Manzoni

We were excited to go to the new restaurant in our neighborhood, especially an Italian one! Unfortunately we were sorely disappointed all around.
Service was lacking: we didn’t receive any kind of welcome from a hostess or from our waitress (who we were not introduced to), no check in to see how the food was at any point, I had to ask for the dessert menu myself (which she passed to us while disinterestedly talking to another waitress), and everything was slow even though we were seated at the bar.
The portion size of our mediocre food was tiny, which we were very surprised by considering Italian places are usually overly hearty. My boyfriend literally left hungry after three courses. It’s one thing to give a little bit of food if it blows your mind, it’s quite another to give someone five just-​ok ravioli — and then charge them $ 20 for it.
I don’t know if we’ve been going to too many good restaurants and our bar is set too high, or they gave us the cold shoulder because we are in our mid-​twenties and younger than the rest of their clientele, but our visit was a waste of a night out.

I was expecting so much more. I feel let down considering the high rating that Manzoni enjoys on Unilocal.
Wow – everything was off right from the start. I had to send the Primitivo back – it was way too complex and yet quite dull at the same time. The Chianti that they replaced it with was marginally better.
My eggplant roll-​ups were bitter, tough, and off-​tasting. The sauce that they sat in was tasteless.
The mussels and clams tasted old, chewy and fishy. The sauce was supposed to be spicy but it too was bland and watery.
My pappardelle with pork tasted like a watered down beef gravy with day old pork cubes.
The rigatoni with peas and sausage was awful. The sausage tasted like crumbled up hot dogs.
I’m hoping that this was an off night.
Lupa, Bacco and Zero, Zero run circles around Manzoni.
Service was excellent and the restaurant itself is charming. It was elbow to elbow packed and loud.

Great experience I really liked the attention to detail. Food was tasty and unique, and the service was excellent

Friendly service, delicious fresh pasta, a fond memory that we’d like to repeat.

First time here, staffs are friendly. Love their homemade pasta and tiramisu. Will come back for more pastas.

Fabulous!!!
Located in a cute neighborhood, not overly commercial yet not small-​towny either, this restaurant felt both authentic and tasted delicious! My daughter and I ordered the Polenta, Sol with Rabe, Puttanesca, and Panna Cotta.
The polenta came first. Normally, I’m not a big fan of polenta, but this time, I thought it was the highlight of the dinner. It was creamy and flavorful, with a hint of Gorgonzola.
Next, there was my Sol with Rabe. The fish was super fresh and melted in your mouth, and the rabe was tender and slightly bitter.
After, there was my daughters puttanesca. The pasta was al dente, and the olives and capers added a lot of flavor. Very good!
Lastly, but not least, the was dessert: Panna Cotta! Delicious and definitely shareable. The Panna cotta was firm and creamy. A perfect end to a perfect dinner.

Everyone who returns from Rome — or northern Italy — has withdrawal — from the food, atmosphere, and hours lingering over good food, wine, and conversation. So I tell my friends to bring their travel stories and meet me at Manzoni Restaurant, Manhal Jweinat’s traditional trattoria in Glen Park, to extend their vacation just a little longer.
I live in the neighborhood but feel I have had a mini vacation each time I am there. I think I will try a new dish or two but often fall back on my favorite: pork pappardelle. But if Manhal has a special on the menu, especially if it’s fish — I go for it and have never been disappointed. And if there is a recommended wine selection for the evening I trust him with that choice as well — since he has obviously thought about the pairing and the quality. Italy is not in my future right now, but I will be taking another trip in my mind this evening.

First time eating in Glen Park!
I was surprised to find so many restaurants in the Glen Park area as I usually don’t come by very often.
Manzoni offers a quiet, authentic Italian dining experience. I ordered the parpadelle with braised pork. The noodles tasted fresh, the pork was decent, and the sauce was flavorful.
I also tried my friend’s gnocchi with black truffle. The sauce seemed like an average white sauce and the black truffle flavor was light. However the gnocchi, was a little too soft for me
.
Lastly, I ordered a tiramisu, which took a long time to get to me. The tiramisu was made very well: the mascarpone was light, the soak gave a really good flavor complement, and the lady fingers were perfect.
I think it almost justifies the $ 9 per slice.
Just a few recommendations:
–have a reservation. My friends didn’t have to wait because there were some spaces at the bar.
–parpadelle is good pasta option
–tiramisu is really good if you’re going for dessert.
–they also have other desserts that looked very well plated.

