Cafe Zoetrope

Great vibe, nicely cooked pasta with above satisfactory sauce. The sherry sauce used in the sausage and brócoli rabe was quite good. Great place to sit outside and enjoy some pasta and espresso

This place is a gem in the North Beach area standing out with their iconic building.  I was urban hiking in the area and looking for some pasta and wine, like it just completes the circle of visiting the North Beach neighborhood.   On a weekday in SF and no crowds was a sight to see but what the hell, I'm not gonna complain but enjoy my visit.

Being a lunch meal I had to order spaghetti and some appetizers to start.  And you gotta have a glass of house red to rinse that palate of mines.  As I'm waiting I'm coming to find out that this is one of Coppola's place which really was exciting as I'm a big Coppola fan.  Which reminds me of the Coppola wineries in Napa and Sonoma.  

My plate:
Aranchini Balls - FREAKING amazing with the crispy crunch and soft creamy inside.  

Broccoli Rabe - great flavor but not sautéed enough to have that char for that smoky taste.

And spaghetti - what can I say, the nice oily rich  oil and acidity of the sauce soaked in the al dente pasta.  I love some red pepper flakes in my pasta, something about that nuttiness when chewing on the pasta.  Really great service and prices and definitely the locale of the restaurant.

Francis Ford Coppola knew what he was doing when he brought back the Italian pizza maker to the U.S. We started off our 4 course with a nice mushroom farrotto, a side dish of spinaci bloomsdale and a nice pasta dish of spaghetti and meatballs with a spicy tomato garlic sauce, complemented with a glass of Francis Ford Coppola's winery Director's Cut Pinot Noir - all to the delight tastebuds. My friend had the same except for pasta he had the Bumbola ai Broccoli e Salsiccia. The atmosphere is as one would suspect, walls covered in Coppola's film and celebrity gala famed photos and memorabilia. Service is five stars.

Excellent food, comprehensive menu selection, and great service in North Beach. Located in the historic Sentinel Building. Exquisite architecture and charm!

We were sooo excited to dine in the Coppola Cafewhat a charming place. We felt like we were eating In Sicily the atmosphere was everything I dreamed it was. Wine, Coppola paintings, delicious pastas and the olive oil (of course) for bread dipping. What more could you want on a romantic lunch with my hubby. I felt like I was dining with Francis Coppola himself!!

Francis Ford Coppola is a fascinating filmmaker who has retired. He owns Cafe Zoetrope in North Beach. It's been open since 1998. I was told he lives in Geyserville, CA mostly near his winery.

I decided to visit Zoetrope for a meal. The space is nice and ambient. The menu is overpriced and has like pizzas. I decided on the chilaquiles, which I didn't like completely. It was nachos and some mushy stuff like egg mixture. I don't know really what I was eating with the chilaquiles. They had free bread with olive oil and balsamic(no butter).

I don't know what I would eat if I came back here again, but there might be some better options in North Beach. Zoetrope is Coppola's, but there was not much magic today. North Beach Apocalypse!

The Cesar salad is very good!! We had pizza and Spaguetti and meat balls. Everything is great. The house white wine was phenomenal.  We highly recommend it

3.5 stars

This a quirky little cafe on the cusp of Chinatown.

It's kinda French, kinda Italian, totally eclectic and most assuredly unique.

Before I walked in, my dining companion invited me to walk across the street and admire the architecture of the building. I was not disappointed. It was simply breath-taking, and I highly recommend that you do the same before entering.

When I first walked in, I noticed that there was a little machine that offered free 1-minute, 3-minute, and 5-minute stories. Simply push the button for your preferred time, and it will print you out something that looks like a CVS receipt with a story on it.

How cool is THAT?!? I love this city!

Mollie was our server and she made sure we had everything we needed. The portions of alcohol were impressively generous, and served in beautiful glassware. For dinner, I ordered the linguine with clams. The dish was a bit oily for my taste and the clams were slightly overcooked, but it still ended up a decent dish.

Overall, it was a delightfully eccentric dining experience. What more can you ask from San Francisco?

Wait staff was so nice and the cocktail was amazing. Unfortunately, the pasta carbonara that I had was very far from authentic and tasted like box mac n cheese with guanciale. The guanciale was super crispy and nice though.

Cafe Zoetrope is a must visit for excellent Italian cuisine and movie lover. Cinema's iconic director Francis Ford Coppola's restaurant produces Academy Award note worthy fare.

Our sons school is adjacent to this historic bistro and we have sampled both dinner and lunch flavorful dining in a Coppola "film museum".

The salads, Naples style pizza is wonderful, pasta and desserts are exceptional. The boost the "home to the original Caesars salad from 1924!

On our afternoon lunch we shared a Cobb salad and a tomato basil pizza. Our server Jacob was professional and friendly!

If you are a native and visitor to San Francisco make sure you visit! And enjoy all the movie memorbila.