San Francisco Restaurants: 5 Best Italian Restaurants

There are many San Francisco restaurants that are among some of the best restaurants in the States. Among the most popular San Francisco restaurants are the city's Italian restaurants. These are not only some of the most popular restaurants, but the Italian restaurants are also some of the best San Francisco restaurants you'll dine at.

Cotogna is one of the great San Francisco restaurants serving the city's most impressive Italian food. Cotogna, which means "quince" in Italian, is a casual spot that harbors a more rustic menu featuring spit-roasted and grilled fish and meats, homemade pastas, and wood-oven pizzas that change daily. Don't miss pastas like English pea tortelli; gnocchi with white, purple, and green asparagus; garganelli alla Bolognese, saffron pappardelle with hand-cut lamb sugo, and perhaps most important, the raviolo di ricotta with fresh farm egg and brown butter.

Another of the best San Francisco restaurants is Quince, the sister restaurant to Cotogna. Located in a historic brick and timber building dating back to 1907 in San Francisco's Jackson Square neighborhood, the Michelin-starred restaurant is both charming and elegant. Chef and owner Michael Tusk, who won the 2011 James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Pacific, creates a dining experience rooted in his relationships with a tightly knit network of only the best Northern Californian food purveyors.

Other must-visit Italian restaurants in San Francisco are Una Pizza Napoletana and Flour + Water.