A good place to go on a first date. It’s a quaint little place. It has an old traditional family style atmosphere with a contemporary modern twist to the décor. We were seated near the window toward the front of the restaurant. We were able to carry a conversation without having to yell across the table. It was very romantic. The food was amazing and the servers were pleasant. I had a great time!

I can’t find any reason not to give this place five stars. We called at 6 and got a reservation at 7:45. When we got there we were seated promptly. The hostess was super welcoming. After reading other reviews it looks like she was the owner. Her husband suggested a great Pinot Grigio that we ended up getting a second bottle. The food was decent portions and delicious. We ordered the clams and mussels in tomato sauce and calamari salad for our apps. The tomato sauce was awesome to soak your bread in! We ate family style and got the veal, rigatoni, prawns and fettuccine with clams. All the dishes were so good. I would def eat here again the next time I’m in SF! Great service, great food, clean and prompt.

This place is adorable! The ambiance is very romantic, as well. The lights are dim, but not too much. The restaurant reminds me of a cabin. There are real Italians making the food! Very nice and hospitable. I came with a few friends and enjoyed it.
We ordered the clam linguine and the truffle gnocchi. My other friends ordered the rigatoni and risotto. The risotto took about 20 minutes, which they tell you ahead of time so don’t be alarmed. The food was pretty good. It was in a very large portion! I had leftover gnocchi meal for another two meals. I will definitely recommend sharing or taking a look at the portion sizes before ordering a full plate. When I received my meal, the smell of truffle was so enticing! The cheese added was so creamy. I was in love before I even took a bite. I also enjoyed the rigatoni, very creamy.
Cute place and the food is decently priced. There is also a lot of parking, which makes it convenient.

Very nice! Cute little restaurant. Service was great and the food was great. I had the rigatoni and my partner had the pork medallions. There was a little too much spicey mustard on the pork that you ended up losing the flavor of the meat altogether, but it was still tasty. The pork came with roasted potatoes with rosemary and some roasted asparagus and carrots. Nicely presented!
My rigatoni was delicious. It had a creamy tomato sauce with sausage and peas. We also shared the arugula salad. It had roasted corn and a lemon vinaigrette. It was an interesting flavor. I enjoyed it.
Overall, a very nice experience. Not AMAZING, but I would definitely come again.

This place is awesome! I went there because a family member selected it for his graduation celebration. When I first looked at the menu online I wasn’t overly excited because I like pretty traditional Italian food. The menu seemed a bit fancy which usually leads to disappointment based on lofty expectations. I was completely wrong. Manzoni does a great job of taking traditional meals and putting a great spin on them. The portion sizes were big. I had a chance to try the rigatoni and steak. The steak was amazing and the rigatoni was the best I ever had (and I’ve had a lot).
The only bad thing is that I’m not from San Francisco so I won’t be able to visit again for a long time.
The owner was heavily involved in the experience for all the tables. Oh yea, we also brought three kids under 7 late at night and they couldn’t have been any more accommodating.

Always passed by Manzoni and saw it to be more intimate and less rambunctious than the French restaurant around the corner (which by the way is delicious)…but for the sake of trying new foods, decided to go to Manzoni instead for my birthday.
I was not disappointed.
Started off our meal with the polenta and mushrooms — so good! The polenta is the perfect. Smooth and creamy with a textural surprise from the mushrooms. The use of gorgonzola cheese also added a little extra oomph to the dish to make it memorable.
For my entrée, I went with the pappardelle. The sauce is light, almost like a tomato soup but went well with the braised pork. I loved it! Mom had the clam fettucini in white wine sauce and liked it too — she also appreciated the amount of clams and remarked that they were very fresh and sweet, still in shell. Dad had the rigatoni with Italian sausage; he also enjoyed his dish. I thought the sauce was a little strong, but that’s my opinion
Ended our meal with the panna cotta. Perfect end. Not too sweet — very fragrant vanilla flavor balanced nicely with the more tart bing cherries and sauce. Did kind of have a cherry cold medicine taste though… just a fyi.

