We’re celebrating Best of the Bay 2026 with a multitude of Editors’ Picks of things we love. Please join us at our 13th Annual Gala on October 27 to celebrate even more!
I didn’t think that a 140-seat Italian restaurant in San Francisco could still feel so intimate; that the experience in a space of this size could feel so special, with handmade pastas prepared with such precision, seasonal ingredients expressed this naturally and cocktails that are memorable without overembellishment.
Bosco (888 Brannan, SF) opened in SOMA last year, taking over the old Bellota location attached to the Airbnb building. It’s a full circle post for Executive Chef Ryan McIlwraith, who was at Bellota for six years and is now at the helm of Bosco’s fantastic kitchen with his partner and co-chef Kaili Hill.
My first visit to Bosco was a Tuesday night in the peak of tomato season and I ran into multiple groups of friends who had the same idea (major vibe points right from the jump.) I loved the goat cheese and tomato scarpinocc, a filled pasta that looks like a little divotted bon-bon. Lemon spaghetti mixed lemon oil into the pasta dough and was coated in a velvety Sungold sauce that captured the best notes of every ingredient. Meanwhile, the martini della casa, with tomato gin, Veso olive vermouth and basil, felt very of the summer moment and is delightfully (as its name suggests) not just a seasonal item.
The minute I opened the menu for the first time, I was already plotting my return visit to Bosco so I could explore further. I did just that on my next visit, with new fall menu items like honeynut squash caramelle, an even more ornate pasta bon-bon served over crisp sesame-praline with black sesame butter, and studded with pomegranate seeds.
I can’t stop thinking about the oak and almond wood-fired grilled Wagyu Hanger Steak, with chanterelles in a red wine beef sauce, summer pole beans and a layered potato. I ordered the hamachi crudo with kumquat agrodolce, black garlic, charred avocado and chili crisp both times, because it expressed what I love about Californian produce in the best way possible.
McIlwraith and Hill are always at local farmer’s markets, keeping up with peak seasonal produce on the regular. “We let Mother Nature do the work and it’s easy from there,” McIlwraith said. I love that sentiment and I love how freaking fun the Bosco experience is. This is a menu that will always be shapeshifting with the seasons and I can’t wait to go back.
