Caffe Puccini

The food may be good but the service is terrible… We just left after waiting more than 15 minutes for the waiter

I went here for breakfast with my parents. It seemed like a good option because there was no line, and I knew going down Columbus further would be a waste of time. It also had outdoor seating, so our dog can sit with us.
My dad ordered an omelet, my mom got a lox bagel, and I wanted just eggs and toast. The eggs were scrambled a bit too hard to the point where it burnt. And for the price of the lox bagel (around $ 8), my mom felt she could’ve just done it herself at a lower cost.
But the restaurant is located in a high-​traffic area in a pricey neighborhood, so I wasn’t surprised about the cost of our meals. My meal and my dad’s were around $ 10 each.
Since there wasn’t anyone else in the restaurant, we got our food quickly. And the waiter was attentive. My dad and I ordered orange juice, but they only had enough oranges for one glass. I wasn’t upset because it was nice to know that they’re using fresh orange juice instead of buying bottles.
After reading some of the other reviews, it seems like dinner is the way to go when dining here. If you’re here in the morning, I suggest ordering a light breakfast and coffee.

We were hungry one night in north beach looking for a place to eat quickly. We were also craving Italian food but weren’t planning on going somewhere too expensive or with a long wait. This place was pretty empty which made me a bit skeptical but the food fulfilled every need we wanted that night, especially satiating our appetite.
I got the carbonara and my girlfriend got the penne ai porcini. The carbonara was flavor packed with the right amount of salt and the penne was creamy and full of mushroom taste, which goes great in pasta. The prices are very decent too. I recommend going here especially for a quick dinner before hitting the bars.

This place is gem. The Unilocal description does not give the full picture. They have lots of pasta dishes and they are fantastic.
The staff is attentive but doesn’t rush you. They know how to provide service.
Stopped in last night for dessert for my daughter’s birthday. My daughters had berry pie aka mode and cannelloni. My husband and I just grabbed coffee. One bite of my daughter’s berry pie and I had to have a slice. My husband told a passing waiter. He brought second slice but didn’t heat this one. Pie was still yummy but would have been better heated. When our waiter came by my husband told him we had a second slice and I told him the first was better heater. On the bill, he didn’t charge us!
They are truly purveyors or excellent food and service!

The best latte around! This café is a North Beach institution and one can feel the beat poet energy wafting through the air. I’ve been coming here for 24 years and I still get excited about this place.
Pasta is amazing too!

Had breakfast there. The food is decent, but you’re going to have to ask your waiter for everything twice.

Hands down the worst meal I’ve had in a «restaurant» ever. The staff was abhorrent and the food inedible. The only plus was the drip coffee was ok. If you want to waste 25 $ on breakfast give it a go. I would rather stab my eyes out than ever pay to eat here again.

Had a very simple relaxed dinner. Enjoyed fresh linguine with clams for $ 16. The chicken Parmigiana was $ 15 and included a salad. A casual place with fresh pasta. Also good for expresso and desserts.

I’ve been a customer of this Café since the late 80s. I absolutely love them and the way it has not changed much. Yes, the TV is changed to a flat screen and the paint on the wall is much more vibrant but it still holds the old classic Puccini feel. As well, the coffee is still spectacular.
I remember when I first started coming to this café. While my buddies were dating and going out for a drink, I was inviting girls out for coffee.
Mind you, this is back in the early nineties when meeting for coffee was not thing to do. But it totally worked for me.
Picking up a girl on my motorcycle and parking right out front and having coffee and dessert. Total score!
So I guess it’s fair to say, thank you Puccini Café for helping me meet my wife and everything else that has followed since.
How’s that for romance?

Oh man other than the fact that they were open on Christmas Day and had the Warriors game on this place was a serious disappointment. The service was below lackluster where the gentleman at the register cared more about moving us along than that we received our full order. The drinks were okay… the whipped cream on the hot chocolate was homemade but had serious fluff to it was basically just a spoon full of cream and the coffee gelato was the worst. First off it tasted like vanilla with the color of coffee, second it had chunks of ice through out and third there were two massive coffee beans that I couldn’t even chew because they had the texture of plastic.

We had breakfast. It came out at a reasonable time, it was delicious, and the service was great.
Will definitely come back when in San Francisco.