Seems like there are a lot of fans for this restaurant, but I just don’t see why!
Came here this past Sunday for dinner, only a few tables were occupied but with high Unilocal ratings, I walked in pretty confidently. I like the fact that we were given a choice of which table to sit at, but soon enough I knew service would be super slow. Two staff were at the back counter just chatting chatting away. We were not in a hurry and have been to Italy, so we know ‘authentically’, service should be slow because people in Italy take their time to eat meals over 2−3hr period.
Food– was okay. Not impressed. Read some great comments about their bread and olive oil, but I didn’t think the bread was any special, actually not that good in my opinion. Mussels and clams in tomato sauce was standard. Spaghetti with anchovy/​tomato sauce was a bit too salty, but the pasta itself was nice. Prawns was okay, lightly flavored, could tell it was most likely frozen.
Ambience/​décor– pretty big space with maybe 30 – 40 seats. A bit dimly lit, feels like it could be in Italy.
Service– friendly, but slow and appears not focused. We overheard the diner next to us got billed incorrectly, then when we got our bill, it was also incorrect. We were charged for an item that we did not order. A bit outrageous because we didn’t order dessert after being presented with the dessert menu, the staff took the dessert menus back then brought us our check… And the added item was a dessert!!! What was she thinking? She apologized and told us she mixed up our bill with the table next to us… But how could it be when the table next to us already paid and ordered all different items than us? The only two waitstaff whom I think are the owners hung out at the back counter the majority of the time watching perhaps YouTube videos. I’m okay with slow service when staff are nice, but to get the bill wrong then to explain with an obvious untrue reason is a big turn off for me.
Overall, the food is okay, hence the three star rating from me, but there is no particular reason for me to choose to dine here again. Price vs. value/​quality is not good either. So many other restaurants out there with better food and service!

Came here on a dinner date with the hubby on a Sunday night. We had the mushroom polenta, which was nice and creamy, not heavy like most polenta. I ordered the risotto with fava beans and cheese, while the hubby had the gnocchi. I loved the risotto, it was nice and delicate and loved my fav beans. However, neither my husband, nor myself, were crazy about the doughy gnocchi. Either way he ate the whole plate and he loved my risotto. The service was great, a little slow but wonderful and detailed to every table there. We would come back here again whenever we make it down the hill.

Manzoni is brought to you by the talented family that runs Higher Grounds a block away (yummy crepes, btw.) A comfort to see their familiar faces!
The stone exterior lacks proper signage, just know you’re in the right place when you see the dental office next door. This rustic bistro’s wood ceilings & stone & brick arch contributes to the feeling of being in a wine cellar (as observed by my oenophile Wonder Twin.) Ambiance is romantic enough for a date, sophisticated enough for a work dinner, yet unpretentious & perfect for an impromptu get-​together like ours.
The soft polenta antipasti ($ 9) had a blanket of gorgonzola & fontina cheeses covering it, giving each spoonful a salty, pungent bite. Enough meaty oyster mushrooms to lend texture to the otherwise smooth consistency. Addictive!
Ruling out menu items & zeroing in on the one thing I’ll eat is usually a simple process for me. So not the case here; between spaghetti puttanesca & the pappardelle special, it was difficult to decide. I finally scrapped those ideas & ordered potato gnocchi with a creamy cheese & truffle sauce ($ 17.) Savory & sharp flavors. Texture — impossibly soft & pillowy.
Our dinner left us too full for dessert. How I yearn to sit leisurely, post-​meal, with a frothy espresso drink & a square of the tempting-​looking tiramisu that almost every other table ordered. I must save room next time.

