Panta Rei

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431 Columbus Ave (at Vallejo St)
San Francisco, CA 94133

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(415) 591-0900
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Panta Rei - San Francisco, CA
Panta Rei - San Francisco, CA
Reviews
( 33 )
( 16 )
( 4 )
( 5 )
( 6 )

Best

The large variety of recepies, the genuine flavors and the low price gives no doubt. excellent dishes

Worst

After my dinner, I came onto this website to see what others thought of the place only to be astounded that it's rated 9.2. There's so much wrong with the place. To begin, the hos...

It's unanimous... 6/11/2005

Fabio, a friend from Italy, revered this establishment as ""authentic italian cuisine"". Service is hospitable and warming, yet you can tell they're rushed. Mostly anytime of day, the place is sure to be swarming with locals and tourists. I, myself, am a local and have come back for more. This is in my top 2 picks of restaurants in North Beach. The interior is stylish, a bit cramped, but the window seats, people-watching, food and decor more than compensate this. All-in-all, I'd have to give Panta Rei kudos for having a stylish, and inexpensive eatery without skimping on quality and service. Nice job! Pros: decor, food, fashion Cons: cramped more
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Very under-rated 5/25/2005

Don't waste your time wainting in line at the big name restaurants in North Beach. Panta Rei has a great corner location on columbus with a number of outdoor tables. The food is great whether it be pasta or something off the grill, especially the swordfish. Plus the bread that comes before dinner is spectacular. And the service is great! Pros: service, swordfish, outdoor seating more
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Why isn't this place more crowded? 5/19/2005

We had a great dinner at Panta rei last night. The staff is young, hip and good-looking, all with italian accents. The food is delicious. The best Gnocchi I've found in northe beach. The Filet mignon had a fabulous gorgonzola cream sauce on it and was extremely tender. The even gave us a free dessert sampler with tiramisu, some other warm cake dish that was amazing and pretty good biscotti. I odered a martini that was kind of wierd tasting so I asked for another drink without ever pointing out that i didn't like the first one and I wasn't charged for the second one... nisce touch. Pros: service, food, staff more
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Great place to eat 5/15/2005

I was very pleasantly surprised by this restaurant. The food was very good, and the wait staff were all very friendly. We had a fairly large group, yet we were seated promtly and we received our food pretty quickly after we ordered. It was a little loud inside, but it was a great place for people watching. Try the ciopinno, and have the tiramisu for dessert - both were great!! I would definitely go back to Panta Rei. Pros: good food, well priced, energetic crowd Cons: hard to find parking, loud inside more
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Great food and Service 2/19/2005

We try to make it here every time we come into the city. The food is very good and so is the service. The gnocci with wild boar bolognese is awesome. Also, try the pizzas. more
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A good find in North Beach 11/29/2004

I wouldn't have tried Panta Rei but I found a coupon online for it. Overall, I was very happy. The servers were great; friendly, attentive and easy on the eyes. The wine was reasonably priced, and the food was pretty good. Skip the calamari, it was not crispy and didn't have much flavor. Definitely try the pasta with prociutto, mozzarella, olives and lots of other yummy things! Pros: Service, Atmosphere, Wine prices more
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Delightfully Authentic Bistro! 11/20/2004

I have been to here numerous times, and each time is absolutely wonderful. If you are feeling fun and flirtatious then this is the place to go! My girlfriends an I come here when we want to be adored by the delightful staff... Also when we want to eat some of the best mussels in North Beach. All around, the food is delicious, the service is wonderful, and the atmosphere makes me feel as if I am back in Europe. My only wish is that they had a full bar.... and their wine list could use a bit of sprucing up. But overall, Panta Rei is one of my favorite restaurants in the area. I highly reccommend it! Pros: Adorable staff, Authentic atmosphere more
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Feast for the eyes and stomach 11/9/2004

A great place for girls night out - mostly because of the incredibly handsome and charming Italian men manning the door, bar and tables. Wow... and the food is just as fabulous too. The sea bass with cherry tomatoes is very fresh and filling with a side of red potatoes and spinach. Tiramisu here is super moist and just dreamy. The wine list is pretty good and reasonable too. A hit in my book for a fun and casual night out in North Beach without seeming too touristy. Pros: Hot Italian Men, Reasonable, Attentive Service more
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Excellent dining experience 10/25/2004

Just having moved to San Francisco we are checking out the neighborhoods and wanted to get some great Italian. We looked at a number of menus and initially chose Panta Rei because of price and they sat us right away (on a Saturday night around 7pm). WONDERFUL food. We each ordered a pasta dish and were elated to find fresh, homemade pasta with light sauces. Wine list offered many affordable options and our server, Christian, helped us choose a great wine. He even offered to help us find a realtor when he found out we were new to town! Though an initial mix-up with my order, they made up for it with complementary tiramisu for two. I would recommend this place to anyone and WILL be returning. Pros: Reasonably priced, Good wine list more
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Bargain, uncrowded and really good 7/13/2004

Really good, fresh Italian food - not terribly inventive, but very well prepared. Great wine list, small markup. Usually no wait. UPDATED: Came back on a Saturday night. The service was awful and the disco music was so loud that it was literally physically uncomfortable, not to mention impossible to chat with my date. I won't be back. more
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Pretty good Italian food 7/1/2004

