Articles & Reviews: HelloSanFrancisco.com article

Osteria Coppa has added a touch of Italian culinary class to downtown San Mateo. Photo by Kingmond Young

Address: 139 B Street Pricing: Dinner entrees $13-$26. Lunch entrees: $11-$19. Phone: (650) 579-6021 Hours: Mon.-Thu. 5:30-9:30 pm; Fri.-Sat. 5-9 pm; Sun. 5-9 pm. Lunch: Mon.-Fri. 11:30-2:30. Parking: On street or Main St. Garage (free 6pm+); $8 valet

Osteria Coppa is routinely crowded. Arrive early or be sure to make reservations for dinner. Photo by Kingmond Young Floor-to-ceiling windows and vaulted ceilings give the restaurant a light, airy ambiance. Photo by Kingmond Young The Lamb and Fava Greens Pizza is typical of the rotating artisan pizzas on the menu, featuring hand-stretched dough. Photo by Naseema Khan Menu items change often, but this Satsuma Mandarin Salad with sunchoke, fennel and olives is typical of the antipasti choices. Photo by Bob Cooper

Osteria Coppa: A Slice of Italy in Downtown San Mateo

March 21, 2011
by Bob Cooper, San Francisco Reporter for HelloMetro

San Mateo’s Osteria Coppa, which opened in summer 2010, is authentically Italian. It belongs in downtown San Mateo, too, with the 70-year-old headquarters of the Peninsula Italian American Social Club just down the street—proof that Italian immigrants have made their mark in the neighborhood. A meal at Osteria Coppa will likewise leave a mark in your culinary memory.

The authenticity begins with olive oil dipping bowls for your bread and liter bottles of water on the table. That’s after you open the menu, revealing Italian dishes that typically consist of seven antipasti items, eight artisan pizzas, five pasta entrees, four meat or fish entrees, and two sides. We say “typically” because the menu is changed often by chef Chanan Kamen, who staged meals at six Michelin-starred restaurants while training in Italy before opening Osteria Coppa.

All items are seasonal, with many of the ingredients from the San Francisco Farmers Market and most local, organic, or both. The pastas are handcrafted, the pizza dough hand-stretched, the salami cured in-house and the desserts prepared in-house.

It works. The earth-toned, 105-capacity restaurant (with additional patio seating in back) is full almost nightly, so popular that lunch hours were added in February. Surely a big part of the reason besides glowing reviews is that both portions and prices are generous, a pleasant surprise considering the creative use of fresh, quality ingredients like Star Route Farms lettuce, Point Reyes blue cheese and Watson Farm lamb.

Save your appetite for dessert, which includes Italian delights like the Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with apple compote ($8) and Affogato with Caffe Roma espresso ($5), as well as Italian ports, grappas and dessert wines.

HelloSanFrancisco Tip: Seventeen wines by the glass and dozens by the bottle or half-bottle emphasize Italian vintages, plus a smattering of California wines. All are served at the 40-seat bar and at the meal table.