Haute Top 5: Best Pizza in San Francisco 2017

Tony Gemignani has won the World Pizza making championship 12 times. He’s an unparalleled master when it comes to pizza. At his namesake North Beach eatery, you can experience his prowess first hand. There are over 10 different kinds of pizza on the menu, from classic Italian (cooked in a domed gas brick oven with tomato sauce and rustic medium crust) to Detroit style (cooked in a 550 degree gas oven in a square blue steel pan and topped with Wisconsin brick mozzarella cheese, white cheddar, and tomato sauce). There are also craft cocktails, hearty salads, and pizzeria favorites like meatballs, fried calamari, calzones, and chicken parmesan. The chorizo mussels that come in a spicy tomato cream sauce are one of our favorite mussel dishes in SF.

Sharon Ardiana made a name for herself when she opened a pizza place, called Gialina, in 2007 in Glen Park. It quickly became the San Francisco Chronicle’s critic, Michael Bauer’s, favorite pizza place. It was so popular that she opened a second location in 2010 called Regazza. This neighborhood gem is on Divisadero Street and it’s open daily for dinner. Regazza has a patio with a heated enclosed gazebo that makes a great place for a private party. Although the thin crust pie menu changes with the season, we can’t help but order our favorite from the non-changing offerings. The amatriciana comes with tomato, pancetta, chiles, pecorino, and a fried egg. With tomato, chiles, portobello mushrooms, red onion, Italian sausage, and mozzarella, the Moto is another must order.

There are four Pizzeria Delfina locations in the Bay Area: the original in the Mission (next to Delfina restaurant), another in Pacific Heights, and two in the South Bay—in Burlingame and Palo Alto. It’s a wildly popular pizza place that specializes in Neapolitan-style thin-crust round pies. There is a contagious energy at Delfina that makes it a fun spot for a pie at any time during the day. We’re not ashamed to admit that we order the same thing almost every time we dine at Delfina: the insalata tricolore with arugula, radicchio, endive, lemon vinaigrette, and grana padano; the pork, beef, and veal meatballs in tomato sauce with crostini; and two pizzas: the salsicca (with housemade fennel sausage, tomato, sweet peppers, onions and mozzarella) and the broccoli raab (with mozzarella, olives, and hot peppers). Occasionally we order the clam or panna pies, but once you’ve found your favorites, it’s hard to break out of the mold. Note that the Pac Heights location often has a long wait, but everything is available for takeout.

Like Pizzeria Delfina, there are multiple locations of Delarosa. The one we most frequent is the original in the Marina district on Chestnut Street. Delarosa serves Roman-style pizza in an inviting communal environment. It’s open every day, all day, so it’s a lovely spot for lunch during the week. The menu is extensive and features a variety of non-pizza dishes (think crab arancini, chicken breast panini, burrata bruschetta, and ricotta-spinach ravioli), but we go to Delarosa for pizza and cocktails. The pie with artichokes, Italian ham, bell pepper, and provolone is to die for. Unlike some pizza places mentioned in this roundup, Delarosa is one of the few spots that allows you to build your own pie. Vegan cheese and vegan sausage are options!

Capo’s is another pizza joint from chef Tony Gemignani. It’s his Chicago-style pizzeria where you can order cracker thin, deep dish, cast iron, stuffed, and thick-crust quattro forni pizzas. The restaurant has an old school vibe with red vinyl booths and a lively atmosphere. Although Chicago pizza can be incredibly filling, Capo’s is authentic and downright delicious. The menu also has a selection of classic Italian-American dishes such as clams casino, chicken marsala, meatball sub, and linguini with clams.