Ate here twice within one weekend. Why, you ask? Here’s why:
There’s so many options in The Little Italy neighborhood, but if your looking for a real Ma N’ Pa kinda restaurant, this is the place for you.
The restaurant offers get indoor and outdoor seating. Outdoor advantages is to experience the wonderful hustle and bustle of Columbus Street and of course the chance to people watch. The advantage of sitting inside is the huge flat screen that plays the popular sports game of that day, great options.
The menu offers options with sandwiches, pastas dishes and pizza. I must say the pasta and their homemade sauces are where it’s at.
Day 1:
–Lobster Ravioli with carbonara sauce instead of the marinara sauce. (5 Stars)
Day 2:
–Spaghetti carbonara with extra sauce and add chicken. (5 Stars)
The carbonara sauce here is AMAZING. Order extra just so can dip your bread in it.
You won’t regret it.

The location is perfect. And the food is wonderful.
I tried the chicken parmesan n my friend had the gnocchi Alfredo with pesto sauce. Both really good.
Their complimentary bread was not so great which was a little disappointing.

Took a lunch here just to drink coffee and read and people watch. I ordered the Clam Pasta and it was delicious! I am a bit picky about my Clam Vongoles so I wasn’t expecting too much, but it tasted fresh.
and I sat outside so the service was a little slower, but I didnt mind much because I wasn’t in the mood to really rush.
Coffee was fantastic. Got the mocha. and the bread that comes out is also delicious. I just really like this place and spending time by yourself for a late brunch in North beach is just an amazingly relaxing time.

After scoping several North Beach Italian restaurants, company, venue, service and food all came together for the perfect North Beach dining experience.
Café Puccini is authentic. It delivers exactly what it purports to be: a sweet little spot with home-​made pasta and down-​home atmosphere. It’s delicious. It’s romantic. It’s 1000% San Francisco. One might say, «on fleek.»
The small green side salads were ample, fresh… perfect. The pappardelle Bolognese could not have been better prepared. The pasta was flawlessly cooked — al dente. The Bolognese sauce perfectly hugged the noodles. The flavors are rustic, classic. It is the way it should be.
The frutti di mare on linguine is equally compelling.
I think it might be even better on the risotto, which is also an option. In any event, the seafood was plentiful and fresh.
The sidewalk scene on Columbus unfolds before you in an unscripted, cacophony of humanity. It keeps things interesting and compels an order for another round of the house wine to drink it all in.
Forget those pretentious North Beach restaurants. Go authentic. Go small. Go Café Puccni.

Caffe Puccini’s food is so phenomenal– old school delicious pasta. The ambience is pleasant but not ideal for dinner; there’s a distinctive lack of music and flattering lighting.
However it’s worth coming for the penne porcini — but sub the penne for parpadelle– and the excellent wait staff. Edwin was amazing and recommended the carbonara, which was delicious.
Incidentally, the clam chowder is inexplicably on point, and the company is fascinating and delightful. Definitely worth a stop if you’re hungry and not on a diet.

Stopped in for a pizza, not a fan. It taste like frozen pizza that they threw on too thick of slices of mozzarella and tomatoes.

Randomly stopped in and wow. So good. Tiny spot with amazing food. Old Italian dudes out in front and ransom folks sipping coffees. Awesome.

I came here for breakfast with my parents and had the Belgium waffle with scrambled eggs, the three pancakes platter, and a custom omelette with spinach, mushroom, and sausage. The two Belgium waffles were roughly 4“x4″, relatively dry, and came with one one sliced strawberry (condiments on the side), the scrambled eggs were nothing spectacular and rather oily, the pancakes were also relatively dry and came with one sliced strawberry, and the omelette was saltier than we would have liked it. Overall the their breakfast was not that great. For the breakfast food alone, I give it two stars.
The drinks however were great! The house coffee was smooth and aromic, and the latte was absolutely delicious! The foam was just right :) For the drinks, the atmosphere, and the kind service, I tacked on one more star; but honestly the breakfast food a was disappointing.
I may return for the lunch /​dinner because that’s what everyone seems to like best.

A wonderful lunch spot (or dinner) in North Beach. The service was great and the meal was so delicious. We were a party of five and had pasta dishes, a sandwich, a salad, and an order of soup. All was excellent. My linguini with clams was full of clams with fresh clams in the shell on the side of the dish. The pasta was fresh and the sauce was sooooooo flavorable. A small wine list; I enjoyed a house chianti which was fine.
Great classic North Beach Italian atmosphere.