Reviewed by Mark Tanaka Having dined at the North Beach Pasta Pomodoro numerous times, I was delighted when I learned last spring that another would be opening here in the Inner Sunset. I knew that the food would be inexpensive, the proportions generous, and the atmosphere unpretentiously pleasing. With a friend who hadn't dined at a Pasta Pomodoro before, I entered the new one on a drizzly night to find a long room full of happy diners. In contrast to the restaurant in North Beach, where the kitchen and bar-like counter are in the center, and the narrow one at Chestnut Street, the new installment at 9th Avenue has the kitchen on the right and seating at the left.
People can sit at the counter and watch the food being made.
I thought the atmosphere was hipper and classier than that at North Beach, possibly due to the assymetry. The decor is indeed quite hip. My dining companion was especially impressed with the small red lights over the counter, which reminded her of holly berries. I let my companion order, which worked out well, since she picked entrees I had not tried before. She ordered a lot.