli (IMHO) at Rinos in East Boston, MA. Large homemade raviolis packed with lobster. If you do visit Boston, take the blue line to Maverick station and a quick Uber to Rinos. No reservations and a line but.......Onto dessert! A large cannoli and espresso coffees ended a fantastic dining experience.Service was on point, and we never wanted for attention. As a bonus Christmas carolers stopped by and we all got to sing along to a few songs.Buon natale e buone feste!

The service was fantastic. Great people who were attentive but also didn't rush us at all and offered recommendations. For food this visit - shared the Caprese, friend had the chicken parmesan with pasta, I had the vodka sauce on parpadelle, and we split the limoncello marscapone cake. The buffalo mozzarella in the caprese was amazing. Tasted very homemade and fresh. The tomatoes and olive oil were also really good. I would have loved a bit more basil. My friend finished his chicken parm so fast. Like inhaled. He said it was delicious. I saw another review say the same thing so this is your second reminder that if you like chicken parm at all or it's something you're looking at...order it. Get the chicken. My pasta was not quite as good as I would have liked (vodka sauce is my absolute favorite so it's a high bar). The sauce was a little thinner than I would have liked and the ratio of sauce to pasta seemed lower than I prefer. I do think this could be due to my noodle choice and will try it with another pasta option next time. The limoncello marscapone cake was AMAZING. So light and fluffy and moist and perfect amount of lemon and sweet without being overwhelming on either front. I'm glad we ordered, but the tiramisu and cannoli are made in house, so I obviously have to come back and try them next! 10/10 for a National Pasta Day dinner.

My wife & I went for dinner before a show at Cobb's Comedy Club and chose an Italian restaurant convenient to the venue - Luisa's Risorante. We were there at 5:30, plenty of time for dinner and to get good seats after at the show. After our pasta course was served at dinner, the head waiter helped a senior citizen (not me....) up the steps and past our table as she headed to her seat at the window. As she passed, she said, pointing at my gnocchi with meat sauce and my wife's lobster ravioli, "I make that!" and walked to her seat. Could it be Luisa? After hearing her giving commands to the wait staff, I was certain. I had to go over and let her know we enjoyed the fruit of her labors. I shared that I was born the same year she opened her restaurant. She responded with feeling that she had not opened her business at this location--she didn't own the building. "!" She had started sharing her home-style Italian dishes with "only the best ingredients" in the Sunset District, far from San Fransciso's North Beach (our Little Italy) where her restaurant is now a fixture. She's still going strong at 95! I suppose we can chalk her continued vitality up to eating 'only the best ingredients' for a lifetime. Cheers to Luisa and wishing her many happy returns to the best seat in her own restaurant. And, her gnocchi, ravioli and Ceasar Salad were all fantastic. I'd be happy to sample other items on the menu.

Very small and intimate restaurant. Some of the best staff around. As a Chicagoan, we're born being food critics! Lbs! I think are expectations are extremely high. I had the Caesar Salad, Garlic Bread (which was excellent), lasagna and tiramisu. The only thing I didn't like which brought my rating down from a five to four stars is the tiramisu was too wet/soggy for my liking. Other than that, it was a great choice for my solo trip.

Great Food at Luisa'sA few weeks ago, a neighbor mentioned that they had dinner at Luisa's and that they enjoyed the food. That made me realize that despite being a long-time North Beach resident, I had never eaten there. So last night, when the weather was nice and warm, we walked over and sat in the parklet. Our server, Alexandro, a very pleasant young man with a thick Sicilian accent, took our orders. We started with Burrata salad, and I had a glass of Pinot Grigio. We told Alexandro we would decide on the main course while munching down the Burrata!While waiting for the salad, I went in to check the inside. Luisa's is not a big restaurant, but the space is cozy and nice. The salad arrived shortly after I returned to the table, and it was very fresh and delicious.My significant other ordered the chicken parmesan, and I tried the Pappardelle with vodka sauce. Both arrived in a nice portion, and both were really delicious. I had never tried the dish, so I asked Alexandro what he thought before ordering. He said he preferred the vodka sauce over the meat, and I must say he was right on! We were so full that we did not get to try their tiramisu, but they are in the neighborhood, so perhaps next time!

Great wine, food and service at reasonable prices. The shrimp was wonderful and the salmon was perfect.

We had dinner at Luisa's last night and Luisa herself gave us an unforgettable evening of entertainment and food. The gnocchi is incredible and Luisa herself still makes the meatballs every morning which are also delicious. Very LGBTQ+ friendly. Thanks Luisa and team!

Small space with extensive menu and nice selection of Italian wines. Our server was great and the food was tasty. Try the ice cream bomb for dessert it's fun and yummy. Bonus: we got lucky with street parking right across the street

All of the food was so delicious; from the meatballs, caesar salad and Italian bread to the pasta and steak special. I have to take my family there.Luisa is an absolute treasure!R. Harris

Seems my one-star review of last year was scrubbed.They were not busy. We were the only ones at the outside tables.To repeat, the three of us ordered separate pasta dishes. Overcooked and underflavored.The side of meatballs was bland.The very smalll bread order ($6) tasted like a piece of cheap Safeway bread with a little butter and garlic.Waiter was hard to find. I wanted salt (not on the table) but could not find him.I asked about the daily specials, he pointed to a board with no prices. I told a shop owner nearby of our experience. He asked why we would have gone there as the neighborhood people avoid it.