A new all-day cafe that doubles as neighborhood restaurant: Mattina
SPQR opened back in 2007, but it wasn’t until Matthew Accarrino came on board as chef in 2009 that it quickly became a top pasta restaurant in the nation — and one of multiple Italy-worthy pasta destinations in San Francisco. Accarrino employs Italy technique with modern, inventive combinations, leading to sigh-worthy pastas I remember years later: oh, the chestnut yam tortelli! Or kabocha squash raviolini in coconut milk, kaffir lime and pumpkin seeds!
Since those early days, I’ve had many a memorable meal at tiny SPQR, thanks to Accarrino’s cooking and Shelley Lindgren’s wine list (who is now solely with her A16 Restaurants). Both have been nominated for James Beard Awards multiple times (Lindgren won for nation’s outstanding wine program in 2015) and under Accarrino, SPQR was a ten-time recipient of a Michelin star. It’s easily one of our Cal-Italian bests.
So it was good news, indeed, to hear Accarrino and team were opening their first casual restaurant and all-day cafe, Mattina, on April 1, just around the corner from SPQR in Charles Phan’s former Out the Door space. Think coffee, house pastries and biscuit sandwiches all day, and a full lunch menu, soon to be available at dinner.
When my partner Dan (“The Renaissance Man”) and I visited for a leisurely lunch on a recent weekday, we immediately got Italy vibes with San Francisco modernity. There is a sunny parklet outside, sidewalk seating and quick-and-easy cafe tables up front by the counter. But we were surprised to find there are also slick, comfortable banquettes and tables to sit down and have a long, Europe-worthy lunch, complete with an almost all-Italian wine list and dishes that offer something for everyone.
Mattina could be dubbed Cal-Italian with handmade pastas, arancini and bruschettas, but there is also smoked meats like brisket, steaks and pork chops. As Accarrino told us when stopping by our table, he’s cooking things he loves across the board, without categorical limits. The result is a place that is a lot of things, depending on your preference or mood: morning cafe for an espresso and scone, quick counter lunch during a work break or leisurely meal and full-on feast. Apertivo hour (4–6pm) focused on vermouth and spritzes is coming soon, along with dinner, further adding layers to what Mattina could be.
I’m sold, wishing this was around the corner from my home, but grateful it’s a quick 10 minute drive away. Hitting up the cafe pastry side, sweet and savory scones aren’t the leaden rocks some scones can be, but tender, fall-apart goodness in flavors like meyer lemon poppy or, my pick: black garlic cheddar scones. Cookies are a good time and make up the ever-changing ice cream sandwich on the dine-in menu in flavors like mint double chocolate chip or red miso butterscotch. It was tough to choose between the prosciutto and cheese (with optional egg) biscuit sandwich or the curry chicken salad biscuit, but I opted for the latter with a bright chicken salad touched with pumpkin seeds and apple.
Accarrino is a competitive cyclist and racer and fellow coffee geek, so coffee is blessedly no afterthought here. They source beans from one of my favorite local roasters, Saint Frank Coffee, with espresso drinks made on their custom-painted cream La Marzocco machine.
Settling in for a long lunch, the space was bustling from counter seating facing the kitchen’s charcoal grill, brick oven, smoker and Hestan ranges, to the long banquette where we sat, cozy and centered in the action. Kicking off with arancini, these conically-shaped fried rice “balls” (a family favorite from my Sicilian heritage), the quality of rice and breading is there, to be sure, but it’s a vibrant, tomato-y salsa rossa to dip them in that sets it apart from other great versions in town. Salads are no afterthought and a little gems and radish salad is generously laced with fried bread croutons, chunks of blue cheese, a blue cheese vinaigrette and a robust smattering of herbs, including deliciously aromatic mint.
As expected from Accarrino and Alyssa Failla (SPQR’s sous chef), rotating pastas are a highlight here with four versions on the menu. We tried heartwarming ravioli filled with Point Reyes’ Toma cheese in a tomato chicken fricassea sauce and dusting of fresh herbs. I don’t often find canederli, essentially the Germanic-Italian bread “dumpling” pasta shaped like a disc from northern Italy’s Trentino-Alto Adige and Friuli regions, one of my favorite parts of Italy where I’ve traveled through three different times. The one other great version of canederli I’ve had locally recently is at Sausalito’s tiny, charming Sandrino, where the female chef hails from this Tyrolean region of Italy. At Mattina, it’s a modern take on canederli with slivers of green apple, spring onions, pancetta-esque strips of salumi and a tart note from balsamico dressing. The height of comfort.
Along with a few local beers from Temescal Brewing on my visit, the wine list is rich with regional Italy joys — and a few California treats — curated by Accarrino himself, as he also does at SPQR the past 5 plus years. There are plenty of affordable bottles and a range of wines by the glass, like a floral, crisp 2021 Matteo Correggia Roero Arneis from Piemonte, or the herbaceous berry notes of a 2018 Bisci ‘Marche Rosso’ Matelica (Merlot/Sangiovese blend) from Italy’s Marche region.
With charcoal-grilled spiedini (Italian skewers) another menu focus, we debated what meats to try, but opted for a blissfully smoky house-smoked brisket, vibrant with salsa verde exuding Argentinian chimichurri vibes. Partnered with a veggie plate of beautifully caramelized cipollini onions and sweet peppers, it’s a different direction from the first half of the menu, but just as gratifying, exemplifying the range possible here depending on your mood. Next time, we want to try that brick oven whole branzino, but as the largest (and priciest at $58) dish on the menu, it was going to be too much food with all the dishes we tried to cram in.
We still had leftovers but managed to make room for the ice cream cookie sandwich of the day: snickerdoodle in this case, filled with lush vanilla ice cream made with Marin’s Double 8 Dairy bufala milk, cream and airy goodness. I look forward to rotating gelatos and sorbetto flavors coming down the line, my biggest weakness when it comes to dessert.
More from Accarrino and the SPQR team is good news for San Francisco dining and the food and drink hardcore among us, and most everyone else, too. An all-day cafe that has the range to suit time of day and all casual food and drink moods is even better. Done at this quality level, it’s a pure win.
// 2232 Bush Street, www.mattinasf.com
Virginia Miller is a San Francisco-based food & drink writer.
