Ragazza

RIP to a Real One.

Neighborhood mainstay Ragazza served its last pies this March after fifteen years of feeding the Divisadero corridor. The restaurant finally shut its doors after a five-year battle with increasing prices and declining visitorship that never recovered after the pandemic, according to co-owner Sharon Ardiana. Patrons of the beloved establishment flocked there on closing night for their last bites of Ragazza’s signature Neapolitan-style pizzas, armed with letters of gratitude for the restaurant’s lasting imprint on the neighborhood. In turn, many left with copies of the restaurant’s final menu – keepsakes of its farewell tour – and bear hugs from Greg Hinds, Ragazza’s co-owner and gregarious front of-the-house general manager.

Eating at Ragazza felt as close as you can get to eating in someone else’s home without taking your shoes off. In a city with about as many fancy Italian restaurants as software engineers, Ragazza stood out for being unpretentious, affordable, and reliably delicious. That they managed a decade and a half as rents skyrocketed is a testament to their simple approach to food: highlight local, seasonal ingredients while keeping a strong lineup of mainstays. In the spring, a local asparagus pie topped with first of the season Salinas spears, provolone, mozzarella, ricotta, chili flakes, preserved lemon, and smoked bacon. In the fall, “Miss Figgy”: black Mission figs, caramelized onions, thyme, fontina, arugula, and prosciutto. Sweet corn in July; crisp persimmons in November. Year round, the “Bianca” (onion crema, shaved garlic, preserved lemon, aged Italian provolone and wild arugula), the “Moto” (tomato, calabrian chilies, portobello mushrooms, red onions, sausage, and mozzarella), and the “Amatriciana” (tomato, pancetta, chilies, pecorino, oregano, and an egg). They put an egg on a pizza. It was good.

Ragazza was the kind of place that made you want to be a local – and made you feel like one – from the moment Hinds enthusiastically greeted you at the door. The wine list punched above its weight; you could split a carafe with a friend. For dessert, there was always tiramisù.

Ragazza is survived by Gialina in Glen Park, which has been serving the neighborhood since 2007.

Also, they had a damn good kale salad.