Fior d’Italia may not be the darling of the foodies in San Francisco, but it is one of city’s oldest restaurants and serves a mean plate of pasta.  It made headlines on Wednesday for offering dinners at 1886 prices, part of its grand opening celebration after closing its doors due to a fire last February (the restaurant first opened in SF in 1886).   Fior d’Italia holds a warm place in my heart after owner Bob Larive bravely supported Prop. 209 (anti-racial preferences measure which the voters passed in 1986), giving the initiative money and support despite having opponents picket the restaurant and call for a boycott.  

Interestingly, Fior d’italia is opening in a new location—the ground floor of the San Remo Hotel, also located in North Beach.  The owners of the San Remo hotel have made headlines on their own for their property rights fight with the city of San Francisco.  Owners Tom and Robert Field took the city to court over a city “replacement housing” regulation that forced the company to pay $567,000 to continue operating as a public hotel instead of converting to affordable housing units.   So, the next time you are in SF, resist the urge to spend your child’s college savings account at Gary Danko or Aqua and instead stop by for some pasta or an un-PC plate of veal at Fior d’Italia (in their new digs at the San Remo Hotel).

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 23rd, 2005 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog Posts.