Tosca Cafe

This is an easy 5 star. This place feels like it has rightfully been around since 1919. It feels like you are time traveling with a plate of excellent food in front of you. Great place to spark conversation and curiosity about the precious guests who have enjoyed these same walls. We tried everything and it was all very good. The staff was also very friendly. This is a MUST if you’re visiting or a local.

A friend and I enjoyed dinner in this beautiful restaurant in the middle of a San Francisco heat wave in October 2024. This facility does have some air conditioning but the unit was only barely working in the small back dining room and the oven and structure of the facility made dining conditions virtually untenable in the rest of the space. In spite of conditions that would melt mere mortals, the waitstaff was friendly, efficient, and generous. Even though they'd been working in the infernal heat for hours (even days), they bolstered our wilting resolves by creating a lively spirit of hospitality and inclusion. We made it through with smiles, together. Very grateful for these professionals. I can only imagine how extraordinary this rare type of hospitality would be under normal, cooler conditions. I hope the management takes good care of their remarkable staff, especially after excelling in these drastic working conditions. Our dinner choices included a panzanella salad that was near perfection with ripe heirloom tomato chunks, mozzarella, red onion, homemade croutons and a perfectly balanced vinaigrette. I was so thrilled to find this rare treat on the menu. With the perfect amounts of tang, savoriness, creaminess, and crunch, this was an ideal way to begin our meal and was a generous amount for two diners. Entrees (Primi and Secondi) were lumache alla vodka and chicken parmesan. Both were very thoughtfully designed, providing balance and texture in both incarnations. The lumache's silken tomato sauce had the right touch of heat and was melded beautifully with a perfectly cooked al dente pasta. The chicken parm was one of the best I've enjoyed in ages as it found such a great balance of crispy textures with a very rich tomato sauce and, of course, the cheese. I think they sauced it perfectly for the plate but do recommend you ask for a little extra sauce on the side as the one they make has depth that'll leave you wanting more. Once again, one of each entree provided plenty of food for sharing for two diners. Kudos to the chef and back of house team for delivering such beauty through what must have been downright mercurial kitchen conditions. I can't report regarding the noise level at Tosca as the restaurant was only about half full due to the heat in the city. It's a physically beautiful space and I'd love to come back to experience service, food, and hospitality again when cooler temperatures prevail. Always a pleasure to dine in a restaurant whose staff is clearly capable of delivering remarkable food and hospitable service.

We came here for dinner, risked it without a reservation, and were really impressed! We’d not long got off a long-haul flight so we were slight out of it but the service was quick (waiters not overly chatty) and the food that was served was tasty! The portion sizes were large too! We went for meatballs, chicken parmigiana and broccoli! The meatballs were a little cool when they came out, but this was not a problem for the staff, they whipped them away and served us a fresh portion within minutes. Then we couldn’t resist some gelato, and were not disappointed as the pistachio was delicious! Our only criticism was the staff didn’t seem that chatty, maybe there was a language barrier? But we would absolutely return to this restaurant and would recommend it to anyone looking for a decent Italian!

Vibes here are immaculate. Refined enough for the low light, small enough to feel the real buzz of the restaurant operating like a fine machine. Margo, the big bartender, keeps an eye on the entire restaurant from the cocktail station. The care and attention to each patron is evident 100-year-old establishment right across from City Lights bookstore? Don't think twice. Go, and get whatever Margo recommends, and you're guaranteed to make a memory.

Booked a reservation for 5 people on a Saturday night. This was our first time trying Tosca. We were so pleasantly impressed with the food and service. The homemade bread and pasta were so delicious. The cocktails were unique and fun. The atmosphere was amazing and we had a lovely time.

I've been in this restaurant on my second night in San Francisco because I heard it was one of the most renowned in the city. The atmosphere is very nice, with paintings on the wall and low lights, but other than that I didn't find anything special about it. We had Lumache Cacio e Pepe and Tosca Meatballs, they were ok but quite overpriced (27$ and 24$ respectively).

Needed a Friday reservation for a big group. Decided to come to this classic place since 3 out of the 8 lived in the neighborhood years ago. We had olives and two different types of burrata starters with a bottle of white and red. For dinner we ate various pasta, salmon, chicken parmigiana etc. We had gelato, tiramisu and olive oil cake. The tiramisu was divine as was the gelato. Olive oil cake was ok but not as good as the other two.