BIGA

Everything here is super fresh and made in house. The pizza dough, the pasta, the sausages… Great pizza, but the more adventurous dinner dishes are where this place really shines. Looking forward to visiting again whenever I’m in SD.

Really great décor and loft-​y open space. You order first at the booth, and then they bring the food to where you are depending on your order number. In addition, water is self-​serve at a small table. The food is great. The wines are great too. The owner, a Korean or Chinese man, is usually there in casual dress and helping with everything hands-​on. Great vibe, but lost a star because they were clearly very new to the restaurant game in this area and they had some things to practice up on (i.e. training new staff better).

Don’t be fooled! The portions were so small. They delivered it in a small, cheap cardboard container. Food was cold and too salty.
Used Doordash for delivery and they were late.
Apparently they couldn’t find the place.

Was inspired to write a quick update to my Biga review due to its amazing new dinner courses.
Did you know BIGA has a different signature dish (or series of dishes) EACH night for their dinner service??? They do!
It’s whatever the chef could find locally, prepared exceptionally and in such creative ways.
And so far, it’s all been amazing.
Brunch is my favorite time of the day to stop in but DINNER is coming in at a close 2^nd! :)

We had a fabulous and rather inexpensive meal here tonight. I had the Chef’s special pizza with prosciutto cooked n classic Naples style. My wife had the Lasagna with sausage and beef. Both were very good. I would order either of them again!
Our waitress Marissa was very nice as well. I will be back!

My new favorite place!!!
Amazing food, great service and a relaxing atmosphere… perfect combination! Our waitrews, Maria, was so fantastic! She was friendly, had a great personality and took care of us. She took time to get to know us, joked around with us and gave great recommendations since we were all debating between multiple dishes.
While everything was delicious, the fritte margherita pizza was the friggin bomb diggity! Even though it was fried pizza, it was still light and fluffy and didn’t make me feel bad after eating it. I can’t stop drooling thinking about that pizza!!! Yummers!
Everything else was great too, just can’t stop thinking about that pizza. Dessert was delicious… between the 4 of us we ordered 4 different desserts but we got a few extra because we couldn’t decide. Oh boy, they were all so good!
Can’t wait to go back!

I have dined at Biga now 3 times, and can fully say how happy and impressed I am with this place! I am only 3 blocks away, and am so very happy a great, quality restaurant is on Broadway! The area needed it so badly! I have tried the pizza, lasagna, salad, gelato, and a vegetarian dish… All very good! They make everything in house, even the mozzarella, and it is that amazing ! The coal fired pizza is to die for! I love the crunch bunt taste on some of the pieces of crust, and it is always very hot and bubbly! My only wish is that they carried the sandwiches into their dinner and weekend menu, because they look AMAZING!!! I unfortunately do not work in the area, so I can never try one when I am
home. This is the only reason I am giving it a 4 out of 5. The service is always friendly, and the owner is really nice! He truly cares about your experience, and has spoken with me every time I have dined! I will definitely return, hopefully in time for a sandwich…

This place is so nice and spacious, I can’t help but to stare around like a kid whenever I come in here.
It’s nice that getting coffee is easily accessible because there’s a bar right when you walk in for people that need a quick in and out.
I came here for lunch and I got:
— the White and added prosciutto: very yummy, simplistic.
— Orange Wheat Beer along with it, delicious combination.
I hope to come back for dinner, their pasta looks really good and also want to try the burrata, next time!

My party and I went here at 6PM and we were told that we couldn’t sit down until 8PM…
If you look at the picture I took, half of the restaurant was empty.

Just popped in for pizza tonight after I read the Thrillist list of top SD pizza spots — BIGA was #1!
The wild mushroom pizza came highly recommended, but I was tempted to try the seasonal nettle pizza. Lucky for me, my waitress thought to check if the chef would do a half/​half. I’m happy they were able to accommodate me & I could try both :)
Both were excellent and this visit, I really enjoyed the nettle pizza with the creamy garlic sauce. So get it while it’s on the menu.
Excellent and friendly service. Very nice restaurant interior. I am happy to have found this neighborhood gem.
I had a favorite pizza place that closed a year and half ago and had yet to find a replacement! Looking forward to trying the other pizzas and working my way down the menu

Addicted to the anchovy pie and caesar salad. BIGA is close to my office on 5^th and I’ve been in for lunch once a month since they’ve opened. The pizzas and salads are delish! One of my workmates had a muffaletta (pressed sandwich) and I got to take a little nibble, it was yum also.
I’ll be eating my way through the menu here!

