Steps of Rome Trattoria

Great wine! Great appetizers! Great entrees!!! (especially Ravioli)
A little cramped for space — but other than that — Perfect!

We must have come at the right time. While the music was certainly loud, it wasn’t drowning out conversation.
Part of the charm of this place is the wacky wait staff but I suspect that there is better behavior during the day than in the evening.

My friend chose this restaurant, so I happily drove up to SF to try it when she was in town. OMG… the pumpkin ravioli was delicious! Pasta was perfectly cooked al-​dente. I’m dreaming about it now as I’m typing this review. Must go back soon!
–1 star for the service. Waiter didn’t seem to care too much about us.

i’ve been here a few times but never got to review it.
Now I know why.
If you’re looking for good italian restaurants, there are a lot a block or two away that are way better than this.
Their food was okay, menu too complicated.
services was bleh.
price was okay… then again, the food was not that great.
desserts look store-​bought.
yeah… it’s pretty bad. they were better maybe 10 yrs ago.

Review as a bar.
I feel like most places bars in North Beach are dim and poorly lit. So if you’re looking for a place to grab a drink where you can actually see and hear who you’re with, SRT should be on the list, especially if someone in your party would rather have coffee and or dessert.

This is only for the desserts.
Tiramisu is pretty good. I love having a good cup of coffee/​cappuccino with yummy dessert. It’s very creamy and not overly sweet.

Strange night of searching for a parking place in tourist-​infected North Beach turns to a delightful surprise. That night, the staff at SOR were being inundated by customers who were not leaving tips, so when we got the bill, we were wondering why they had added the tip on to a party of 2. The owner reasoned that none of the European tourists coming by were leaving tips and that it was upsetting the wait-​keeps. So we left $ 8.
Amazing food for a touristy restaurant. Here are some highlights:
–waiter kept saying «thank you» when I said «thank you»…however, when I said «grazzi» he would say «prego»
–Upstairs is the place to be; great view of the bustling of Columbus
–Spaghetti Carbonara, lovingly congealed into a sweet little bundle of olive oil and pasta had a certain «zing» that I still can’t put my finger on
–Chicken Picatta (–illegally good!), flattened into leanness, this dish combines peas, a lemony sauce and aforementioned chicken into something greater than the sum of its parts
–Tossed salad… refer to Jamie M.‘s review to understand the extent of fine simplicity we happened upon, that was more her cup of tea
–We had coke and iced tea, our folkloric selections; however, I should recommend corking a wine or getting one of theirs
Poor guys also had a systemic malfunction with their computer system which slowed things down, but it was excusable after being briefed by a former wait-​keep: my girlfriend.

We stopped by Steps of Rome for some desserts. I enjoyed their homemade TIRAMISU oh so much! :)
But, you know what? I don’t like their SERVICE one bit. Definitely disappointed by the unwelcoming, non approachable servers.

I eat pasta Bolognese at every Italian restaurant I go to. Steps of Rome served up the best version I’ve ever tasted.
The pasta was house-​made and cooked to perfection and the sauce was out of this world!
Lisa got the spaghetti and meatballs and it was also a fantastic dish.
They were out of pesto and a few other items, but they let us know as soon as we entered, which was very appreciated.
The service was good. The setting was cool.

Went here last night and I have to say this was the best Italian I’ve had in North Beach. The guy at the door (Angelo) was a great host and the place was a little slow so we got premium service.
We had the grilled eggplant and cantaloupe wrapped with prosciutto for for the antipasto. The prosciutto was great and the eggplant was good. For the main course I had spaghetti carbonara and it was just like I’ve had it in Rome. For desert we had the tiramisu and coffee which really finished off the meal.
The bill was very reasonable and I’ll defiantly be back.

I’ve heard about Steps of Rome long before I moved to the Bay Area. The brother, who lived in SF at the time (= years and years ago), swore by it.
But I’m no big fan of North Beach /​Chinatown and, after considering the cost and benefit, would not go there just for post-​dinner sweets.
The six of us took the risk by foregoing the supposedly amazing dessert at The House
for the Steps of Rome’s tiramisu (
).
It turned out to be an awesome call. The tiramisu didn’t turn out to be the best thing that we ordered, though it was pretty much up there. Our favorite was the espresso crème brûlée (
), which appeased some of us who weren’t even coffee drinkers.
Tip: don’t forget to order the espresso, which, though it’s no Blue Bottle, was good enough to complement the sweets.