I loved the location of the restaurant, it is in the center of the North Beach District. The atmosphere is lively but intimate enough to have a great conversation. I thought the food was great, might have been cooked a little too much in oil, but was flavorful. With so many Italian restaurants to choose from in North Beach, I enjoyed my decision to eat at Panta Rei. more
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Good food, wine, and prices. 2/19/2004

Don't believe the editorial staff, as usual. I recently visited in January and ended up eating here twice. Being italian, I am very picky about italian food and can say this is some of the best. The mussels were great and the pasta (we tried different types each night) right up there with grandma's. Our waiters were attentive (easy on the eyes too), but not overly, and took care of us both inside and out, as we moved outside enjoying both the crowd and the music. Next visit I will return. By the way - they do take credit cards. more
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postcard perfect restaurant 12/10/2003

When I walked into Panta Rei, I swore that I had left the United States and was now sitting in the heart Rome eating at postcard perfect restaurant. The waiters are charming; all speak Italian and provide quite an array of eye candy. The service is personal and provides a very Italian vibe. And the food, is well, indescribable. I doubt you would get better food in Italy. If you go to one restaurant in San Francisco, make it Panta Rei. Pros: food, price, atmosphere more
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ciao to you too! 12/10/2003

The friendly wait staff, entertaining and conversational, provided a European vibe with their charming Italian accents. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was very pleasant, dimmed lights with soft Italian music. Panta Rei is definitely a place I will come back to dine at again, and again, and again.... Pros: food, staff, atmosphere more
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Great for a date 12/8/2003

My girlfriend and I stopped into Panta Rei before a night on the town and it was the perfect start to the evening. The service couldn't have been better and the food was not only good, but inexpensive. Next time we're in the neighborhood we'll definitely be back. Pros: inexpensive, friendly service, great value more
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Consistently good... 8/18/2003

Panta Rei is a great place for homemade pasta. My favorite is the salmon ravioli, absolutely delicious! Service is always good and the atmosphere lively. I definitely recommend. Pros: homemade pasta, fresh ingredients, service Cons: parking more
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Disappointing 7/5/2003

What a disappointment! The service was slow and inefficient. Our server was trying to ""memorize"" our order only to come back to our table FOUR TIMES and ask each one of us what it was that we had ordered! Our appetizers took forever (probably b/c she forgot what they were) and when they finally arrived, were HORRIBLE! The bruschetta were more like ""BURNTschetta!"" After all of that, our meals were OK. Not great, but definitely not as bad as everything else. We waited for our server to finish up her conversation with her friends who were not dining at the restaurant for about 15 minutes until one of us had to get up and ask for our bill (we decided to go to Ben and Jerrys for dessert at this point - a place that wouldn't let us down!) Hope you have a better experience. more
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Just like @ home - Simply Great!!! 7/1/2003

Coming from another part of the world we were amazed how warm and homelike my family felt when we stepped inside Panta Rei. We were amazed of how simple, courteous and delicious was our experience @ Panta Rei. We decided to try different dishes for the four of us, my wife and my two kids. The kids ate tre paste, gnocchi with meat sauce, my wife had papardelle pasta with duck, and I ate the grilled tuna. Its rare to see my kids' plates empty. The food was just like eating at my favorite restaurant in my city in Italy. Thank you Panta Rei for making us feel at home and filling up our tummies with great food! Che Buono!!! more
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yuck! 6/16/2003

ate there last night. was one of the only places still serving food. the ""tre pasta"" was terrible. the gnocchi in it tasted like it was topped with chef boy ardee sauce-the ravioli filling was undistinguishable-the rotini tasted like Kraft Easy Mac...that was the good part. ($10) The Tuna was ordered medium rare-it was well done. The risoto funghi special ($16)was so salty it was inedible. We were starving... the kitchen was closed by the time we got our meals(the risotto took 20 minutes-special order)-we couldn't send it back to be remade. horrible-horrible-horrible. The only saving grace was the waiter-pleasent,professional,courteous-although his recommendations didn't pan out. We will NEVER GO THERE AGAIN Pros: nice red paint, nothing else Cons: everyhting more
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Disaster 4/20/2003

This has to be the worst restaurant in North Beach. Service was terrible, sauces were bland, and to top it off there was a rubber band in our pasta dish. I recommend to avoid this restaurant. more
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Menu for Panta Rei


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Low prices are the draw at this North Beach people-watching spot.

Owner Message

  • Welcome to Panta Rei. Offering age-old Italian tradition and timeless recipes that have been passed down through generations, the restaurant successfully combines cuisine and atmosphere to create a dining experience that won't soon be forgotten. Quiet and elegant, Panta Rei is the kind of place that could be your home away from home--smells of spices and homemade cooking fill the air while a friendly and knowledgeable wait staff bends over backwards to cater to your every need.
    The menu is vast and impressive showcasing traditional Italian specialties as well as modern adaptations. There is something here sure to tempt every palate even the most discriminating of gourmets. No matter what the occasion calls for or your appetite demands, the friendly staff at Panta Rei promises to make your next dining experience truly unforgettable.

Editorial

  • The Scene
    A cajoling employee beckons at the entrance in standard North Beach fashion. Handsome servers, dressed in slim black shirts and faded blue jeans, jet around the red-and-brown...

  • 9/22/2004 Provided by Citysearch
Additional information
  • Hours: Daily 11:30am-11:30pm
  • Payments: Cash
  • Neighborhoods: Northeast, North Beach
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