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Il Cantuccio
Tips for Il Cantuccio
One of the best Italian tables in town!. Simply one of the best Italian tables in town! I was treated to dinner here on Friday and I can just tell you that everything was near perfect!
Not good enough.. I dined here recently and was disappointed. Nothing about the meal was particularly memorable save for one detail - the salt. The pesto that comes with the bread is very salty. My soup was very salty. My gnocchi was very salty. I was glad I had ordered a large bottle of Pellegrino. There is nothing remarkable about this restaurant except the adorable Italian waiter with his curled locks - he is worth coming back for. Everything else was mediocre.
great italian food - cozy atmosphere - one of my favorites in SF. After dining at Il Cantuccio many times, I have to admit it's one of my favorites in the city. It has the rare mix of delicious food, very reasonable prices, nice service and a cozy, friendly environment. The specials are always a home run but on the regular menu I've had the pumpkin ravioli, rigatoni with sausage & mushrooms and the gnochi and I've never been dissapointed! I've been there on dates and with girl friends and it's been great every time. The service is always friendly even if not perfect (some really cute italian boys in the past). If you want unpretentious, wonderful Italian food, go to Il Cantuccio! I'm hungry thinking about it...
everything good for a leisurely meal, from antipasti through coffee and dessert wines. We went to Il Cantuccio on a Tuesday night to celebrate my brother-in-law's wedding. We were given a long table (for 7) at the back. The atmosphere was intimate and the mood was unhurried, perfect for such an occasion. The antipasti were fresh, light and tasty. I had the squid ink pasta with lobster and found it delicious. Dessert was a made-from-scratch gelato; coffee and after-dinner wines were superb. I highly recommend this restaurant for anyone who wants a relaxed, delicious meal in a romantic atmosphere. The table at the back was just close enough to the kitchen for me to sense that time and care were given to preparing our dishes while we talked, laughed, and generally enjoyed ourselves. It was a perfect choice for our small group to help launch a couple on a life together and left all of us with pleasant memories of the night.
Not top notch. Went last night and I found it below average, even for SF standards (which is not very high for pizza in general). Il Cantuccio is a bit soggy for my taste. Service is fine.
Uninspired italian compared to the myriad of good & great italian restaurants in this city.
Yes - the service was good, attentive & polite. Yes - the restaurant was cute, cozy & comfortable. No - the food was not terrible. But the food was a waste of time.
There are so many good & great italian restaurants in this city, from the neighborhood faves to the city-wide well-knowns. Il Cantuccio is not one. My squid ink pasta & lobster dish was not bad, but it did not come together. Although I was quite full when I left, I was not satisfied. My friend's calamari was not the right texture & the seasoning left something to be desired. In case you're wondering, she's spanish - not only does she know calimari, but she could have gone back to the kitchen & taught the chef a thing or two about how it's done as she cooks a smokin' good calimari herself. The salads, like the rest of the food, were fine but like a chorus waiting for a prima donna that never arrived. Another person had ravioli & I tried it too. It was tasty, but what's to get wrong with cheese ravioli in tomato cream sauce? The gnocchi was too salty & again, okay, but didn't even stand up to what you'd get delivered from a good pizzeria. I would say, "what's to get wrong whith gnocchi in cream sauce?" but apparently they found something to get wrong. Another friend liked her chicken cacciatore, but I didn't try that so can't vouch for it.
And on reservations, one service peeve. We had a reservation & I could see that our table was ready when we arrived. However, with only one other party waiting & the wait staff busy but not swamped, the host took more than 5 minutes to seat us after we announced that we had arrived. I finally asked again & he said "Oh, yes, your table is ready now" although it was sitting exactly as it had been for some time & he did nothing more than point us back to it.
In summary, if you have a say in your gastric destiny for the evening, don't go here, but, if you do find yourself here, get the ravioli.
Exquisite. There is a reason Il Cantuccio's rating is so high- and that is only because they deserve it! Michael & his staff are highly attentive and serve consistently flavorful and well cooked meals. You can risk going without a reservation, but good luck. This place is notorious for being packed wall to wall from the moment they open their doors. And after a taste of the food and service you will understand why. Mangia!
Fantastic service; prompt and respectful. I had a group of out of town businessmen dine at Il Cantuccio and we were treated very well with prompt service. The food was very trattoria-like and everything was exceptional. I would definitely go back anytime. I had the veal and it was very nice. The spinach was great. The calamari was good; needed more spice. We had a good meal. No complaints. Everyone enjoyed.
Great italian!.
The homemade pasta was superb! We tried the spinach and ricotta filled ravioli and that was delicious! However, I thought that the TAGLIERINI ALLARAGOSTA, blackened pasta with lobster, was a little too seafood-y.
The roasted pork loin was very good - just enough sauce to complement the meat. Very good! Overall, a very nice experience. An a extra thumbs up for the scrumptious tiramisu!
Una bella esperienza. I couldn't recommend this restaurant more highly. It's Italian -- with Italian staff. Even the dip for the bread is extraordinary. It is warm, hospitable, and very enjoyable to the palette. The ravioli is tremendous, and the wine pairing menus are splendid. Grazie mille for your wonderful restaurant.
Il Cantuccio
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