Biga has some very well priced Neapolitan pizzas, hovering just above the $ 10 price point. When compared to Caffe Calabria, Biga uses more dough and less olive oil so the pizzas aren’t as «wet». Either way, still a pretty good pizza.
I tried their house made squid ink pasta with clams too but thought it wasn’t all that great. While the clams were really packed with flavor, the pasta itself was bland and really dry.
There is a must eat item here, and that’s their charcuterie board. All the meats were fantastic but be sure to get the Lardo Iberico De Bellota, you haven’t lived until you’ve tried this. Acorn fed black pigs from Spain has this extremely flavorful and aromatic fat that is out of this world.
Their prosciutto and speck were fantastic as well, definitely the best I’ve had so far.
There are tons of options at Biga, I’d stick with the charcuterie and pizza.

I adore this place so much. The pizzas are divine and reasonably priced. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I returned the next day.
I’ve tried the mushroom and diavola pizza. Perfect crust and tasty toppings. I wouldn’t order the diavola again, though, only because I don’t like the bbq taste on my pizza.
The pappardelle was meaty and delicious. The braised pork was melty and wonderful but I kicked myself for not ordering the porchetta.
My server (same individual on both nights) appeared very slow and dull-​witted. I am guessing that he was probably high on something. It was the only negative spot in both evenings.

This place is new and seems to be ironing out some wrinkles, but we still had a great dining experience.
First, the interior is cute. It feels more like a lunch place than a dinner place due to the proximity of the tables, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Judging by the menus on the walls and the glass deli cases, they probably get more lunch business anyway.
Second, the food portions were small-​ish. Nothing like the freak show portions you get at most American eating establishments. I don’t have a problem with small portions, but I was taken aback when my raviolo came out and was indeed a single raviolo. I know that «raviolo» is singular for ravioli, but I was still surprised. I’m a dummy sometimes. The raviolo also had a poached egg inside, which was elegant and yummy, but I don’t remember that being described on the menu, so surprise #2! (Maybe it was there.)
Third, the food was all kind of cold, both the husband’s and mine, like it had not been re-​heated all the way through (if that’s what they were doing) or it had sat out after cooking for too long under a not hot enough lamp. The food was still tasty, but it would have been nice if it was hot.
They make their own carbonated water there, which is a trend I’ve been seeing in more and more restaurants, which I love.
The kids split a pizza. Happy kids.
We all had a scoop of gelato for dessert, and it was proper gelato! So hard to hunt down these days. They had some other desserts in their case that looked nice, but we had been on the gelato prowl for days, so we were glad to scratch that itch.
All in all, a reasonable evening. Worth a visit.

We stopped by this new spot before a House of Blues show. It has an inviting, casual feel to it with its open kitchen floor plan and high ceilings. A good place to grab some delicious food and hold a conversation.
I can’t remember the particular name, but i got one of the IPAs on draft and it was very tasty. There is a decent beer menu to choose from.
My friend and I shared the warm mozzarella — Prosciutto. crispy garlic. micro chives. It was a pass for us. I suppose if you are a connoisseur of mozzarella in its «pure form» you might like it, but for us it completely lacked any flavor. It was improved with adding some salt onto it, but otherwise it was quite blah. I would have liked it with some bread /​crackers /​anything to compliment it. It was just kinda weird.
I got the Diavola pizza and it was fantastic. Highly recommend if you like a bit of heat as the Calabrian chili gave it the perfect kick that was not overbearing. All of the flavors were great together, especially the caramelized onions. It’s funny because I originally thought it was a vegetarian pizza not knowing that Nduja is a pork salame from Italy. Good thing Im not vegetarian ;) I am a big fan of neapolitan-​style pizza with the lovely charred wood-​fired crust. I loved it.
My friend got the Nettle pizza (white, seasonal) and appeared disappointed, saying it wasnt what he expected at all with having nettle on it. I sampled it and that pizza could have been a kale pizza or something to me. It definitely was on the bland, green side.
Our server was slightly awkward and appeared very new and not too comfortable in his skin but thats ok. I was more amused than anything. At one point he started walking toward our table, I stared at him as he made eye contact and smile and retreated it. I was about to ask him if he needed anything, which would have been a funny role reversal.
Overall, a very nice place and the pizza is fantastic! as long as you order right…

Had dinner their last night with sister, brother and 2 children ages 4 – 5
I had the mussels-​great!!, they were roasted, not dried out, sauce fantastic.
Sister has sea bass I think, loved the crispy skin and fish was light and really good.
Brother had lasagna, I like it way more than my muscles, so good!!!
Kids had meatballs, I didn’t try them, but kids loved them!
Appetizer was the full charcuterie tray, amazing cuts of meat!!!
Veggie-​roasted broccoli, umm not bad, not great, just ehhh!
Décor-​very nice, but casual downtown place. high ceilings, loved it.
Prices– amazingly good. Stuff starts at $ 12 I think and Nothing over $ 25-​$ 28 bucks… high end food but not fancy or pretentious! Just really good food. Got to meet the Chef/​Owner. Super nice guy, he really seems to know his stuff!
I grew up in a restaurant and have cooked as well
Brother is a chef who knows his food.
Sister and her husband/​chef own «Trio» restaurant and «Local» restaurant in Jackson wy.
We’re all foodies!