I’ve been in a 3 star rut for a while now. Trying to pick from 70+ pending reviews that are 2 – 3 stars to post is as depressing as pinching fat rolls and having to do the tripod bend when picking up something from the floor.
One of my gfs was visiting from Texas and wanted to have a group dinner. Her favorite cuisine is Italian. With a 4.5 star overall rating on Unilocal,a quick walk from BART (~2.5 blocks), and easier parking than most parts of the city, Manzoni was an easy choice for our group dinner. Do make reservations as Manzoni is a small restaurant that can accommodate about 35 people.
Manzoni serves up rustic, Italian dishes with reasonable prices and portions in a very warm and inviting environment. It’s a charming neighborhood gem that’s highly recommended for an intimate date.
Our group of six shared the following apps:
*Parma Prosciutto & Burrata ($ 12):
*House Cured Salmon Carpaccio w/​shaved fennel & meyer lemon dressing ($ 11):
Soft Polenta w/​wild mushrooms, fontina & gorgonzola ($ 9):
*Mediterranean Mussels & Clams in Spicy Tomato Broth ($ 11):
From the apps I tried, the Polenta was my favorite as it was a stick to your ribs, hearty, cheesy, and earthy goodness. It’s perfect cold weather food. Burrata is my vice and I just thought Manzoni’s was just ok; I usually like burrata with a more milkier, creamier consistency. I appreciated that the House Cured Salmon wasn’t too salty but I couldn’t really detect any of the meyer lemon dressing. I didn’t try the Mediterranean Mussels & Clams.
Oh and say, «YES TO THE BREAD»! We cleaned about six plates of it. The rosemary infused olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip was simply addicting.
I had a hard time picking an entrée because I wanted pasta AND a meat dish but I thought about the depressing fat rolls and decided to just get a pasta dish. After much debate, I choose the Pappardelle w/​braised pork ragu ($ 17):
. I was disappointed that the pappardelle were more like thick egg noodles than sheets of pasta (just my personal preference). The pork chunks were über tender but the sauce was one-​note and quite bland. Had this dish been stellar, this review would be 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars.
Redeeming my mediocre entrée were the desserts. We shared the Eggless Vanilla Panna Cotta ($ 8.50), Hazelnut Budino ($ 9) & Tiramisu ($ 9):
. All were perfectly executed and equally delicious. The Panna Cotta was firm yet decadently creamy. The Hazelnut Budino was moist, chocolately, and nutty without being overly sweet. Loved the accompanying crème anglaise. If I had to pick a fav, it would have been the Tiramisu which had a great balance of coffee flavor, rum, mascarpone cheese and fluffy whip cream. It’s the best Tiramisu I’ve had thus far and I get googly eyes just thinking about it.
Service was most excellent and was everything you could ask for a neighborhood restaurant. Our server was friendly, attentive, and made great recs for the wine. Food service was timely. The owner even passed by several times to ensure everything was fine. We were the last ones to leave the restaurant but they didn’t rush us out.
Parking is becoming increasingly harder in the area so do allow yourself an extra 10 minutes to find street parking.
Everyone in our group left with happy bellies. I left with several. *Tripod bend*

Cher N. set up a group dinner for a bunch of us girlfriends + 1 manly man to catch up with a dear friend who had moved away for work. I’m very unfamiliar with Glen Park and had a long day at work with the 31^st being Halloween AND the Giants parade. I couldn’t even get home after the parade (delayed bus after delayed bus. standing around for an hour? no thanks!), so I prayed Manzoni was just a short walk from BART.
Worry not folks! Manzoni is indeed, a short walk from the Glen Park BART station. It was about 4 short blocks. Parking can be tough, so if BART is easily accessible to you, TAKE IT.
The restaurant is small and cozy. All wood and brick interior. It’s quiet and very casual, no need to dress up. (I guess I totally could have dined here in my Nyan Cat onesie costume. just kidding. or am I?) Well, it seems like it is usually quiet in here, but I’m loud, SORRY!
Great service. Our server recommended some great wines based off what we were looking for. Pretty attentive, my water glass was never empty. But I did tell them that I didn’t need anymore water before we were completely done with our meal. (C’mon folks, get in the habit of doing that — we are in a drought!)
We ordered a great variety from the menu. I would say we ordered most of their appetizers and desserts (haha)
carpaccio di salmone con finocchio — salmon carpaccio with fennel. ehhh this was somewhat bland for me. I wish the fennel was more flavorful.
parma prosciutto e burrata — prosciutto and burrata — I don’t care for burrata. I enjoyed the prosciutto and arugula on this dish though.
polenta alla valdostana — polenta with wild mushrooms, gorgonzola and fontina cheese — SO GOOD!!! sort of stinky from the fontina but it’s cheese, so it is the good stank. Loved all the mushrooms too. Creamy, earthy, cheese. YUMMMM
Mediterranean Mussels & Clams in Spicy Tomato Broth — my favorite appetizer that night. I kept hogging all the bread to dip in the tomato broth. Excellent. Loved that it was a mix of mussels and clams also. Perfectly cooked, plump and sweet.
I had the spaghetti alla puttanesca. I love spaghetti. I especially love puttanesca sauce. Noodles were just right, great amount of olives in this dish but it needed a little more tang. Maybe more anchovy? The portion was huge. I really wanted to eat it all but I couldn’t although I put up a damn good fight. I was sleepy toward the end of my meal. My gfs also loved their dishes and only ate half. They were smart and saved the rest for later. In retrospect, I probably should have done that but I am a carb wh0re.
We had 3 desserts: Eggless Vanilla Panna Cotta, Hazelnut Budino & Tiramisu. If there’s anything in life you shouldn’t miss out on, it is Mazoni’s eggless panna cotta. This thing is decadent. It is the way panna cotta should be. It is. perfect. Thick but not too rich or overwhelming, not too sweet. Probably the best panna cotta I’ve ever had in my life (Sorry E Tutto Qua, your panna cotta is getting booted down to number 2) The tiramisu was standard, and the hazelnut budino was excellent.
All around I would say excellent food for the price and atmosphere. If you have a small group I would definitely make a reservation as this place is tiny. Thank you Cher for picking this spot!!!

