Gaspare’s Pizza House & Italian Restaurant

Ordered a salad (subpar), pizza (great! Thin crust and crispy enough), and wine. Pizza was about $ 25 for a 16″. Service was wonderful. The dining room is so charming and old-​school Italian. Would def go back!

First, the good. It’s a nice looking restaurant, feels like a family-​style Italian restaurant — red booths and all. The service was good — friendly waiter who was helpful. However, it’s hard to make up for really mediocre food. Has simple pasta with marinara, manicotti, and a large house salad. The pasta sauce was super salty and tasted like it was from a can, figuratively. The salad was pretty small for being called large. The best was the manicotti, which wasn’t bad. It wasn’t horrible, but meh I’ve had better.

This place is charming and unassuming, but the food is just okay. I ordered the spaghetti and ravioli with a meatball, and it was good, but nothing too exciting. Same with the garlic bread, good, but nothing too exciting. It’s a great little neighborhood spot, but not a place I would go if I wanted really good Italian food.

Some of the best olde skool pizza that I’ve ever had in sF.
Decent location and cozy interior.
Avoid parking on Geary and opt instead for a side street.
Take a stroll through nearby Seacliff after your meal.

Okay now, this place just rules! It has really awesome pasta and pizza, and I really love the romantic-​like Italian theme as well! I hope that next school year in September I’ll take my love interest known as Maia over here, as well as Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in the same city! I hope they don’t give me the wrong amount of spaghetti if Grover from Sesame Street ever works there!

Popped in here the other night to grab some dinner to go since it was basically the only place open. big mistake. Fast service. food was ready within 10 min, but that’s probably the reason why it wasn’t good. The antipasto salad was just deli slices of cheese and meat slabbed on top and not cut up and mixed through the salad like I’m used to. The Italian sausage sandwich was all bread and low quality, dry meat.
I don’t recommend. If you want authentic Italian food, go to north beach!

I thought this joint was alright nothing special…
I brought my kids thinking we’d enjoy this place w it being so authentic and the reviews being so high.
My son (trying to be healthy) ordered a vegetarian pizza and asked if he could add chicken. The lovely waitress said of course. When he got his pizza the chicken added looked liked grounded precooked chicken breast it was weird. He didn’t really enjoy his pizza. He said his favorite pizza is blaze and I really couldn’t blame him (I prefer blaze to!).
At least we tried it and now we know.
Service was friendly the lady was working her butt off!

Gaspare’s is a really authentic, casual italian restaurant. You can tell it’s owned by an italian family who’ve probably owned it for generations.
Portions are pretty generous. We ordered fresh mozzarella with basil and tomatoes which was yummy as well as the fresh meatballs for appetizers. The meatballs were very juicy and savory for only $ 2.50 each.
We ordered the Bruce’s special extra large pizza and it was really good! I loved that the crust of the pizza was crispy and I didn’t feel like the pizza was too doughy. If there’s one thing I would change it would be maybe a little less soggy center and more cheese :) I have to say, I may not be justified in saying that because there was mushrooms on the pizza which inevitably makes it a little soggy.

I went here out of curiosity because a friend told me it was one of the most New York style Italian restaurants in the city. What he forgot to mention is that it looks like one of the most tired and rundown restaurants in the city. I don’t see any attraction here. Ugly lighting, bad linoleum, salads that would have been out of date in 1950, and limp pizza. Yuck.
To top it off, my Russian speaking waitress brought me caffeinated coffee when I asked for decaf, which I realized at 2 AM when I was lying awake in bed wondering why I went here.

Cute little restaraunt with great service. It’s a bit cold if you sit near the door, so dress appropriately. We ordered a green salad which came with black olives, tomato slices and a delicious homemade Italian dressing. The dressing was a bit creamier than the usual Italian which made it a lot better than the usual. They serve warm sliced French bread with butter.
Based on other Unilocaler’s reviews, we ordered a small size Bruce’s special. I had no idea how THIN their pizzas are! I’ve had thin crust pizzas before but this one was by far the thinnest; about the width of a cracker. The flavor of the Bruce’s special was amazing! The tomato sauce has great flavor and there was just the right amount of it. The garlic tasted great on the pizza. It comes with linguica and minced salami; but we substituted pepperoni for the linguica and it was a great compliment to the pizza.
During our meal, three different servers asked us how the meal was and refilled our drinks.
The owner was walking around greeting customers and serving. There seemed to be a lot of take out orders.
If you’re with one other person and you’re both really hungry I would suggest getting at least a medium, as the pizzas are super thin and not as filling as the average pizza.
Great place, great service and amazing food.

