Ideale Restaurant & Bar

What a beautiful treasure Ideale is, right in the heart of North Beach. Maurizio, the chef and owner, is from Rome and he is a most gracious host—and cyclist. He serves the most wonderful homemade pastas and sauces, pizzas, freshly baked bread, gorgeous salads, daily fish specials and delectable desserts. Gluten-free pastas are also available and they will custom make any of their entrees to suit anyone’s dietary or eating preferences. The food is so tasty and comforting and the two dining rooms are cozy and nicely decorated. There are two nearby parking garages on Stockton Street if street parking is unavailable. We really enjoyed the Insalata Primavera, the gnocchi with pork ragu sauce, a vegetarian version of the fettuccine with porcini mushrooms and the daily fish special which was a fresh sea bass today. Highly recommend!

It was one of the best Italian dining experiences for us for a long while. It’s great to have such an amazing restaurant neighbor for our own business just a block away! The pasta here is to die for. We had the carbonara and their daily special of ricotta stuffed ravioli with beef ragu, and both are fantastic! The veal and prosciutto dish, a traditional Roman dish, was really delicious and a very unique experience, and the seated tuna special was cooked to perfection. The wine list full of classic Italian regions is a great deal and the bottle prices are really generous here. We found an amazing bottle of 2017 Valpolicella Reposado Superiore that was perfect for the beef ragu for the ravioli. They have a great selection of house made dessert here as well and we enjoyed all items. It’s such a romantic perfect restaurant for an intimate dinner for 2 but as great for a group dinner with their large room.

What a great place for dinner. My partner and I had our first date here and it’s our go to for Italian. Always have fantastic tasty special’s and a bottle of wine is a great pairing. The charming atmosphere will transport you to A small Italian village in the north of Italy (if you have been) the staff is warm and welcoming, and service could use a bit of work. Other than that is a great local spot!

Really good food and friendly staff. Start off with the prosciutto wrapped around pear and macarpone, it is savory and sweet and delicious. Their gnocchi was soft as clouds and the ragu is mouth-watering. My wife had branzino with orange (excellent) and I had the lamb shoulder chop. The chop was very tender and the zucchini and veggies that come with it were worthy of their own dish. Dessert was very good as well. Tiramisu that was heavy on espresso without being overpowering and a very flaky mille foglie. Overall, a lovely dinner. Only complaint was that I wish the steak knives were a little better, it was harder to cut through the lamb than it should have been. Will definitely come back!