I came here for an intimate celebration. I was lucky to find parking nearby almost immediately. I’m not sure if there is too much parking.
When looking for the building, I was a little bit confused because the name of the restaurant doesn’t really stick out. I thought a dentist building replaced it, but alas, it was to the left of the dentist building.
I walked in and we were seated. The restaurant itself is fairly cozy and quaint. Very cute. We opted for a window seat.
We were handed menus and when I saw it, I recognized it as a fairly traditional Italian menu… in that there was a more extensive food hierarchy. (If you go to Italy, you’ll understand what I mean.)
Started the night with a bottle of wine:
San Angelo’s Pinot Grigio 2010 — $ 40 — This was very crisp and refreshing. Very delicious.
Then the complimentary bread came out and the olive oil that came with it was DELICIOUS.
Antipasti (Appetizers):
—Mussels and Clams in Tomato sauce — Yum! One of my favourite dishes in general, and Manzoni’s take on it was very traditional. Comes with 2 pieces of garlic bread. The base is yummy, and great to dip bread in.
—Polenta — Might be slightly different from how you’ve had it before, but this was very good.
Primi (First Course, generally pastas and the like):
—Rigatoni alla Bischero — This dish is good, but very very heavy. You’ll need a stronger white wine, like a Chardonnay or something to pair with this.
—Ravioli alla Verdura con Carino — This dish isn’t as heavy as the Rigatoni, and is very delicious. It comes with 6 pieces of Ravioli. I think these were eggplant filled.
Secondi (Generally a meat dish)
—Gamberoni al salmorigano — Prawns (6 pieces). This dish has candied potatoes which I’m not a big fan of, but the prawns were well cooked and yummy. The veggies I think had a hint of bitter (just a hint!) and was a good pairing with everything, especially to offset the candied potatoes.
Dessert:
Panna Cotta — I’m not a big fan of sweet stuff, but this actually wasn’t overwhelming for me. It did make my wine a little bit more bitter though: p I enjoyed this dish, but I have no way of judging it because I’m not a big dessert eater.
Service:
Cute cute cute. The owner and his wife constantly checked up on us or had us in the corner of his eye to make sure we were okay. Refilled waters, and cleared dishes as we finished. He’s the type of owner to really want to make sure you’re at home. He makes you feel so at home, like a grandpa taking care of his grandchildren. He seems genuinely thankful towards each customer who comes in.
Note:
Each tier of food comes out after the prior one is finished. Thus if you don’t finish your appetizers, your main dishes don’t come out. And if you’re primi isn’t finished, your secondi doesn’t come out; (they don’t serve the pasta with the meat dish). In american culture, this is usually only reserved for fine dining, and in most asian cultures, this never happens.
Prices:
This is a bit more expensive, but not unreasonable. I think the prices were extremely fair.
Summary:
I love love love this place, and I really hope to return sooner than later. I hope more people venture out here and try it. HIGHLY recommended and will return.