This Italian restaurant was named California's best by Chowhound
- - This Italian restaurant was named California's best by Chowhound
Noe Padilla, USA TODAYJanuary 20, 2026 at 10:11 PM
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This Italian restaurant was named California's best by Chowhound
Flavorful. Accessible. Michelin-level quality. These are some words used to describe a meal at one of San Francisco's casual Italian restaurants owned by one of the city's most accomplished chefs.
Out of the many Italian restaurants in the state, San Francisco's Cotogna was named the best Italian restaurant in California by Chowhound.
The website analyzed and compared the awards and accolades restaurants received from different prestigious organizations to determine its list. It picked a top restaurant for each state via this method.
What did Chowhound say about Cotogna?
Chowhound reviewers described Cotogna as a restaurant where "you can't go wrong with anything on the menu" and touted the background of its owners, Michael and Lindsay Tusk, as Michelin-starred chefs.
Cotogna offers a daily-changing menu and polished rustic Italian fare in a casual setting.
"Try the handmade ravioli di ricotta that oozes luscious egg yolk and the wood-fired pizzas with toppings like chanterelle mushrooms and soppressata," reads Chowhound's review of Cotogna.
What is Cotogna?
Cotogna is a casual counterpart to the Tusk's three-time Michelin-starred French-Italian restaurant, Quince, which sits right next door.
The couple opened their original restaurant in 2003, innovating on French-Italian cuisine. Their menu eventually led them to critical acclaim and the honor of earning three Michelin stars.
In 2009, the couple moved their restaurant to a larger space in Jackson Square. A year later, they opened Cotogna, which means "quince" in Italian. They aimed to provide residents with a high-quality, casual Italian restaurant that didn't require a two-month reservation to try.
Where is Cotogna and what are its hours?
The restaurant is located at 490 Pacific Ave. in San Francisco, next door to Tusk's fine-dining restaurant, Quince. Here are the restaurant's current hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 4:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Wednesday: 11:30 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Thursday: 11:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Friday: 11:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Saturday: 11:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Sunday: Closed
Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at [email protected], follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: This Italian restaurant was named California's best by Chowhound
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