Get A Taste Of Authentic Italian At San Francisco’s New Casaro Osteria Restaurant

Francesco Covucci, one of North Beach’s reigning restauranteurs, is bringing his authentic Italian cuisine to San Francisco’s Cow Hollow neighborhood. Hailing from Calabria, Italy, Covucci has merged the best of his three other North Beach establishments to create his newest restaurant, Casaro Osteria.

With house-made Roman-inspired Pinsa-style pizzas from Barbara Pinseria; authentic Neapolitan pizza made with imported caputo flour from Naples and San Marzano tomatoes from Il Casaro Pizzeria (which also has a Castro location); and finally the freshest selection of sustainable seafood dishes from California Fish Market, Casaro Osteria is primed for success at it’s new Union Street location.

This charming, welcoming restaurant features a lavish, full bar serving cocktails like the White Lotus with run, lemon, pineapple, Orgeat contratto bitter, coconut and tonic water and the San Francisco Fog with empress gin, cinzano bianco, dry vermouth and orange bitters, as well as a selection of beer, cider and wines.

The menu is extensive and broken down in to Antipasti, Al Dente Homemade Pasta, Neapolitan Pizza, Crudo Bar, Wood-Burning Grill, and of course, Dolce.

Standout pasta dishes include the Ziti alla Genovese, a four hour slow cooked veal with white onions and pecorino; Gnocchi Quattro Formaggi Gratinati with gorgonzola, pecorino romano, grana padano, fontina and optional shaved black truffle; Tagliatelle alla Bolognese pork, veal and tomato sauce; and the Chitarra Cacio e Pepe al Tartufo pecorino romano, black pepper, and shaved black truffle. Truth be told, each of the nine options are delicious.

There are also nine options of wood-fired pizzas, each one offering a super light, slightly charred crust that’s got a surprisingly chewy texture to it. From the Diavola with tomato sauce, mozzarella, spicy salami, Calabrian nduja and Calabria chilli to the Boscaiola Italian sausage, mushrooms, mozzarella, shaved truffle, parmesan wafers and hazelnut, be sure to order a few for your table to share.

If you’ve ever been to California Fish Market, you’ll know that the crudo is exceptional. Don’t miss out on the Crudo di Tonno with hamachi tuna or the Crudo di Capesante with scalops, capers, chili flakes anda micro-arugula citronette dressing.

There are two larger format dishes on the menu as well, both coming from the wood-burning grill. Guests with a bigger appetite can try out the Tagliata di Manzo, a 14 oz ribeye steak and a halibut fillet with fried eggplant and fried zucchini.

We chatted with Francesco Covucci, owner of Casaro Osteria on his restaurant background, expansion in to Cow Hollow and more. Here’s what he had to say.

How did you get in to the restaurant industry?

I was born in Calabria, South Italy, to a family that’s crazy about food. My father, for instance, would take business trips to Naples and bring home delicious specialties such as pizza, sfogliatella, and buffalo mozzarella for our family to enjoy. These early experiences instilled in me a passion for Italian cuisine and culture, this passion turned into a goal.

A goal of serving good food at an affordable price by sourcing ingredients from small Italian producers. These affordable dishes would be homemade and would satiate any food lover looking to enjoy authentic Italian food.

How did this restaurant concept come about? What made you want to expand in to the Cow Hollow neighborhood?

When I immigrated to California in November of 2003, I set out to make my dream a reality. Casaro Osteria is my fifth restaurant and is a combination of my 3 pizzerias and seafood restaurant. I noticed a lack of Italian restaurants in the Cow Hollow, after so many previous (similar) businesses had closed.

The space we’re in now had already had a wood burning oven installed, and coincidentally, it’s the same kind of oven that we use at our pizzerias (Stefano Ferrara). I was contacted about this space, because the owner wanted tenants who had experience with the oven. With all of these pieces falling into place, it made it hard for me to refuse such a great opportunity.

This is your fifth restaurant in San Francisco — talk about how this restaurant adds to your impressive portfolio of Italian restaurants.

Throughout the restaurants in my upcoming restaurant group, Fun Dining Restaurant Group, I want every guest to have a truly fun night at all of my restaurants. Casaro Osteria is no exception. For me it’s all about the details: that’s what makes a customer’s experience truly great. From the hand painted pottery originating from Deruta, to the ingredients we proudly ship from Italy twice a week. We want customers to feel as though they are being transported to a genuine Italian Osteria when they visit us.

Our atmosphere strives to be warm and welcoming, like a second home they never knew they had. Our house specialty dish is a Ziti con Ragu Genovese which, despite the name, is a traditional Neapolitan dish. In it, veal sirloin is slow cooked with white onions for about four hours, then it is served with the tube pasta shape called ziti.

What do you hope this year looks for the restaurant?

Overall Casaro Osteria is a labor of love that I am deeply passionate about. After coming out of a pandemic, I would love for my restaurant to continue to be a source of joy for everyone who visits. We want to be the place that immediately comes to mind when someone wants to have a “fun dinner” in the Marina. I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us.