Pizzeria Delfina

On July 19th, 2005 Craig and Anne Stoll's Pizzeria Delfina opened to the public., and much like its sister restaurant Delfina, quickly became a neighborhood favorite.

The food at Pizzeria Delfina is inspired by Craig's memories of New York-style pies from his youth and pizza from the best pizzerias of Naples. The menu features six Neapolitan inspired, thin crust pizzas and two daily-changing special pies and a "piatto del giorno" from the oven. The food is Italian in spirit, using local, seasonal ingredients. An array of antipasti tempt diners from their glass case along a dining counter: glistening fresh-cured anchovies, eggplant caponata, fresh-stretched mozzarella, and artisanal salume. Desserts include a seasonal fruit crostata and Bellwether Farms ricotta cannoli.

The beverage program includes twenty carefully selected southern Italian wines, most of which are available by-the-glass. Our custom red wine cabinet allows us to serve even reds by-the-glass at a proper 58 degrees. Three beers and a fun selection of sodas round out the offerings. Service, provided by a professional, knowledgeable wait staff, is friendly and casual.

The space has twenty-four seats inside and five sidewalk tables comfortably situated under an awning with gas heaters. The contemporary design by Douglas Burnham of Envelope Architecture and Design was inspired by a field trip to the birthplace of pizza. Pizzeria Delfina's design is an interpretation of the best of the Neapolitan pizzerias, which are at once simple, urban and functional. White tile, oak, a stainless steel kitchen, a mural of San Francisco along the wall, and stacks of folded pizza boxes are the backdrop to the life within. The functional elements are part of the design - nothing is hidden.

Our mural of San Francisco was painted by Mission muralist Andre Karpov. During late nights in the summer of 2006, Andre steadily applied layers of color and fine detail along the length of the demising wall between the pizzeria and the restaurant.

The idea was inspired by the ubiquitous mural of the Bay of Naples found on the walls of old - school pizzerias around the world. In the same way we use local ingredients to produce traditional food, we chose to depict our own beautiful setting as inspired by "the old country". We contacted Andre after seeing his work in the neighborhood and asked him if he would be willing to create such a mural, distilled through his own style.

His mural shows a compressed view of San Francisco as seen (loosely) from the Mission. The Bay Bridge on the left flows into a streetlight view of Bernal Hill, then the Transamerica building, downtown, the Golden Gate bridge and, finally, a moonlit view of San Francisco Bay capped by a swirling, surrealistic sky.