Arrive early to get the goods at Liguria, a 106-year-old San Francisco institution. The family-run bakery specializes in focaccia, and the massive sheets of bread, studded with everything from raisins to olives are a wonder of airy, pillowy bread and olive oil richness (the green onion version is what makes the sandwiches at Mario’s so excellent). Grab a piece or 10 to take across the street from the park, or buy it frozen to finish at home.

While North Beach is best known for its many old-school restaurants and bars, Bodega is a new-school wine lover’s dream with a robust list of options by the glass and a respectable list of plates to pair including tacos, a burger, and grilled cheese. There are plenty of funky natural wines for fans to explore and the enticing descriptions make it easy to choose even if you don’t know a pet-nat from a petit verdot. Pull up a stool to a community table or the bar and make a game of observing the many dates undoubtedly taking place around the intimate interior. 

Sugar rushes are inevitable at Victoria Pastry, a pusher of the sweet stuff since 1914. Sample classics like tiramisu and cannoli, or go big with slices of rich layer cakes. This classic bakery is known for Easter egg-hued princess cake layered with raspberry, whipped cream, custard, and triple sec. But don’t skip the fedora — the dense chocolate cake is loaded with chocolate cream and rum. There are a couple of tables outside, but these sweets are best enjoyed with a coffee in the park.

Tony Gemignani’s pizza empire stretches far beyond North Beach, but its heart and soul remains in the neighborhood. Tony’s Pizza Napoletana packs in the crowds, and with good reason — the extensive menu reads like a crash course in regional pizza styles and history. The limited Napoletana-style margherita is worth the wait, as is the butter-edged Detroit-style square pie. Next door, the Slice House slings wedges of coal-fired New York and Connecticut-style pies plus Chicago-style Italian beef sandwiches. Down the street, Capo’s is all about the gut-busting, Chicago-style fare. In brief: When it comes to pizza and its accompaniments, it’s hard to go wrong with any of Gemignani’s restaurants.

There are no cigars to be found at this corner cafe, but hot, melty sandwiches on pillowy focaccia abound. A bonafide local joint in the midst of Columbus Avenue’s touristy glut, Mario’s is the kind of place that makes you feel like a regular and inspires you to become one. Skip straight to the focaccia sandwich section of the menu, though the hot, baked dishes like lasagna and cannelloni aren’t half bad. They’re made using olive oil-rich focaccia from Liguria Bakery, just across the park. The meatball is legendary, but the eggplant sandwiches (both breaded and grilled) are worth a taste.

Blink and you’ll miss this no-frills, neighborhood staple on Columbus. Il Pollaio, as the name suggests, specializes in chicken — specifically, juicy, crispy-skinned grilled chicken, available by the half or whole bird. It’s easy to make a meal of chicken alone, but grilled vegetable sides are worth an order, and the French fries are great for soaking up savory chicken drippings. Give the lamb chops or the half rabbit a try if you’re feeling particularly carnivorous.

It’s always sunny at Red Window, the pie-shaped tapas restaurant and bar overlooking the busy intersection of Columbus and Stockton streets. Travel to Spain via food and drink with plates of pintxos like bacalao croquetas and crostini with tuna conserva and a low-proof cocktail or sangria. The brightly colored dining room is cozy day and night and the parklet makes an ideal setting for brunch, served Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 

Gigi Fiorucci may no longer hold court at Sotto Mare, but this Green Street seafood restaurant is still one of the finest places in the land for fresh oysters, Louie salads, and sloppy bowls of cioppino, bib absolutely required. Make a reservation or prepare to wait at this boisterous neighborhood staple — current owners Rich and Laura Azzolino have kept the space exactly the same, including walls laden with celebrity photos and nautical-themed kitsch. The menu is similarly unchanged and centers around daily fresh catches and San Francisco seafood classics. The aforementioned oysters and cioppino are musts, and the buttery scallops and petrale sole are excellent, too, when available. Be sure to save some of your sourdough bread for sopping up the accompanying sauces and cioppino broth.

After 10 years in the Outer Richmond, this well-loved prix fixe restaurant relocated to a prime location just off Columbus Avenue in late 2022. Owners Yuka Ioroi and Kris Toliao are about as well-known for their commitment to equal wages and fair working conditions for staff as they are for the restaurant’s affordable California cuisine. Choose from either three or five courses and look for entrees such as housemade rigatoni, slow-braised lamb belly, and albacore with squid ink-onion soubise.

As North Beach staples go, Trieste is almost unbeatable — the storied corner cafe claims to have been the very first Italian-style espresso house on the West Coast when it opened in 1956. Its timing was fortuitous; Trieste became a gathering place for poets, artists, musicians, and the Beat scene at large. Grab a cappuccino and get working on your next novel. You’ll be in good company — Francis Ford Coppola reputedly wrote the script for The Godfather here, and still sometimes frequents the cafe. Stop by on Saturday afternoons for live music.

Satiate your cravings for loaded Italian sandwiches at Molinari, a temple of cured meats, cheeses, and olive oil–soaked condiments. The old-school deli is a prime spot to load up for a Washington Square Park picnic. Grab a number, pick your bread, and watch the sandwich magic happen. It’s hard to go wrong with the Renzo Special, a loaded combo of prosciutto, coppa (hot or not), milky fresh mozzarella, and sweet sun-dried tomatoes, though some swear by the chicken parmesan and the grilled focaccia sandwiches. They’ve got fresh pasta on offer, too, along with pre-made lasagna and eggplant parmesan to cook up at home.

101-year-old Tosca Cafe, the historic Italian-American restaurant and bar in North Beach, reopened in November 2020 with a dinner menu starring Tuscan fried chicken, kale pesto parpardelle, and of course, its famous “house cappuccino.” Known for its century-old bar and classic back room, Tosca now boasts a heated parklet outside, perfect for oysters and spritzes.

Channel your inner Beatnik and throw back a few at Vesuvio, a two-level bar that’s been slinging drinks since 1948. Kerouac himself was known to spend considerable time at Vesuvio (and missed meeting with Henry Miller because of it, so they say), and the bar maintains its no-frills charm when it’s not slammed with tourists. Vesuvio is best on weeknights — grab a table in the upstairs window and let your poetic inclinations take over. If you’re looking for a second spot to knock one back, pop across Columbus and down the alley to another classic North Beach bar: 15 Romolo.