Go away from the touristy side of the North Beach (San Francisco's Little Italy) and head to the Marina/Cow Hollow area for an old world ambience of an Italian restaurant. E'Angelo is a small and narrow but soaked in the Old World flavor: small tables, checkered tablecloths, small vases of flowers, mostly Italian-born wait staff and cook, and tasty Italian food.
The menu offered the usual fare, but for a long time I never bothered opening it up. Instead, I listen to what Renzo, Eddy, or Guy (the only Lyonais in the bunch) has to say about the specials. The radicchio salad with asparagus whets your appetite, as will the prosciutto with fresh melon. When the special is linguine with seafood, I opt for that immediately. The former cook Miguelito who died a couple of years ago prepared this dish the best, but the replacement did not do a terrible job either. If Ezio, the owner, happens to prepare it, then it is all the better. Sometimes two of the entrées in the specials sound so good that my partner and I have to order all, but split them: have the first entrée shared in two plates as our primi, and then order two of the other one as our secondi.
The tiramisu is unlike the ones in other places; the portion is so generous that I have to share it with someone else. Carlos, the supporting wait staff, is just as friendly as the other ones. In fact, aside from the great food, it is the people who have made this place a joy to visit.
And like Old World places, this restaurant knows how to enjoy their fruit of labor. Every year they would close for the Christmas holiday for 10 days or more. I usually would attend the very last night before they go on their short hiatus, enjoyed a fine meal there, and brought home 2 portions to be stored for later consumption.
E'Angelo
2234 Chestnut Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 567-6164
Dinner 5 to 11pm, closed Mondays
Sundays 5 to 10:30pm
