Pizzeria Delfina, San Francisco – Burlingame

Reviewer: Foodnut.com Pizzeria Delfina 3611 18th St (at Guerrero) San Francisco, CA 94110 415-437-6800 Pizzeria Delfina Website

Delicious Italian around the Bay. Pizzeria Delfina is the lower cost more casual eatery next to top rated Delfina. They do not take reservations and focus on ‘Neapolitan inspired’, thin crust pizzas and Antipasti. Delfina does not serve pizza. They use local, seasonal ingredients and have a lots of wines by the glass.  There are 2 location in San Francisco – Mission and Pacific Heights. In 2018 we dined several times at the Burlingame location.

Decor, Vibe – Contemporary design with more seats than the Mission street location. Heated sidewalk tables outside. Stylish couples and friends mostly in their 20’s and 30’s were eating here.

If they are busy and have a wait, make sure check to see if the counter is available. The seats near the kitchen are the best in the house!  We see what everyone orders and figured what we will order next time. (Mary’s Chicken and the Grilled Local Albacore special)

Pizzeria Delfina Menu Pictures

Menu

The menu changes from time to time but includes a good selection of salads, pizzas, and a couple pasta dishes. They have a changing Antipasti, Veggy, Pizza, Pasta, and Piatti dish.

Pizzeria Delfina Picks:

Belfiore Burrata ($10.25) with arugula, crostini, extra virgin olive oil was smooth and plentiful. The crisp and wonderful Acme bread made a good home for the rich cheese. Could have used more bread.

Martin’s Brussels Sprouts ($7) with mint and lemon was heavy on the lemon.  Pretty healthy cooking style with some fresh sprouts.

Belfiore Burrata ($13) had very smooth burrata, arugula, and some toasted bread.

Carrots ($8.50) were fresh and very sweet. Cooked just right.

Grilled Brentwood Corn ($7) with calabrian chili butter was a late summer special. Perfectly grilled corn bathed in butter. Not much heat from the chilis.

Heirloom Tomatoes ($14) olivata, red onion & extra virgin olive oil was featured in late summer.  Nice fresh ripe tomatoes with a slightly tangy sauce.

Roasted Mariquita Farm Beets ($10) with marinated farro, goat cheese & seeds included 2 types of beets on a bed of farro. Fresh and good starter.

Tricolore Insalada ($13) arugula, radicchio & endive w/ lemon vinaigrette & grana padano is a fun 3 color salad that hit the spot.

Red Kuri Squash ($9.50)  with pomegranate & maple was really well done. Highly recommended. An October 2017 special.

Funghi Pizza ($17) with House cured Pepperoni ($3) was the better of the pizzas we had.  The Pepperoni was thinly sliced but flavorful and delicious.  Crust was like the other pizzas with a firm texture.

Margherita Pizza ($15) Tomato, fior di latte mozzarella, basil and parmigiano was one of the best tasting versions of this classic pizza. Not a lot of basil. Very thin crust and top notch cheese. Slight sourness to the tomato sauce. No sogginess. It is enough for 1 person. Compare this one to our Naples Trip.

Salsiccia Pizza ($18.50) House made fennel sausage, tomato, bell peppers, onions and mozzarella had some spicy sausage added to their great crust. A good combo for those wanting meat. Nice stringy cheese. Tomato sauce was fairly evident. Keep in mind this is very thin crust artisanal pizza and nothing like Round Table pizza. Again, not soggy and really good – Our favorite.

Prosciutto Pie ($18.50) with Prosciutto di Parma, caciocavallo, mozzarella, cream, arugula was also good.  Not too creamy but more cheesy. Lots of arugula and big slices of proscuitto, making using a knife to cut it up, mandatory.

Delfina’s Spaghetti poodoro ($15 large) with plum tomatoes, garlic, basic & peperoncini brings the classic dish to more places.  Vegan, Eggless dry noodles with lots of strong tomato flavors and a bit oily. Slightly al dente, but still very good.

Radiatore ($18.50) was a pasta special one day. A twisty pasta with mushrooms, carrots on a very well done buttery sauce.

Orecchiette Special ($17) with broccoli raab pesto, fennel sausage, pine nuts, ceci & pecorino romano was a nice change of pace from their standard but very good spaghetti.  Very heathy with the variety of ingredients.

Mezzemaniche ($17.50) ragu Bolognese was a pasta special on one visit.  Nice cut tube pasta cooked very al dente, the way we like it. Long cooked bolognese that we also used on their spaghetti. Has Egg.

Baked Lumachine Pasta with Sunday Supper Sauce ($18) was an eggless pasta essentially an oven roasted mac and cheese ontop of pasta with tomato sauce.  Very rich.

House Made Tuna Conserva ($15) was a nice starter.  Marinated Albacore and lacopi farm butter beans made this dish very tender and flavorful.  An assortment of greens from watercress to radicchio.

Mary’s Chicken Alla Diavola ($18) Half a roasted bird w/ rosemary, black pepper and chili was on our hit list for a while. Cooked just right, with a spicy skin glaze. A little more meaty than we wanted in a dish, but still good.

TCHO Chocolate Pot Di Crema ($6) is smooth, dark and a decadent dessert.

OK:

Clam Pie Pizza ($19) Cherrystones, tomato, oregano, pecorino and hot peppers is a good pizza for those who like clams on their pizza. It was a spicy topping that was not as accessible as we would like.

Spicy Cauliflower ($9.50) w/ garlic, capers, breadcrumbs & Calabrian chilies was a summer special veggie.  The server overhyped it.. Decent but not great.

Pans:
Bucatini All Amartriciana ($17) with tomato, Guanciale, chili & pecornio romano was just too salty. Eggless dried pasta.

Service was good with the servers very friendly. Pizzeria Delfina has trained them well to help customers navigate the menu and perform their duties without asking.

They do  take reservations, so waiting times can be long. Go early or late. Pizzeria Delfina is one of the better pizza’s in San Francisco and Burlingame. If you are looking for good pizza, be sure to try this place.  We have been to both locations and find them comparable.

$1.25 per person added for SF Health care. Bi Rite creamery is across the street and down the block from the original Mission location, so be sure to hit it for dessert if you do not like their dessert options.

Also at:
2406 California St (at Fillmore)
San Francisco, CA 94115
415-440-1189

1444 Burlingame Ave
Burlingame, CA 94010
650-288-1041

651 Emerson St.
Palo Alto, CA 94301
650-353-2208

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