A new cafe, with pizza, cocktails, beer and wine, is opening January 15 in the former Transit cafe space at the Presidio Transit Center (215 Lincoln Blvd.), right at the entry of the Presidio Tunnel Tops.
It's called Il Parco (The Park), and it's an Italian-style cafe and pizzeria from the restaurant group behind nearby Mexican restaurant Colibri, and restaurateur Eduardo Rallo. It's a counter-service operation, like the former cafe called Transit that occupied the space until 2019, with a large adjacent patio full of seating that has views of the Tunnel Tops park, the Bay, and the Golden Gate Bridge.
We first heard that Rallo and his group would be opening a second, casual restaurant in the Presidio two years ago, when we first learned he was taking over the former Arguello space to relocate his former Union Square Mexican restuarant Colibri. Colibri opened in May 2022, and now Il Parco is coming along a year and a half later.
The menu will feature focaccia-style pizza, salads, and sandwiches in the afternoon and evening, as well as Italian-inspired pastry and other breakfast items with coffee in the mornings. They are also touting wine and "handcrafted cocktails," and there appears to be a separate outdoor bar area, but some of those might also come in cans for taking to the Tunnel Tops.
The handsome interior, with new marble counters, was designed by Design Opera Architects.
The outdoor seating now has a new patio cover structure and heat lamps, and more seating than the previous cafe.
For pizza, we know there will be a soppresatta and honey pie, as well as a potato-rosemary one, and the one pictured below appears to be straight-up pepperoni.
The restaurant's Instagram also features some lovely picnic spreads, for taking out to the park.
Il Parco will be softly opening January 15, with a grand opening happening on January 18. We don't yet know what the exact hours will be, but Il Parco will be open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Il Parco - 215 Lincoln Blvd. in the Presidio — Opening January 15