The food here was just OK to me because I wasn’t wow-​ed nor was I walking away shaking my head but, on the bright side, I love the atmosphere and the waitress was such a darling. I came here with 2 other people on a Saturday night and the whole place was packed! All the tables were full except for a random table in the middle of the whole dining room that was reserved (the reserved party didn’t show up for an hour or so). The wait was easily 45 minutes — 1 hr for whatever reason… I thought that it shouldn’t have taken so long.
SERVICE: Everyone that worked there was super nice. The waitress was especially loving and did a great job given that she seemed like the only one waiting the tables that night.
FOOD: Ordered a medium pizza with sausage, mushroom, and mozzarella, baked lasagna, and chicken parmesan with vegetables. Everything eventually tasted the same… Which shouldn’t be too surprising given that the based of everything was marinara/​tomato sauce and cheese. But even the initial tasting of everything… there was nothing at all that wow-​ed me.
— Sausage, mushroom, mozzarella pizza: Medium came with about 6 decent sized slices and the first slice was decent. But as I ate more and more, I thought how there was so little topping. Literally, there is only toppings on the first big bite (from the middle) of ever slice thus about ¾ of the pizza was basically a cheese pizza. I liked that the crust was thin crust. However, overall, I didn’t find anything about this pizza special other than it being thin crust. There was nothing special about the taste (it wasn’t to die for or anything close) and was just average pizza to me. (I’m sorry to those that love this. maybe I ordered the wrong pizza?)
— Baked Lasagna: Probably the star of all the dishes that I ordered. It was super delicious. I can’t say anything really negative about this dish except that it was a little too much if I ate it myself (but that’s not the case).
— Chicken parmesan: All I tasted was cheese and marinara sauce on very fried chicken. I couldn’t even taste the chicken much less see the chicken I was eating. It was really disappointed by how oily and overly deep fried it tasted. The vegetables were delicious but a little bit overcooked and over seasoned…
Overall, all the food was okay to me. I would go back to try other pizzas but that’s about it. I expected something more wow-​ing after reading all the reviews on Unilocal

THIS IS THE BEST PIZZA IN SAN FRANCISCO. I have been going to this place ever since I was a kid and the restaurant has remained constant in my life. I use to go here every other week with my family. I recently moved to Oregon and every time I am back in town my parents always suggest eating here. I can’t say no to Gaspare’s even if I did have prior plans. The pizza is worth it!
THE BRUCE! Bruce’s special #21 on the menu. It is topped with linguica, ground salame, mushrooms, garlic, oregano, mozzarella, and tomato sauce. Need I say more. The pizza dough is thin and delicious. The crust is great to dip in the greasy oil drippings under the pizza.
The baked lasagna is phenomenal! Sometimes the meat lasagna is sold out but even the substitute veggie baked lasagna is great!
There are mini juke boxes at each booth and every time I come here I always choose a song to play.
When you enter the lighting is a bit dim. If there is no wait, you seat yourself. Typical italian dining in a urban city. There are plastic grape vines hanging from the ceiling.
Parking is tough during peak dinner time hours. Metered parking or street parking. My family and I usually eat late, around 9 — 10 pm and parking is not bad at these hours.

I was having a weird night as it was, but was overall happy to find this gem after craving Italian food. Ordered the #21 — a combination pizza including sausage, pepperoni, garlic, oregano, and mushrooms. It was delicious despite being on the greasy side.
The service is definitely less than formal here, but aside from the waitress seeming a bit occupied, we were tended to nicely.
Definitely worth a try, I’ll be back to try other dishes!

You better come here hungry and digging both olive oil and garlic! LoL. I loved it!
It’s the real deal on full blown old school heavy yummy urban Italian dining!
it’s awesome. The Joe DiMaggio effect if you get my vibe! The marinara sauce, warm pasta and the pizza are really delicious. It is just what you hope to find in a big city with culture within restaurant history you stereotype or heard about! I will come back. Love the SF feel and site seeing around this place as well!~ Garlic-​spice-​sausage delight! :)

