Venticello - Nob Hill

As the cable car drops you off on Nob Hill to a Victorian on the corner with a cool Italian feel...who the F needs North Beach? Kidding. We love North Beach, but we also stumbled upon this freaking fantastic Italian number.

Venticello is awesome. This spot isn't exactly 'happenin' or 'trendy' or 'chic', it's just Italian romantic. Yeah I said it. You want a hood spot where you can romance your baby? You want to keep to yourselves in the corner cuz you're romancin' someone elses' baby? (I did NOT say that, wow. It does seem like a place you can do that though, I saw it on TV, Sex And The City I think. Yeah Big kept taking Carrie to that Chinese Place. Anyhoo, I digress.) There's a good buzz going on here all the time.

The waiter brought over slow baked garlic to spread onto bread. I thought I was gonna die. Then we had the Crostini with Buffalo Mozzarella, and for those who appreciate Buffalo vs. plain, it's awesome! The Gnocchi is OTT, and really any fresh pasta dish they have here is great!

Then the meat comes out. They have a Rabbit Stew, yes, rabbit, thumper, cute little suckers. It's good! OR have your own pasta and then split the Filet Mignon. That's a good way to go too.

Wines you ask? Well would this be a John and Janine Post if we didn't mention SOME form of alcohol? Here screw those Cali wines, go straight for a glass of Proseco, Italian bubbly for those not in the know, then definitely buy a bottle of the Tignanello, one of our faves.

See, not ALL good Italian happens in North Beach. A strong 7.5 outta 10

Venticello Ristorante
1257 Taylor St.
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 922-2545