San Francisco is a hub for delicious restaurants serving food from a variety of cultures, and the up and coming Mission district is full of them, including the Italian restaurant Locanda.
Locanda was founded by local restaurateur Craig Stoll, who also owns Pizzeria Delfina.
The restaurant is conveniently located in the main part of the Mission, which in the past has been a more dangerous part of San Francisco but in recent years has had an influx of young people moving there.
Upon entry to Locanda, I could see that it was already full of people at 6 p.m. The only downside of the crowd was that it was quite loud. My family and I had already made reservations and were seated at a table right next to the door.
Unfortunately, the cold San Francisco wind soon hit us every time the door opened. I must admit, the waiters and hostess did everything they could to situate us, but there was no other place to sit as we were a party of eight.
Aside from the seating situation, the food was great.
Since I was eating with seven other people, I got to try nearly everything on the menu. Something important to note is that the menu varies day by day, so not everything described below may not be available every day.
The beautiful flower-like fried artichoke was packed with interesting texture and flavor.
For starters, we ordered the Jewish-style artichoke, the fried castelvetrano olives, and the prosciutto plate, accompanied by bread.
I only managed to get a picture of the artichokes since all the other delicious food flew off the plate. The fried olives, breaded and stuffed with cheese, had such a unique combination of flavor and texture that left me wanting more and more. The cheese inside was melty and delicious — a nice addition to the sourness of the olives.
The star of the show for me was the prosciutto, which I typically don’t even like. It melted in my mouth, and when paired with the bread, it was the perfect start to a great meal.
The artichoke is a staple for my family and something that we always order when it is available, and Locanda’s definitely didn’t disappoint. It was crispy, seasoned well, and soft in the middle.
The majority of Locanda’s menu is pasta, so I opted for a classic: carbonara — except, this time, it was made with rigatoni pasta.
The pasta had a great addition of black pepper on it, which I surprisingly liked. Although the pasta was a bit undercooked for my taste, the flavors were great and the portion size was just right. The creamy sauce coated the pasta perfectly and had a great balance. My other family members ordered a variety of dishes and were all very pleased.
After the main course, I was full, but not too full for dessert. My sister and I chose to split the Meyer lemon bundino, which was sort of like a lemon pudding topped with coconut cream and sitting over a bed of rhubarb and toasted coconut. The rhubarb was an unusual addition, but the sour taste complemented the lemon flavor and sweetness very well.
At the end of the day, I was very satisfied. I would definitely recommend Locanda to anyone looking for a fancy, but not too fancy Italian restaurant with stellar appetizers and satisfying main dishes.
[star rating = 5]
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