In our latest Eat Here Now column, we serve up the newest, the hottest, the buzziest, or simply the rediscovered in SF food. If you can pick only one place to eat at this week — go here.
Philosophical question: Can a San Francisco neighborhood be considered a legit food destination without a pizza-pasta restaurant anchoring it? I mean the type of establishment that uses a long-handled peel to pull out blistered, floppy pies topped with Brentwood corn and pickled torpedo onions and makes cacio e pepe with housemade chitarra. Bonus cool-kid points if it serves natural wine of the orange variety, under its own private label.
My opinion on this pressing matter? I think not. Which is why Noe Valley, where Fiorella just fired up its wood-burning oven, is finally ready for the listicles.
In July, Fiorella’s fourth location opened in the former Patxi’s Pizza space. The choice of Noe is no surprise, considering the restaurant group’s MO is “neighborhood Italian.” In 2015, when everyone else was intent on opening in the Marina or the Mission, Fiorella proudly dropped its first spot in the then-unsexy Outer Richmond. Since then, it has opened in the Inner Sunset, Russian Hill and, now, on a stretch of 24th Street.
The Fiorella team was ahead of the game with what has become a post-pandemic trend, with smaller, more affordable hoods like West Portal and Parkside luring restaurateurs with their less judgy, just-happy-you’re-here residents. Now, Noe Valley — which a couple of years ago got chef Brandon Jew’s Mamahuhu and, as of this spring, spots like Dumpling Kitchen and Todo el Dia — is having its moment. (Full disclosure: I am a partner in Tacolicious, the restaurant group that owns Todo el Dia.)
Chef and co-owner Brandon Gillis, whose partner is Boris Nemchenok, says they chose Noe with intention. “We want to appeal to Monday-night mom and dads who say, ‘I don’t want to cook — fuck it, let’s get the kids and go out.’ And then Friday night rolls around, and the same parents go on a date.” Sure enough, on a recent weeknight, Fiorella’s was packed with parents and kids.
Hot tip: If a regularly scheduled date night is what keeps a marriage kicking, it’ll be that much more successful if it starts with a spritz. Bar manager Daniel Burns went deep into researching the history of the effervescent low-ABV Italian cocktail. There are 12 to choose from, including the Purple Rain ($15), made with lemon juice, prosecco and fresh blueberry amaro. “It’s not sweet. It has a great amount of frizzante — it’s my favorite,” says Gillis.
Those dining with the entire fam might choose to let the kids shove meatballs into their faces while the adults share a salad of calamari with chickpeas and fregola ($19). Also suggested for parent fare: the crespelle di cannelloni ($19), a hard-to-find baked pasta stuffed with chard, spinach and ricotta, paired with a glass of wine, conveniently available in 5- or 8-ounce pours (though you’ll def want eight if you’re wrangling the rugrats).
I fell in love with the popular Spicy Florence Pie ($23), topped with mild and creamy slices of mortadella. The heat comes via Italian Long Hots, which Gillis, who spent time in the kitchen at Roberta’s in New York, says is an East Coast pepper he brought to California by hunting down the seed strain and asking Sunblaze Ranch in Winters to plant it. Today, the green peppers are grown especially for his kitchen.
In the next few weeks, Fiorella will introduce a panuzzo, a stuffed sandwich made of pizza dough. The little counter, situated in the back of the narrow dining room, overlooking the theater of the oven, would be a good place to try one.
And yes, they have weekend brunch, including a breakfast sandwich ($14) made with eggs, American cheese and bacon or sausage on a housemade poppyseed roll — clearly another nod to East Coast cravings. The early-to-rise neighborhood, which loves to line up for pancakes and eggs, now has another option. It’s just that this one, starting at 10 a.m., conveniently takes reservations.
Fiorella, 4042 24th St., Noe Valley