Luigi's Restaurant & Pizzeria - Italian, Pacifica

950 Linda Mar Blvd, Pacifica CA 94044
(650) 355-0944
Parking: strip mall parking lot
Hours: Mondays, Thursdays, Sundays 2pm-8pm; Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays 12pm-8pm, Closed Tuesdays

Last Visited: September 25, 2024

Food: 4 stars

Atmosphere: 2 stars

Service: 3 stars

Price: $$

If you are ever in Pacifica, you'll want to stop by Luigi's Restaurant & Pizzeria, and if you're lucky, you'll get to meet Luigi himself.  He'll share stories of when his restaurant started, how his family made these rice balls, how he built his life here in the Bay Area, and more.

Located in a small strip mall in a residential neighborhood, it's easy to drive by and not even notice the place.  The inside decor is very simple and more reminiscent of a home party setting than restaurant dining, it's easy to look past all this when you taste the amazing comfort food.

- Rice ball - You will definitely want to take advantage of having the best rice balls around.  While these in the picture are a little lighter in color than normal, they're still filled with delicious ground beef and peas, surrounded by rice.  I had asked for the meat sauce to be packaged on the side since I was taking these home, but they're the best arancini around.  Golf ball-sized goodness that is lightly breaded and served with scrumptious sauce. They're so much better than these dainty things you get at the fancy Italian places - this is more like what you would expect your Italian grandma to make.  Yum! Occasionally, it's not available at lunch, but I've only run into that a couple of times.  $3.50 each

- Luigi's Supreme Combo (Medium shown in the photo) - Unlike many other places, Luigi's has held prices since Covid! That means that you can get a medium combo pizza for only $19.95!  You can't even get this kind of discount at the big chains with this quantity of toppings.This combo has onions, pepperoni, green bell peppers, sausage, ham, and mushrooms.  The toppings are fresh and the crust is just the right thickness.  I have yet to visit Luigi's without getting a pizza.  Small 6" $14.95, Medium 8" $19.95, Large 10" $23.95, Extra Large 12" $25.95

I've also tried their lasagna and garlic bread. Good stuff.  

While the decor is super simple, it gets the job done.  If you're looking for fine dining, this is not the right restaurant for you.  Dine in can be a bit slow, and the level of service really varies depending on who is working there.  While the food will take the same amount of time, if they are busy, it may take some time to flag down someone to come to the dining area.  If Luigi isn't busy, he'll come sit with you and visit for a while, so give yourself plenty of time for dine in.  Take out has been pretty consistent.  The only challenge I have run into is that if I arrive too early upon opening and some staff are running late, not all of the staff knows how to use the credit card machine; you'll still get great food though.  This hasn't deterred me from going back though.  I still love being able to support this small business. 

When in Pacifica, this is a great stop! I highly recommend the food.