Venticello in San Francisco is closing after 29 years
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Venticello Ristorante in Nob Hill is closing after 29 years in business.
Andrew D./YelpVenticello Ristorante, a popular Italian restaurant perched on top of San Francisco’s Nob Hill, is closing after 29 years, citing challenges related to the pandemic and its subsequent impact on tourism in the city, the San Francisco Chronicle first reported. (SFGATE and the San Francisco Chronicle are both owned by Hearst but operate independently of one another.)
The two-level restaurant located on Taylor Street initially shuttered in March 2020 amid the citywide shelter-in-place order. It largely depended on business from out-of-town visitors staying at the historic Mark Hopkins and Fairmont hotels nearby, as well as locals attending shows at the Masonic. Co-owners Mike and Christina Deeb, who also run Nob Hill Cafe, told the Chronicle they had no choice but to vacate the space last summer.
“At the moment, COVID has made it impossible to keep the doors open,” Mike Deeb told the Chronicle. “It’s been a harsh reality.”
Venticello was just as famous for its Tuscan-style comfort food classics, like spaghetti carbonara and pappardelle with mushroom ragu, as it was for its views of passing cable cars and the Bay Bridge.
Mike and Christina Deeb took over the spot when their father, the successful restaurant operator Michael Deeb, died in 2002.
Nob Hill Cafe, located a block away from Venticello’s former space, will remain open six days a week: from 5-9 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and 5-10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Online ordering is available for take-out or you can stop by 1152 Taylor Street to dine in.
