If you’re in North Beach and in need of a drink, what better place is there to get it than the same watering hole that’s been frequented by the likes of Sean Penn to Christopher Hitchens, the members of Metallica to the Beats?
The cafe has been a neighborhood staple for over 100 years (it opened in 1919). In 2019, Tosca Cafe switched owners and under went a period of renovation, but it kept the iconic name. Now, guests can expect an updated, classier grunge look in the historic bar and restaurant—think red leather booths, backlit liquor bottles, and old jukeboxes—designed by Ken Fulk.
Co-owned by restaurateur Ken Friedman and Chef April Bloomfield, Tosca is serving some of the best food you’ll find in the neighborhood, if not all of San Francisco. Go for the atmosphere and local lore, stay for the Tuscan fried chicken and truffle gnoochi—like many places at this historic Italian neighborhood, the food on the menu is Italian in flavor.
