The only complaint I would have is that the music was annoyingly loud. Everyone had to talk over it, which made the restaurant loud and at9pm there were only six tables. Decor could be updated to keep up with the more updated restaurants, but the funky decor lets you know you're in San Fran! Wait staff amazing and food was delicious.
PattyK
I read an article about this restaurant so I wanted to try it. Luisa has owned and operated several restaurants in SF, this one since 1959. So we wanted to try it. The decor is more modern, not your old fashion red checker tablecloths. We liked the wooden tables. We ordered a traditional caesar salad and the carpaccio as appetizers. Both were very good. The caesar salad dressing was rich and creamy, but the croutons could have been crunchier. We wanted to try the pizza, so we had that and an order of gnocchis with pesto to share. The gnocchis were very good, yelp gives them a 5 star. The pizza was good, but nothing special. We also ordered the spumoni bomba for dessert. It was very good. All in all a very nice dinner that was a good value. We want to go back to try some of the other pasta dishes.
Eugenio Macossay-Hernandez
Luisa opened her second restaurant in the city, and it is a gem for the city. Her kind soul reflects on how carefully she runs the restaurant, how fresh her food is, and how perfect the wine is.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
David H.
Beautiful restaurant and the food was fabulous! I definitely recommend the chicken Alfredo and their wine is all imported. Enjoy it a lot.
Brady W.
The owner Luisa is the real deal. 92 years, 7th generation restauranteur, who has owned dozens of restaurants in SF over the decades. Her recipes are delicious and she sat by our table and chatted with us while we ate.
Andrew E.
Love this new location, always a lovely time at Luisa's. Such a treat to say hello to the woman herself as well
Edgar W.
Excellent service. Food outstanding and the price was surprisingly good compared to the quality of food and hospitality u receive. Not loud friendly conversation.
Kendall Herkimer
Luisa's left much to be desired. With a decades long reputation, I expected more. For our first visit, we got the bruschetta and the specials: chicken piccata and eggplant parmesan.Off to a bad start, the bruschetta was a lackluster and uneventful appetizer that accurately foreshadowed the rest of the meal. Although the produce was fresh enough, the bruschetta lacked seasoning that the disproportionate side of oil and balsamic vinegar could not compensate for. To make matters worse, the bread was reminiscent of store bought frozen take-and-bake white bread, crumbly in texture, frail in composition -- pitiful for a city known for its high quality breads. The untoasted crostini disintegrated and left a mealy taste on our palates before the main course.The specials were nothing of the sort. The eggplant parmesan (Italian style, not breaded and fried) had under-seasoned filets of eggplant layered between an obscene amount of mozzarella cheese, presumably to distract from the blandness of the jarred Ragu it was swimming in. My friend's review of the chicken piccata: flavorless, underwhelming, lacked the sear all expect from this classic dish. She described it as glorified hospital food. And for the price, glorified it was.The basics and two wine glasses later, the $90 tab didn't inspire us to order the tiramisu as planned. We popped over to Lone Palm for a lovely espresso martini instead. Overall, I suggest saving your money and trying a frozen Rao's dinner. It will taste better at a fraction of the cost.Additionally, I highly advise a critical analysis of the styling and motif of the area to maintain freshness unless cheap 90s wine bar was what they're going for!
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 4
Steven Warner
I live all the way down in Silicon Valley and make it a point dine at Luisa’s whenever possible. Dining here makes me happy!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Gnocchi 5 Stars on Yelp, Burrata Salad, 5 Stars Homemade Tiramisu, Lasagne Alla Bolognese
Karen R.
Eating at Luisa's restaurant is like walking into a family kitchen and sitting down for an authentic home-cooked meal! We were just visiting the area after returning from a cruise and decided to try it. We enjoyed wine and appetizers of bruschetta, meatballs, Caesar salad, and beef carpaccio. Our main courses were Pappardelle with vodka sauce and Clams linguine with red sauce. We topped the evening off with a cannoli and limoncello and mascarpone cake with creamy lattes. Luisa was there watching that we got the best possible service. You owe to yourself to try this place at least once, but you'll probably return again and again.
Food - 4 Caesar Salad: 3 stars (mayo dressing..) Meatballs: 4.5 stars Garlic Bread (homemade) 5 stars Penne Gorgonzola: 3.5 stars Service: 4 Understaffed but pleasant and as thorough as you can be in that situation: 4 stars Ambiance: 3 Lovely decor but the music cut out constantly and was interrupted by commercials... Do better Overall: 3.6
Darlene R.
The service was great. The food was delicious. Pizza and chicken parm was amazing. Luisa has to bottle her sauce.
cwilson
Nice neighborhood restaurant. My husband loved every course, the burrata cheese with pesto, lobster ravioli and tiramisu were all delicious. My Caesar salad was lackluster, the croutons tasted store bought, the lettuce was a bit watery and the dressing was blah. My puttanesca was good, not great. The sauce was tasty but had very few capers. My favorite feature was the house white wine, nice flavor.
Jon C.
Love this place. Went here with my family and it's the best Italian restaurant outside of north beach. Pastas are fresh, gnocchi is the perfect consistency. Desserts were decadent. Coming back for sure
Diane C.
Loved this restaurant! The food was amazing! Started with the garlic bread and meatballs. The bread was soft and crunchy the meatballs were tasty! I had the Gnocchi and it was the best I've ever had. They split the dish in half with two different sauces. There were 4 of us and everyone enjoyed the food. If you haven't yet tried it you should go see Luisa!
