Cotogna

Cotogna, at 490 Pacific Avenue in San Francisco's Jackson Square, is the rustic Italian sister restaurant to Quince, from chef Michael Tusk. Where Quince is a formal tasting-menu restaurant, Cotogna offers a more relaxed, approachable take on Italian-Californian cooking built around the seasonal produce of Northern California. The kitchen is best known for hand-made pastas, which change with the market, as well as rotisserie dishes, wood-fired pizza and seasonal antipasti. Dishes lean on simple, ingredient-focused preparations in the Italian regional tradition. The dining room is warm and busy, with exposed brick, wood tables, an open kitchen and a lively bar area; noise is moderate to loud, and the dress code is casual to smart casual. The wine programme is a point of emphasis, with a list that favors Italian producers alongside California bottles and a selection by the glass, and the bar is a good place for an aperitivo. Reservations are recommended, particularly for dinner on Friday and Saturday, and the restaurant's website, cotognasf.com, links to the booking page. Booking one to three weeks ahead is typical for prime weekend times, while the bar and some tables are held for walk-ins. Hours vary by day: Monday and Tuesday are dinner only from 4:30 PM, Wednesday to Saturday add a lunch service starting at 11:30 AM, and Sunday is closed. Typical dinner spending is about $50 to $80 per person before drinks, and the lunch menu is a lower-cost way to try the same kitchen. The restaurant sits near the Financial District and Barbary Coast edge of North Beach, so it works well for a meal after a walk through the historic brick buildings of Jackson Square, in San Francisco, California.