Caffe Sport

If you've ever been to Sicily, you can probably tell that this is a Sicilian restaurant the minute you walk in the door. The hand painted decor including chairs, rails and a fishing boat are all reminiscent of a traditional Sicilian cart with its riot of bright colors and intricate designs. When I first walked into Caffe Sport it was even more frenetic with fish nets hanging from the ceilings filled with all sorts of oddities, and the classic chianti bottle candle holders on every table.  When my friends and I sat down the waiter was brusque and demanded that we not order different pastas because it was all coming out on one platter and we had to share. Reservations were also highly controlled with only 2 seatings per evening and you'd better not be late. Owner and chef Antonio La Tona would poke his head out from the kitchen occasionally to see patrons enjoying themselves through his efforts. Now that he's passed on, it is easy to tell that he had been the driving force, the gregarious personality behind the success of the restaurant. Thankfully, he also "passed on" his recipes, and his family still owns and operates Caffe Sport. Antonio's large presence could not be replaced, so things are a bit less frenetic, less regimented and the waiters are much nicer, though just as efficient. Caffe Sport is still the best Italian Seafood restaurant in the city and puts the other Sicilian owned restaurants on Fishermen's Wharf to shame. Their original recipes have long been forgotten.

When you are seated, the first thing that hits the table is this sauce, made of garlic, cheese, tomato paste and olive oil. It is heavenly spread on bread. This condimento might also be wonderful on your food, but it never lasts that long.

We ordered pasta, all three of us in the party and this time we didn't have to order the same pasta or share, although we did share because it was so good. Our friend ordered the clam in red sauce pasta and savored ever morsel of it. All of our pasta dishes were made with mostacioli (penne), all the better to gather up the sauce.

The prawn pasta I had ordered was magnificent. The very first pasta I had ever ordered at Caffe Sport was also a prawn pasta, but I don't remember it having bechamel sauce on it. I also don't remember it having cheese, but all the pastas are sprinkled with it these days. It is very traditional for Italians and Sicilians to avoid serving cheese with seafood, because it overpowers the lighter seafood taste; they usually replace cheese on seafood pasta with fried bread crumbs. If the truth be known I always sneak a small amount of Romano cheese into scampi when I make it at home. This vibrant and rich tomato sauce on top of the bechamel was the same sauce used on all three pasta orders. The two combined  flavors were deliciously delicate on the prawns, along with the fresh basil leaves, and didn't overpower their flavor.

This photo may just say it all when it comes to the taste of the mussels and pasta. It is one of my all time favorite pasta recipes and it is impossible for me to imagine how anyone else could improve upon it. As we sat at our table, waiting for our food, a couple from out of town walked in, peered around and left. I found myself uttering, "big mistake", because I knew they had just passed up a great meal.

They also passed up on the best cannolo I have eaten in California. The orange peel used in this one was beautifully fresh and not dried out. I suspected that it might be house made. While traditional cannoli are made with dark chocolate, I really preferred the milk chocolate used at Caffe Sport. The ricotta was also remarkably fresh and sweet; I'd be shocked to discover that it was commercially made. No matter, it was rich and silky and the perfect companion to the fried pastry dough. I need to go back to this restaurant more often; we had a great meal.

Caffe Sport Menu CASH ONLY

574 Green St San Francisco, CA 94133 Tue-Sat noon- 2:00pm & 5:00pm-10:30pm (415) 981-1251