North Beach Pizza San Mateo: That's Italian!

Since 1994 Adriano Ferreira has dished up house classics such as chicken parmigiana and prized pizzas. His brother Renato Gouveia took over on the first of 2018, determined to keep improving and innovating on the family legacy.

Renato is no stranger to the pizza world. Since 14, he’s been learning and earning his chops in chains, steadily rising from managing local fronts to regional management, including opening pizza places in faraway China and SoCal.

What’s the secret? “Handspun dough, prepared the day before, that’s allowed to rest and rise overnight,” Renato explains. “We have thick, thin and extra thin crusts.” He’s jazzed that on rare occasions when leftovers are brought home, reheating pies in the oven hold up like fresh ones. Moreover, people are excited creating their own pizzas, and seeing how they’re made through the open kitchen.

It takes a dedicated team to continue raising the bar. Chef Guilhermo Sandoval has been masterminding the kitchen 15 years. So has service manager Cleuma Guilhem in graciously attending to customers.

Not surprising, catering is catching on given customer raves. In Silicon Valley, it means attracting software companies drawn to spectacular pizza. Customers are delighted his team always arrives on time, setting up a fabulous feast.

Living a Dream

“I’m living my dream, happy to own my place, finally,” Renato enthuses. Just 30, this foodie balances family life with wife Bruna and three daughters, Isabella (10), Kayla (5) and Charlotte (6 months). For fun, he kicks off at soccer games.

Renato’s driven to excel for two reasons. “Offering customers the freshest, tastiest pizza and pasta means making them happy, which makes me happy. If I don’t keep improving my business, someone else will,” he says wryly.

Regulars know chicken parmigiana is prepared from scratch, and don’t mind waiting. People also love chicken marsala steeped in a rich mushroom wine sauce with red onions. Chicken piccata with capers is luscious in a white wine lemony sauce.

Appetizers

Customers love their traditional Italian appetizers. The ever popular fried calamari is lightly battered and served with marinara or tartar sauce, along with fresh lemon wedges. Breaded chicken breast strips are delish; so are buffalo wings.

Pizza with Pizzazz

Indisputably, the pièce de résistance are North Beach Pizza’s award-winning handcrafted pies. The top three pizzas are Barbary Coast, Cable Car and North Beach, each with its own signature sauce—BBQ, ranch-style and traditional red.

Barbary Coast is redolent in a tangy sweet-savory BBQ sauce with moist chicken and “the perfect amount of red onion,” says a customer. Cable Car pizza has a ranch-style dressing with chicken, bacon, tomatoes and green onions. North Beach, studded with pepperoni, green pepper, sausage, olives, mushrooms and red onion, zings with the traditional red sauce.

Ceaselessly Innovating

Always innovating, Renato’s take on dessert pizzas are getting very popular, too. “Once people try them, they come back, often not getting the savory ones,” he says. Both dessert pies have thin crusts. Banana Special, lined with light mozzarella is topped with banana, condensed milk and cinnamon. Chocolate Special also has mozzarella, but comes with Nutella and strawberries.

Pasta-licious!

Fettucine frutti de mare is this restaurant’s signature pasta entrée. A mouthwatering presentation of prawns and clams in pink sauce, the seafood is sautéed with onions, tomatoes and bell peppers. Fettucine chicken in alfredo or marinara sauce also offers mouthfuls of gustatory satisfaction.

Spaghetti lovers can indulge in traditional Bolognese or marinara sauces, or try it with meatballs, ‘shrooms or clams. If you’re hankering for something simple, get the aglio e olio—Naples’ beautifully full-flavored pasta dish sauced with a saute of garlic (aglio) in olive oil (olio) and shaved parmesan.

Variety, the Spice of Life

Never content with everyday fare, Renato is experimenting with a new menu for November. Traditional classics such as fettucine frutti de mare (prawns in pink sauce) and fettucine chicken in alfredo or marinara sauce will be holdovers.

Stay tuned for calzones and other specialties to debut.

Meanwhile, take a bow, wowing guests at North Beach Pizza San Mateo—an unrivalled destination for some of the Peninsula’s best Italian food—open daily 11-11 Friday and Saturday, and 11-10 Sunday-Thursday.