Barzotto opened in August of 2016, taking over the St. Vincent space. This is owner Marko Sotto’s first restaurant, although he comes from the restaurant group that runs Beretta, and he wanted to bring to the Mission an affordable but quality, pasta-based restaurant. The chef, Michelle Minori, is formerly of Flour + Water, and so presumably knows her pasta (though I have to admit I was not overly impressed with that restaurant). The space is industrial/chic/cute (or “Google cute,” as the BF put it) and definitely feels like a space for younger people – modern and fast. It’s not romantic or particularly comfy, with its mostly barstool seating. It IS casual, though in an upscale sort of way. I’m going on and on about the look of the space because it feels like they spent a lot of thought (not to mention $$) on it, and it actually is quite pretty, airy, with light wood, textured walls, and geometric designs.
You order and pay at the counter first, and are given a little buzzer, which helps your server find you with your food. Your wine is handed to you at the counter, and water is self-serve. I knew all this going in, so I had no problem with it. The counter is also where you can buy a lot of Barzotto’s food to take home. All the fresh or dry pasta is available to go, as well as their marinara sauce (more on that later), house-made gelato, and bottles of wine.
There is seating at a shared tall table with stools, a very low counter where I don’t think you can actually see into the kitchen, a few regular tables, and also at the bar, which is where we sat. I was hoping to watch the cooks in action, but you couldn’t see much except for someone plating veggies onto the mains – sadly, I didn’t see any of the much touted extruding of fresh pasta.
We ordered as a main to share the porchetta – outstanding. It was richly porky, with fennel notes, and came with homemade giardinieria – pickled cauliflower, peppers, kale, radicchio, sunchoke, olives, etc. It also came with a sauce for dipping, made of garlic, olive oil and parsley, and a sweet fruity jam of some sort. The BF found some of it dry, but I thought it succulent, crispy, fatty, and utterly delicious. I would be very hard pressed not to order it each and every time.
The only problem was, it came out first. Before our salad. And then immediately followed by our two pasta dishes. And then the salad. I said to the server, when my pasta was put in front of me, “Oh, everything comes out so fast!” and he countered, laughing, “Oh yes, they just pump them out!” As if that was a good thing. So, within I’d say five minutes of sitting down, we had all of our food in front of us, at once, on the narrow counter. Really bad timing. Pasta gets cold! We ate the porchetta first, while still hot, taking bites of the pasta before it lost all its heat.
Our salad consisted of chicories, pomegranate arils, hazlenuts, grana Padano, in a honey dressing.
Loved the crunchiness; it was nicely dressed, too, the bitter red leaves contrasting well with the sweetness of the dressing. I’m not sure if the bowl we received was the $8 or $12 version, because I wasn’t given the option when I ordered, and hadn’t noticed there were two sizes. No matter, we finished it all. You can also add an egg (didn’t notice this at first) or chicken to your salad.
For his pasta, the BF ordered “Ribbons.” I believe that Barzotto will offer five or six standard pasta shapes while the sauces and preps will change periodically. Ribbons in this season meant al dente pappardelle with slow braised beef, mushrooms and rosemary. Delicious. The BF found it reminiscent of stroganoff, because of its creaminess.
For my pasta, I got the Cockscomb – Cresta di Gallo – with roasted cauliflower, garlic, chili, almonds and lemon.
The pasta itself – named for its shape – was spinach green and beautiful, but unfortunately a bit overcooked, and the dish was mostly flavorless. I covered it in parm, which wasn’t offered when our pasta was brought out. I had to go up and ask for it, at which point they took a pre-packed to-go container of parm and poured it into a little bowl. I get it – this is fast, casual dining, but a pasta place that doesn’t have fresh parm ready to serve at the table? I added chili oil to the pasta, as well, which they did have on the counter, and that and the parm helped. But I wouldn’t order it again.