My roommate protested coming here.
Something about it seeming like a place his dad would eat.
And I’m all like, ‘get over your daddy issues, man. This joints got mozzarella sticks.‘
So here we came.
I got a cappuccino.
I got mozzarella sticks.
I got a Margherita pizza that was really just a cheese pizza.
He got a water and partook in the complimentary bread and butter.
(Whatever)
Inside is a mix of old, kitschy, and tacky and it’s awesome. Old Italian music playing on the sound system and every table has a broken mini jukebox on the wall next to it with tons of Italian classics and fairly large amount of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Sure. There’s chianti bottles hanging from the dusty ceiling and it reminds me a whole heck of a lot of the place I used to wait tables growing up. Love it.
Service was fine. It was there, it wasn’t over the top, it took a little long to get the bill but it was fine.
The mozzarella sticks were jammin. Extra girthy and full of molten cheese, just the way a lady wants ‘em. The pizza was thin crust and a great take home and eat the next day pizza. It was good at the restaurant but it was magic the next day. Next time I’ll def get an extra large size and ask if they can cut it in squares like the pizza of my fantasies.
I kinda wish they had more topping options (salty black and green olives would make my life), but their standard cheese passed the test and I can def see myself coming back.

Terrible experience. First off, I ordered a 16 inch vegetarian pizza with feta on it, and the lady on the phone repeated the order back «okay small vegetarian pizza». At the end of the call I repeated back «so you did say 16 inch correct» and she said yes.
I had my phone on speaker and my boyfriend said «wait a small is not 16 inches», so I called back to confirm and she said 12 inches. So I’m glad we called back, order was corrected.
I guess we should have checked the pizza before we left but when we got home it was a large sausage pizza. when we don’t eat pork. we ordered vegetarian for a reason.
Mozzarella sticks were good though, most definitely homemade.
Im just highly disappointed. Two mistakes in one order is a big deal to me, especially when she was the one cutting the pizza and knew we ordered a vegetarian with feta. and we received a sausage, green pepper, onion pizza with no feta. I believe no doubt they have good pizza, unfortunately I just didn’t receive it.

The classic old school, Italian restaurant.
Red & white checkered tablecloths? Check.
The empty Chianti bottles in baskets as candleholders? Check.
Hanging plastic grapes? Check.
Red vinyl booths? Check.
Jukeboxes on every booth table? Check.
Said jukeboxes loaded w Sinatra, Bennett, & Martin? Check.
Pizza? Check.
I’ve never had anything but pizza here. The pies, again, are old school. This is not Delfina, right? Standard & traditional fare… that’s Gaspare’s.
How does a sausage & pepperoni pie sound?
It sounds darn good to me.
The pizza sauce is solid. Props.
The crust is also solid, literally & figuratively. Not soggy. Props.
Throw on some Dino, & order some vino. Then order a pizza.
That’s what you do here.
A scene from Blue Jasmine was shot here.
Good enough to be in a Woody Allen movie? Check.
A bit kitschy, sure. But it’s a true red sauce joint.
4 stars.

Gaspare’s is a classic neighborhood Italian restaurant that’s been open since 1985. It has an old school ambiance with plastic grapes hanging from the ceiling and red checked table clothes. There are twelve booths with tables in the middle set up for larger parties.
After a brief wait, we were seated and were greeted by our friendly waitress. After checking out the menu, we ordered:
#21 Bruce’s Special pizza. A thin crust pizza with linguica, ground salami, mushrooms, garlic, oregano, mozzarella, and tomato sauce. With generous amounts of toppings, it was greasy, but boy was it tasty.
Veal Cutlet alla Parmigiana — a nice sized piece of tender veal with tomato sauce topped with mozzarella cheese. It included a side of al dente spaghetti topped with marinara sauce.
A great neighborhood Italian restaurant with good homestyle food with friendly service. Parking can be a challenge in the area, especially on weekends.

One word for you… LASAGNA!!! Goodness gracious I made sweet love to it! Absolutely delicious! That’s not all… the whole place is really cool. Reminds me of the old school restaurants in Brooklyn.
Us Italians can be a little tacky with how we decorate and the music we love but if you got a problem with it, tough sheeeet! :) Plastic grapes hanging from the ceiling, red and white table cloths on the table and a juke box filled with Golden Era music. I sang and ate my ass off up in here. I didn’t give a fuck! This is my new go to place for Lasagna… Btw, try the mozzarella sticks. They are ginormous!!!

This place is ’bout it, ’bout it!!**
The «house specialty» (their quotation marks, not mine) is the lasagna, and boy did it deliver! It was served so hot it was bubbling. If I’m going to indulge, I want all the grease! The béchamel sauce used in the lasagna was absurdly delicious.
The décor is amazing. Long may it stand EXACTLY as it is! It’s a delightful step back in time with the jukeboxes at each table.
My date had the eggplant which was good, but mine was far richer.
**It was so good it’s making me use catchphrases that are twenty years old.