The only complaint I would have is that the music was annoyingly loud. Everyone had to talk over it, which made the restaurant loud and at9pm there were only six tables. Decor could be updated to keep up with the more updated restaurants, but the funky decor lets you know you're in San Fran! Wait staff amazing and food was delicious.
I read an article about this restaurant so I wanted to try it. Luisa has owned and operated several restaurants in SF, this one since 1959. So we wanted to try it. The decor is more modern, not your old fashion red checker tablecloths. We liked the wooden tables. We ordered a traditional caesar salad and the carpaccio as appetizers. Both were very good. The caesar salad dressing was rich and creamy, but the croutons could have been crunchier. We wanted to try the pizza, so we had that and an order of gnocchis with pesto to share. The gnocchis were very good, yelp gives them a 5 star. The pizza was good, but nothing special. We also ordered the spumoni bomba for dessert. It was very good. All in all a very nice dinner that was a good value. We want to go back to try some of the other pasta dishes.
Luisa opened her second restaurant in the city, and it is a gem for the city. Her kind soul reflects on how carefully she runs the restaurant, how fresh her food is, and how perfect the wine is.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Beautiful restaurant and the food was fabulous! I definitely recommend the chicken Alfredo and their wine is all imported. Enjoy it a lot.
The owner Luisa is the real deal. 92 years, 7th generation restauranteur, who has owned dozens of restaurants in SF over the decades. Her recipes are delicious and she sat by our table and chatted with us while we ate.
Love this new location, always a lovely time at Luisa's. Such a treat to say hello to the woman herself as well
Excellent service. Food outstanding and the price was surprisingly good compared to the quality of food and hospitality u receive. Not loud friendly conversation.
Luisa's left much to be desired. With a decades long reputation, I expected more. For our first visit, we got the bruschetta and the specials: chicken piccata and eggplant parmesan.Off to a bad start, the bruschetta was a lackluster and uneventful appetizer that accurately foreshadowed the rest of the meal. Although the produce was fresh enough, the bruschetta lacked seasoning that the disproportionate side of oil and balsamic vinegar could not compensate for. To make matters worse, the bread was reminiscent of store bought frozen take-and-bake white bread, crumbly in texture, frail in composition -- pitiful for a city known for its high quality breads. The untoasted crostini disintegrated and left a mealy taste on our palates before the main course.The specials were nothing of the sort. The eggplant parmesan (Italian style, not breaded and fried) had under-seasoned filets of eggplant layered between an obscene amount of mozzarella cheese, presumably to distract from the blandness of the jarred Ragu it was swimming in. My friend's review of the chicken piccata: flavorless, underwhelming, lacked the sear all expect from this classic dish. She described it as glorified hospital food. And for the price, glorified it was.The basics and two wine glasses later, the $90 tab didn't inspire us to order the tiramisu as planned. We popped over to Lone Palm for a lovely espresso martini instead. Overall, I suggest saving your money and trying a frozen Rao's dinner. It will taste better at a fraction of the cost.Additionally, I highly advise a critical analysis of the styling and motif of the area to maintain freshness unless cheap 90s wine bar was what they're going for!
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 4
I live all the way down in Silicon Valley and make it a point dine at Luisa’s whenever possible. Dining here makes me happy!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Gnocchi 5 Stars on Yelp, Burrata Salad, 5 Stars Homemade Tiramisu, Lasagne Alla Bolognese
Eating at Luisa's restaurant is like walking into a family kitchen and sitting down for an authentic home-cooked meal! We were just visiting the area after returning from a cruise and decided to try it. We enjoyed wine and appetizers of bruschetta, meatballs, Caesar salad, and beef carpaccio. Our main courses were Pappardelle with vodka sauce and Clams linguine with red sauce. We topped the evening off with a cannoli and limoncello and mascarpone cake with creamy lattes. Luisa was there watching that we got the best possible service. You owe to yourself to try this place at least once, but you'll probably return again and again.
Restaurantji Recommends
Food - 4 Caesar Salad: 3 stars (mayo dressing..) Meatballs: 4.5 stars Garlic Bread (homemade) 5 stars Penne Gorgonzola: 3.5 stars Service: 4 Understaffed but pleasant and as thorough as you can be in that situation: 4 stars Ambiance: 3 Lovely decor but the music cut out constantly and was interrupted by commercials... Do better Overall: 3.6
The service was great. The food was delicious. Pizza and chicken parm was amazing. Luisa has to bottle her sauce.
Nice neighborhood restaurant. My husband loved every course, the burrata cheese with pesto, lobster ravioli and tiramisu were all delicious. My Caesar salad was lackluster, the croutons tasted store bought, the lettuce was a bit watery and the dressing was blah. My puttanesca was good, not great. The sauce was tasty but had very few capers. My favorite feature was the house white wine, nice flavor.
Love this place. Went here with my family and it's the best Italian restaurant outside of north beach. Pastas are fresh, gnocchi is the perfect consistency. Desserts were decadent. Coming back for sure
Loved this restaurant! The food was amazing! Started with the garlic bread and meatballs. The bread was soft and crunchy the meatballs were tasty! I had the Gnocchi and it was the best I've ever had. They split the dish in half with two different sauces. There were 4 of us and everyone enjoyed the food. If you haven't yet tried it you should go see Luisa!