My rating is a combination of 3 scores:
1) Steps of Rome gets 3.5 for the food and wine. Nothing fabulous but decent overall. (Well, except the pasta, which is quite good here.)
2) Its gets a 1 for the location, the wait, and how hard it is to park.
3) And the men that work there get a 5 for having enough balls to hit and dance with the women you take there, right in front of you (especially if you come late). They have no qualms about oogling and grabbing them too. As a fellow man, you gotta give them props for that!
Overall, they got a great setup her: They provide so so average food, so so service (unless you got a great set of kn**kers), while you bring their men your women!

The pasta I ordered here was perfect! The flavor and seasonings were absolutely perfect. I practically ate the entire dish without blinking.
I ordered the orecchiette that was on their special menu; it came with sausage and broccoli in a light cream sauce. I paired it with a glass of sangiovese and just melted away.
The service was attentive and polite and and cheerful. and oh holy jesus the doorman was beautiful.
This is going to be one of those places that I have to eat at whenever I visit Frisco. Next time I’ll leave room for some dessert!

We had the caprese salad, which was very good. I could eat another one right now. The pumpkin ravioli was great, but the spaghetti with meatballs was quite bad. I think I can make a better spaghetti dish.
The prosecco was very good.
Unfortunately the service was pretty slow. It took forever to get the check and then get the credit card slips.
I really enjoyed sitting outside. I’m giving this 4 stars instead of 3, because sitting outdoors was relaxing.

The Trattoria is much better than the café, A lot of people don’t know about this small Trattoria with the same name – and, it’s just down the block.
An Italian friend took me here years ago because as she said, «This is the closet thing to authentic Italian food I’ve found in SF since moving from Italy.»
I stop by periodically to get a bowl of pasta. Last time I was there I got the HOMEMADE TAGLIATELLE ALLA BOLOGNESE (Flat, thicker-​than-​fettuccine egg noodles in a hearty tomato meat sauce) $ 15.00
Yummy! I bring visiting friends and family there too.

Sorry y’all but once Enzo and his crew sold this joint several years ago, it ain’t NEVER been the same.
Want the original version of the old menu dishes then go to E Tutto Qua down the block which is where they’re all at now. You WON’T be disappointed.
If you’re looking for Michele and his crew then go to Capannina on Union Street for AMAZING Italian dishes.

As far as food goes in this area, it isn’t the best. The place is a little too cluttered and the waiters are aloof.
The food was the best part. As a group my friends and I ordered the burrata special (the cheese was delectable), the spaghetti and meatballs (basic but good) and the lobster ravioli special (good but not great).
Dessert consisted of their white and dark profiteroles (the white version was definitely better) and coffee drinks. Their espresso is really fantastic.
The worst part of the night came after dessert. We had returned to have dessert so the bill was a little over $ 25. When we tried to pay for it with two cards, the waiter said that there was a $ 25 minimum for credit cards. I’ve found out recently that there actually can’t be a minimum and that you can report this to the credit card companies. I usually let these minimums pass when it is at a small store or if the minimum is very low like $ 3, but a $ 25 minimum? Based on this, and the other shortcomings, I will probably find somewhere else to eat when I am in North Beach.

Spectacular Italian dessert in North Beach from a crowded trattoria that’s always hopping. We never miss a chance to grab something sweet from here when we are in town. It’s good enough to eat in the car because you can’t find parking. But it’s the Bay Area, you can NEVER find parking…
suck it up, figure out a system and get down here for your after-​dinner-​sweet-​needs! You won’t be disappointed.

I’ve been here very many times over the years. I always said I wanted to try every place in North Beach, but why mess with perfection?
First of all, the people are so nice, prompt and efficient. I really don’t know why people are writing all these reviews saying otherwise. We’ve never been neglected at Steps of Rome.
The food is superb. Best pesto I’ve had outside my own home. Delicious gorgonzola raviolis. Seafood risotto, big thumbs up. I’ve never heard a person in my group unhappy with what they’ve ordered. The wine is good, the panna cotta dessert is excellent. The espresso is perfection.
From start to finish, Steps of Rome is the perfect way to spend time in North Beach.

This is for their tiramisu. The tiramisu is excellent. Way to win my heart. Go tiramisu.
Don’t sneeze near the tiramisu. Powder will fly. Just saying.

This place was pretty crowded on a Saturday night, but they managed to seat me and one of my girlfriends visiting from out of town pretty quickly. I think we waited like 5 min and were seated near the window. It’s pretty cramped in here, but that’s the beauty of it I guess (I found the gay couple next to us making faces in our photos that the waiter took for us). The waiter was nice enough, but a little snooty. They were good about filling our glasses and the food came out pretty quickly.
I had the risotto, which had a bit of runny orange sauce, chicken and sun-​dried tomatoes it in. It was pretty good. My friend had spaghetti and three really big meatballs. I’d come here again b/​c it’s fun to people watch. We didn’t try the dessert here (we went to Horizon for drinks and dessert), maybe next time.