SF: Lunching at Pizzeria Delfina

Even before they opened at noon, people were already waiting in front of Pizzeria Delfina. The good thing about being there as they opened though, is that you get seated pretty much immediately. The crowd filled up seats minutes after the door opened, both inside and on the sidewalk of 18th St.

Then again, that also means they're suddenly starting to cook for a full house, so we waited for food staring at our condiments plate in anticipation. Can't wait til I can put this stuff on my pie.

The fried sand dabs we got as appetizer (special of the day) came out first.
Piping hot and crispy sand dabs were topped with crisped spinach. A drizzle of lemon made these pieces of fish amazing. Definitely a great start to my Delfina meal. I would watch out for these babies on the menu next time and will definitely get them again.

The first pie: Napoletana (tomato, anchovies, capers, hot peppers, olives, and oregano - $10)
Delfina's pizza is a saucy thin crust pizza - thin enough to put the focus on the sauce and toppings but not too thin that the pizza would fall apart.
The Napoletana here is a great representation of the classic where great ingredients are put together well. My only complaint with this pie is that it was pretty burnt at parts. Luckily this didn't happen on our second order.

The second pie: The Purgatorio (spicy tomato sauce, pecorino romano cheese, 2 eggs)
Everything with eggs is good I'd say and this is quite an interesting pizza. The runny yolk does well at cutting the spiciness of the tomato sauce and sopping up the remaining yolk with their delightful crust was pretty amazing. Not burnt either. We were all quite happy with this pizza.

It was a very satisfying lunch on a Sunday afternoon. They had desserts and they probably would've been good, but with Bi-Rite across the street ... tough choice but this time around we opted for Bi-Rite.

Pizzeria Delfina
3611 18th St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 437-6800
www.pizzeriadelfina.com