Pros:
1. Exquisite pizza dough! Soft yet with a firm crust edge. Really tasty.
2. Has a great vibe and décor. Worth sitting and taking in the atmosphere.
3. Excellent beer selection on tap with local flavors.
4. The gelato is to die for, particularly the sea salt caramel. It has little chocolate caramel chunks throughout. Served in a little clear dish, I’d recommend stopping just for dessert.
5. Excellent customer service. Very quick with the order and when paying the bill.
Cons:
1. Ordering the first time is a touch unique. You don’t order at the table, but rather you walk all the way to the back to order food. Gelato is ordered at the front. Better signage would be a plus.

I am always up for a good pizza and when this place opened, I had to go check it out !!
The place is huge and the décor is pleasant. The concept is self order/​service both which is actually confusing. So u can order directly upfront at the register and the food will be served to you, which is fine but the subsequent orders can be given to the server as well. I think this is done probably to minimize extended wait times? Not sure. However it is not such a big deal. The service itself was fine.
We started off with glass of wine. And while the wine was decent, I felt it was not the best. May be I had more expectations since it being a Neapolitan pizza joint? Anyway it did not fall short at all in that aspect. Some of the best Neapolitan pizzas you can find in the city. The dough and the crust was just too good !! The freshness of the San Marzano tomatoes coupled with the homemade mozzarella was just divine ! Their wood fires veggies were also great, I especially loved the char flavor on them. I ordered their yam special and the char flavor went so well with the Crème fraîche that came with it. For desserts we got the chocolate and pistachio gelatos and both were good.
The amazing pizza is definitely the star of this place and I would go back again and again just for that !

BIGA made me a Neapolitan pizza appropriately named the «Napoli» which came with Soppressata, house made Italian sausage, guanciale, rosemary, house made mozzarella for only $ 11. After the first bite, my mind immediately had me saying, «this is one of the best Neapolitan pizzas I have in San Diego.»
The dough of the this pizza is the key, which is made from a pre-​ferment or fermentation starter 200 year old Biga mother dough. I have had plenty Neapolitan pizza with very good soft crust, but this one, in addition to that unique refined softness, also had a pleasant small amount of chew and elasticity which made for great eating and helped the crust hold up to the terrific fresh ingredients on top.
The Soppressata, an Italian dry salami, was baked to a great crispy texture and tasted great. Not surprised from this dry yet fatty salami. The guanciale, an Italian cured salami made from the cheek of the pig and cured with salt, sugar, and spices had a unique and delicious flavor. The house made Italian sausage was bliss and one of my favorite meats on the pizza. It had a great savory pork and fennel flavor with a good balance of salt and pepper. The house made was mozzarella had a great fresh milk flavor and creamy and silky texture. It was quite impressive. I asked for light sauce, which I think it was a good call, given I was able to appreciate the flavors of the said toppings.
I wasted no time polishing off the whole pizza, but I was not finished there, because for dessert, I order an affogato with Stracciatella gelato and a shot of hot espresso for $ 5. Stracciatella gelato was great, creamy and filled with semi sweet chocolate chips, and I could not go wrong was that shot of espresso. Other than having a bit of a tang at its finish, the espresso was bold and full flavored.

Came here during soft opening, I think. Since we arrived a couple of minutes before 5:30pm, we stood outside waiting for them to open. It was a little awkward, until I realized that everyone was waiting for the bus, not for the restaurant to open. Consequently, we were the first ones to arrive for dinner and were warmly greeted by a young man eager to tells us about the menu.
After we ordered I asked where the restroom was and was given very detailed instructions to walk down a hallway, go through a couple of doors, and it’ll eventually be on the right. I probably didn’t pay attention as much as I should have because I was getting concerned as I passed the backside of Ramen Yamadaya and continue to walk down a long hallway. On my way back, I almost walked straight into BIGA’s kitchen. Whoops! I suggest they add some signage.
Anyway, we started off with the pork meatballs. These were disappointing, because they didn’t have a lot of flavor. The best part was the sauce and cheese that they were cooked in. I suggest to skip this one.
Next to come out was the Napoli pizza. The crust, cheese, sausage, soppressata, and sauce was fantastic! I loved the chewiness of the crust and the quality of the mozzarella cheese. My only complaint is that it could have used a little more meat (sausage and soppressata) on the pizza.
Second up was the mushroom pizza. I enjoyed it more than the Napoli because there was a good amount of mushrooms, cheeses (mozzarella and parmesan), and garlic.
All in all, I was impressed! The décor was gorgeous and more importantly the food was super fresh. I’ll be back!