The other mains on offer are a half roasted chicken and a veggie platter. All mains come with “condiments” by which I think they mean pickley things, and not sides like potatoes. There are turkey meatballs you can order as a side, and focaccia. I can see what they’re trying to do – offering sides as options instead of filling you up with them, thereby hopefully keeping your bill low.
On our second visit, the place was packed with 20-somethings, again giving it the feel of a techie cafeteria. No matter, we put our name on the clipboard and waited to order until we were called to our table. Luckily, we were seated within about 10 minutes and able to belly up to the counter to order.
The timing was a bit better tonight. First up, they brought us our focaccia and marinara sauce….
Their house-made focaccia was excellent – warm and a little bit oily on top, just as it should be. The marinara sauce was to die for, and literally the best thing we had all night. I wanted to order more bread just to finish the sauce, but ended up putting it on everything else instead.
Next came the kale and cabbage salad with basil, mint, and fried lentils.
This salad was an odd bird. It featured ginger prominently, and the dressing was slightly sweet. For us, it was a jarring note to the rest of the meal, which had predominantly Italianate flavors. The lentils were a nice surprise – little crispy bits at the bottom of the bowl – but I wish there had been more of them, to make the salad a bit heartier. We didn’t finish this plate, and opted not to take the leftovers with us. (I can’t tell you the last time I opted not to take some of my leftover food home.)
The timing started to derail again as they brought out the roasted half-chicken next, before our pastas…
I thought the chicken was top notch, the BF not so much. For me, the skin was beautifully crispy, the meat tender and juicy, even the breast. The accompaniments were the same as those that had come with our porchetta the last time, so there was nothing new to remark on there. It would be nice to have a little something different on the entrees to facilitate sharing.
Our pastas came out. The BF ordered the chorizo and sweet potato with Mini Shells (cavatelli)
He took a bite and then put down his fork and asked me to taste it. “That tastes like Thanksgiving!” was all I could muster. On a second bite, I noted that the chorizo was neither like a typical Spanish chorizo nor a Mexican one. It had an odd texture, somewhat grainy, and the flavor was almost like that of vegan sausages I’ve had. The whole dish was rather bland and not very pleasant, and certainly the worst thing we’d had here. If pasta is to be your forte, then those dishes really need to shine, and this one did not.
My pasta was better…
Snails, lumache, it was called, in honor of the shape of the pasta. This came with the marinara served with the focaccia, so I was quite happy, and dollops of fresh ricotta. The dish was comforting and creamy, and if I had to order a pasta, I’d probably get this one again. In fact, I would come to Barzotto and buy their sauce, ready-jarred, for my own pasta at home. They also do the porchetta to go, which is a very tempting thing.
The wines are reasonably priced and Barzotto has made it easy for its customers, who may not know much about Italian wines. By the glass, there are three of white, sparkling, rosé, and red to choose from – all classified as light, medium and full-bodied, each $10. Wines by the bottle are $40 apiece.
All in all, I understand the concept – fast casual dining, but the quality control doesn’t seem to be there yet. I’m not sure if Chef Grimaldi was there either night that we visited, but both nights had dishes that I would not want coming out of my kitchen.
As for the name… Barzotto. I wonder if any of the owners Googled it before naming their pasta restaurant after a half erect penis? Or, according to the Urban Dictionary, half-hard, half soft. I couldn’t find an alternate definition from the one Urban Dictionary offered anywhere, in English or in Italian, but it’s a connotation I would think they would not want associated with their pasta…. I confirmed with an Italian friend, who said it might also be a last name… Still. A little research might have been in order. Just a quibble.
Barzotto offers brunch, too, but I can’t see myself feeling like spending a leisurely Sunday here. Hopefully the pacing will change as they settle in. In the meantime, I’m heading back to pick up some porchetta and marinara sauce and take it home.
Update: The restaurant contacted Mission Local after our piece was published to explain that the name is a play on owner Marko Sotto’s name and no double entendre was ever intended when naming the restaurant.
Barzotto
1270 Valencia St. (near 24th)
San Francisco, CA 94110
415-285-1200
www.barzotto.com