The San Francisco Restaurant That Brought Pizza To The West Coast
Long before the emergence of West Coast 'za pillars like California Pizza Kitchen and the playfully-named Licorice Pizza Records (taglined "The Tastiest Music in Town"), there was Tommaso's. California's iconic restaurant scene is home to historical haunts like Chasen's (a now-defunct favorite of Alfred Hitchcock) and the Rainbow Bar & Grill (where John Belushi ate his last meal). Tomasso's trumps 'em all, serving San Francisco since 1935. In 1935, FDR was President, beer was sold in a can for the first time, Clark Gable won Best Actor at the 7th Academy Awards ceremony, and WWII wouldn't start for another four years. It was a different time, but 90 years later, Tommaso's is still cranking out pizza from its original oven.
Tommaso's was the first pizzeria to ever be opened on the West Coast, when it hit the scene with a traditional wood-fired brick pizza oven. The establishment was opened by the Naples-born Cantalupo family (the region of innovative foodies behind unique Neapolitan-style pizza), who named the restaurant Lupo's. In 1971, when the Lupo's chef of 25 years, Tommy Chin, bought the business, Chin renamed the place Tommaso's after the Italianized version of his name. The name Tommaso's stuck, but the restaurant changed hands again in 1973 to newly-immigrated Maria and "Gigi" Crotti of Italy, and Tommaso's has remained a family-owned business for multiple generations of Crottis ever since. Chin taught the Crottis his recipes and continued working in the kitchen until his passing in 1977.
Tommaso's is still going strong 90 years later
Today, Tommaso's menu is nearly identical to the one served in 1935. In addition to pizzas, folks can order other classics like Northern-Italian-style lasagna, clams, antipasto, veal piccata, and a sprawling wine list. Or, folks can simply pop in for an espresso and a slice of tiramisu in the dining room, which seats 60. Regulars flock to this space for its inviting, rustic, cozy, vibe; at Tomasso's, the family-run feel permeates the atmosphere, melding attention to detail and master craft with ease and warmth. Over the years, regulars have included Hollywood A-listers from George Lucas to Robert Duvall, Francis Ford Coppola, and the Marx Brothers.
Tommaso's resides at 1042 Kearny Street, surrounded by a bustling hub of urban life and technological modernity. But, the landmark remains a steadfast pillar of Northern Italian culinary tradition and heritage. Everything in North Beach came up after Tommaso's. Inside the restaurant, the walls are decorated with murals of the Bay of Naples which, according to co-owner Agostino Crotti, "were painted for a few plates of pasta." As he shared in a 1998 interview published in local news outlet SFGate, "That's how they did business back then." Agostino's sister Carmen Crotti told the outlet that Tommaso's has refrained from opening multiple restaurants despite its wild and enduring success, because to do so would "split up the family" and lose the "magic." In 2017, Tommaso's was awarded legacy status, a prestigious recognition in San Francisco's legacy business registry.