Montesacro

Cuisine	Italian
Price	$$$ (31-50)
Rating	5/10
Last Visit	April 12, 2023
Location	SFBA: San Francisco: Downtown + SoMa

---

General Notes

---

Montesacro is supposedly America's first "pinseria", which is a restaurant that specializes in pinsa, or Roman-style pizza. The key difference is that it has a slightly lighter / airer dough. I actually really enjoy the dough, and the dishes here definitely have a lot of potential, but they all feel slightly off, in one way or another. That being said, it was still a great experience -- a nice, slightly upscale restaurant that also doesn't break the bank.

---

Negatives

---

> I went to the SoMa location at 6pm on a Wednesday without a reservation, and found the restaurant PACKED and completely booked out. I then realized that there was a Marina location. I went and realize that it was ... completely empty. Not sure why exactly this was the case, since the SoMa location was in a much more sketchy place.

---

Dishes Tasted

---

• ★☆☆☆ Cento Celle -- tomato, mozzarella, artichoke, cremini mushroom, olive, hardboiled egg, prosciutto di parma. Toppings are decent (except the egg, which ... doesn't make any sense). But there's way too much topping, and they're not at all uniformly distributed. It's like the pinsa is comprised of separate nations. It definitely makes for a less pleasant eating experience
• ★★☆☆ Casal Bertone -- Mozzarella, crispy guanciale, pecorino, chestnut honey. I love the guanciale, which is delightfully crispy + so savory. Overall, very satisfying to eat but also a bit too greasy. The chestnut honey is decent, but the dish as a whole is a bit off and needs some counterbalance.
• ★★☆☆ Suppli al Telefono -- tomato risotto croquettes, molten smoked mozzarella. Good flavor, nice filling, but the croquette was over-fried so the exterior felt hard instead of crispy.
• ★★☆☆ Porchetta -- Slow roasted pork, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt. The flavor is delightful, and I love the crispy skin. But ... it's served cold by itself, kind of like deli meat. Definitely not what I was expecting, and not my favorite.