The Opinionated Loudmouth: Ristorante Mare
The quest for great gnocchi — like the search for Sasquatch — is a passion of our lives. And like ol' Sas himself, great gnocchi is hard to find; reports of sightings are many, but mostly unsubstantiated. So it is with great pleasure that we are able to report on a confirmed discovery: The gnocchi of our dreams is served at Pacifica's Ristorante Mare.
This small restaurant, situated in a eucalyptus-scented hillside pocket of the Pedro Point area, looks like what it is: a good neighborhood place. Its proprietors — according to the framed newspaper items covering the entryway wall — bailed out of the stress of a very popular San Mateo place they used to run, and opened anew in sleepy, laid-back Pacifica; we think the desire for a slower-paced life might explain the laconic (but friendly) service, while the food certainly explains the owners' former celebrity.
SFist Lydia, contributing
We first visited Ristorante Mare last summer, and found it charming and affordable, with a decent though not very creamy mushroom risotto and, as mentioned above, really quite good gnocchi. But as we have learned to our sadness at other establishments, these potato dumplings can be finicky — "little pillows" one time, wads of congealed paste the next. Ristorante Mare, however, apparently has the knack for getting it right every time.
On this visit, in which we and our Dining Companion were treated for our birthday by our lovely in-laws (thanks, guys!), we ordered a Stoli gimlet from the bar first; the teenage waiter (who on our previous visit asked us, apropos of nothing, "Do you guys surf?") clearly had no idea what we were talking about, but the old proprietor/host/bartender sure did — he made us a good one. Then we ordered a bottle of wine from the short but adequate list, and our main courses: our companions had the Risotto Mare (~$16) — tender, skillfully prepared scallops, mussels, and calamari in a tomato-based broth over risotto — and the meat lasagna (a big and reportedly delicious square for ~$15).
Our decision was mainly which sauce to have with the thing we knew we would order when we decided on the venue. Eventually we picked the gnocchi with pesto (~$14), and it was wonderful: dumplings a perfect, light consistency; creamy pesto that didn't overpower; and the surprisingly tasty addition of a handful of steamed red potato chunks mixed into the dish — they functioned almost as a palate-cleanser, a counterpoint in taste and sensation that really played up the gnocchi's best qualities.
We were stuffed (and eager to get back to several TiVo'd NCAA basketball games), so we declined dessert. But next time — and there will be a next time — we're not going to miss finding out what Ristorante Mare can do with pastry, chocolate and cream.
The particulars:
Ristorante Mare
404 San Pedro Ave, Pacifica
650-355-5980