Cupola Pizzeria - San Francisc

Sorry to see the pizzeria close after many years of loyal following by this SF family!

I've dined here many times. Today we had the baby kale salad which is very good. The arriabata pizza is spicy but today the chef had a too heavy hand with the chili peppers. We love spicy but this was ridiculous today. But we'll be back again.

Colleague and I stopped by and had a pepperoni pizza and the bucatini. Good thing the staff put the pizza on a perforated metal tray OVER a plate there was so much grease, it pooled in the plate! The Buccatini was cooked with way too much oil making it slippery and it splattered everyone around the table. Why? On other visits, these problems did not exist.

Let 's not be too harsh, it does the job if you are spending the afternoon shopping in downtown SF and it would be a good one with young kids but that 's its level. Clean and well presented but don 't imagine you will get ambience . The pizzas are OK although not thin enough crust for my European palate (still they are better than most Chicagoan flan muck . The wine (an Umbrian red was surprisingly good (but please note for the menu, it is not a Tuscan blend! . The service was comical. It started off being average (although I loathe the US style hey guys and reciting the specials like some kind of party trick so I was blessedly spared that; for the kind of place it was I had no issue . The manageress then picked up that as a single male dining on a Saturday afternoon, I might be some kind of restaurant critic (which I 'm not but suddenly thinking I should change career to . Out of the corner of my eye the conversation to the staff wasn 't even subtle. Suddenly the service came full on, topping my wine up (no one else got this and cringe worthy obsequiousness. The coup de grace was the manageress personally going round and checking on every table to see they were OK but really obviously failing to make eye contact with the customers (making everyone feel as if she really cared then . She then proceeded to scoff her lunch (something the pizza chef had knocked up I guess very visibly standing at the service counter (yes, I know you 've got to eat, I 've been there as a catering manager, but for pity 's sake make it subtle . I felt very sympathetic for the waiting staff after that and so did tip them properly, I cannot imagine having that as a boss (David Brent of restaurant management . Bottom line I 'm not expecting Michelin starred food or service but on the service side just be straight and honest (if you really view the customers with contempt, don 't let it show quite so obviously . On a separate point: the table stands for serving the pizza are much too high.

Another great experience at Cupola. We always do the festa and are never sorely disappointed. This time the pasta selection was not too exciting but not a mood killer. The rest of the meal made up for the dip in flavor.