Pizzeria Delfina - San Francisco

2406 California St, San Francisco CA 94115
(415) 440-1189
Parking: street parking
http://pizzeriadelfina.com
Hours: Mon, Wed-Thu, Sun 11:30am-10pm; Tues 5pm-10pm; Fri-Sat 11:30am-11pm

Last Visited: July 13, 2013

Food: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

After hearing about Pizzeria Delfina for years, I was excited to get a chance to try their delicious thin crust pizza and see if it lived up to they hype - it was great!  We arrived for an early dinner and didn't find a line.  A blackboard lists all of the regular pizzas and menu items available along with specials for pizza and antipasti - today's specials included pig ear in lime chili oil and for pizza, there was lamb sausage pizza.  In the back of the restaurant, there is another menu board with desserts listed. 

Breadsticks are served at each table along with a plate with little mounds of cheese, oregano, and chili peppers.  It took a little while for the server to come back with our water, but she was pleasant.

- Napoletana Pizza + Cheese - The Napoletana comes with tomatoes, anchovies, capers, hot peppers, olives, oregano.  Based upon the server's suggestions to add cheese, I went ahead and added mozzarella. I really enjoyed this pizza - the sauce tastes super fresh and the cheese balances the salty toppings which added a lot of flavor.  Despite the moisture from the sauce, the super thin crust remains crisp even to the last piece of pizza.  Note that you really do need to like salt or you may find this pizza a bit too salty and although minimal, you are also likely to see some burnt crust. $11.75 + $1.50 cheese

- Neapolitan Meatballs in Sugo - Three large meatballs are served with toasted bread in a little iron pan.  The meatballs are tender and topped with lots of fresh tomato sauce and sprinkled with cheese.  Just out of the kitchen, these are perfect and the bread soaks up the sauce nicely.  Very enjoyable. $13.75

I really liked the freshness of the tomato sauces and the well-balanced flavors.  The pizza is hearty, yet delicate and the thin crust really holds up.  Service seems like it could be improved though - after we were done eating, nobody came by for at least ten minutes to see if we wanted dessert or to remove the final plates from our table.  I had to flag someone down for the check - considering that the restaurant wasn't quite full yet, this was a little disappointing.  You should also know that they charge $1.50 per person for the San Francisco employer mandate (aka health care coverage for employees).  Overall, great pizza and well-developed flavors.  If you can save room, note that they make their own gelato too.