By Shannon Atlas

There has been palpable excitement in the Richmond District ever since Rose Pizzeria, the popular Berkeley-based casual pizzeria opened in the neighborhood. The new San Francisco branch began serving lunch and dinner in late April, on the corner of Clement Street and Arguello Boulevard, in the former Village Pizzeria space.

Throughout the last few years, many food purveyors have taken note of the Richmond District and opened businesses in the area. Culinary additions include restaurants and cafes such as gluten-free Italian trattoria Clementina; café Hologram; high-end coffee shop Kissaten HiFi; as well as Pasta Supply Co, Mamahuhu and Lily’s. In late 2026 and 2027, the neighborhood also expects to welcome Loquat bakery; cafes HI NRG (currently a pop-up), Evermore and Cafe Reveille; Kitchen Commons, a culinary supply store and the fourth retail location of local gourmet grocery Bi-Rite.

On a recent Friday evening during dinner service at Rose, Richmond residents Tony and Allison spoke enthusiastically about their meal at one of the outdoor tables.

“It’s my first time eating here, and I had been wanting to try it,” Tony said.

Allison shared, “Rose has a very European, cafe feel, where New York meets Italy.”

Owner Gerard Gobel said that “even though Rose has received a lot of national attention and hype, (he and his wife/co-owner Alexis Rorabaugh) want to serve the Richmond neighborhood.”

Gobel and Rorabaugh had wanted to open a San Francisco location for a while and viewed Clement Street as a dream spot.

The new location features green-painted walls with matching upholstered bench seats, and a back panel with wallpaper of the Via Appia (one of the oldest Roman roads). During the construction of the space, the team restored the original Village Pizzeria flooring of green-and-white checkered tiles, which tie in well to the restaurant’s casual feel. The 44-seat dining room is accompanied by a 15-seat outdoor area along Arguello Boulevard, maintaining a neighborhood vibe similar to the original Berkeley location, which also features indoor and outdoor seating – in fact, the Rose name comes from the flora in the Berkeley restaurant courtyard.

The San Francisco menu has many of the same items that diners have loved over the years in Berkeley, including spring/seasonal starters such as Rancho Gordo white beans with celery, red onion, green olives, grated Bottarga, mint, dill and olive oil. The two salad options on the menu during a recent visit included the spicy Caesar; and farm lettuces with shaved asparagus, mint, basil, mustard vinaigrette, black pepper and shaved pecorino. The pizza offerings all feature Rose’s signature Cal-Italian thin crust pies, made with stone-milled flour, California produce and local mozzarella from a Petaluma supplier. The recent menu also included classics such as “The Cheese;” a Margherita and several white sauce options. “The Green Deluxe” pizza features broccoli rabe, roasted garlic, mozzarella, pecorino, cream, lemon and black pepper. Meat options on the menu included the “Third Coast” with tomato sauce, Molinari salami, red onion, mozzarella and pepperoncini pepper.

For dessert, Gobel and Rorabaugh have kept it simple with a tiramisu and rotating gelato and sorbetto flavors.

For the summer season, Gobel said that “the first round of mangoes from a Southern California farm, Wong’s Farm LLC, is being used to make homemade gelato.”

Few farms in the US produce mangos, (since they are a tropical fruit), so it’s a unique opportunity for Bay Area diners to experience a local variety. Other new menu options coming in late summer include “homemade pickles and pears and cotton candy apricot preserve.”

Gobel said that Rose is “slowly preserving these flavors through canning and they will make a debut on the menu in August.”

A standalone drink menu offers a Hazy IPA and Pale Ale by Cellarmaker, as well as many Italian and California wine options with reds, sparkling, white, orange and chilled red wines. For those seeking a non-alcoholic alternative, soft drinks like coke, diet coke, blood orange and lemon soda, or sparkling water and a Still Fun (non-alcoholic spritz over ice) is provided.

In addition to Rose Pizzeria’s two locations, Gobel and Rorabaugh own Café Brusco, an Italian café and wine bar in Berkeley. They are also involved in creating the food menu for Downtime, a new nightclub in the Mission that will open later this year.

Many San Francisco residents could not be happier to have this well-loved pizzeria in the neighborhood. On any given night, diners of all ages from families with young kids to young adults and seniors flock to Rose for some of the highest acclaimed pizza in the City.

Rose Pizzeria is located at 1 Clement St. on the corner of Arguello Boulevard. Open Monday-Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Find more information at @rose.pizzeria on Instagram or at rosepizzeria.com.