La Ciccia - Noe Valley

PorkyBelly · January 2, 2020, 5:58am

Another awesome dinner at la ciccia.

bottariga cun appiu (sliced cured mullet roe, celery, radishes, lemon, oil)
Strong and funky, I enjoyed this more with the crust bread.

inzalaredda de acciugasa e arangiu (marinated white anchovies, oranges, onions)
The menu had me at anchovies. Salad was a bit overdressed.

pani guttiau (traditional sardinian flatbread baked with EVOO and pecorino)
Salty, crispy, umami crackers.

prupisceddu in umidu cun tomatiga (baby octopus stew in a spicy tomato sauce)
This and the spaghetti are what you come for. Not ordering this is like going to Langer’s and not ordering the pastrami. I could just eat the sauce with some bread and call it a night. Like a spicy cioppino with baby octopi softer than tom brady.

calamareddusu arrustiusu cun frabiga (roasted monterey calamari, basil, oil, greens)
Tender and delicious.

spaghittusu cun allu ollu e bottariga (fresh spaghetti, spicy oil, garlic, cured fish roe)
Perfect balance of creamy, briny, funkiness with chewy al dente pasta. Fantastic every time. @Chowseeker1999, @TheCookie, @Bookwich, @attran99, @JeetKuneBao

(special) cheese rigatoni and white alba truffles
Wow, this was rich and decadent. intensely truffle-y with black truffles cooked in with the cheese sauce and then the white truffles shaved on top. It’s been a great year for truffles. @Chowseeker1999.

After-dinner bang at flour + water pizzeria

fior di latte and salted caramel swirl, chocolate sauce, amarena cherries

Emglow101 · January 2, 2020, 6:22am

Favoloso

TheCookie · January 2, 2020, 7:30am

Me too… and good lord it all looks great!

Bookwich · January 2, 2020, 11:15am

What language is that?

beefnoguy · January 2, 2020, 4:58pm

I’ve taken leftover sauce from the octopus and reheated it with pasta at home, splendid.

I need to retry pani guttiau with a plate of sheep milk cheese.

A few years ago La Ciccia had this nightly special roasted cauliflower dish that was also spectacular.

To the left of the entrance of Flour & Water Pizzeria is their takeout by the slice counter, it’s a good size for a bang bang too.

Chowseeker1999 · January 2, 2020, 5:09pm

Hi @PorkyBelly,

Great report again, and yes, La Ciccia is SO GOOD! Love their Spaghetti with Bottarga and the Octopus Stew.

That Cheese Rigatoni with White Alba Truffles sounds amazing. I so wish I was there right now.

Thanks again for the great rec @PorkyBelly!

PorkyBelly · January 2, 2020, 5:35pm

Corsican, according to duck duck go.

robert · January 2, 2020, 7:52pm

It’s Sardinian, like the chef!

Did they get a soft-serve machine?

PorkyBelly · January 3, 2020, 12:36am

did the same thing on a previous visit. it should be an impeachable offense to waste that sauce.

Emglow101 · January 3, 2020, 1:43am

Italian . Means fabulous.

PorkyBelly · January 3, 2020, 10:13pm

no

robert · January 3, 2020, 10:14pm

Ah, missed that. I couldn’t figure where Massimo would fit one.

moonboy403 · January 22, 2020, 9:10am

I’m gonna be the uncultured contrarian here and say that La Ciccia, while unique and solid, didn’t quite match the high expectations I had going in especially since it got raved reviews on FTC.

complimentary white bread
it’s plain so go ahead and use it to mop up whatever sauces you have left

traditional sardinian flat bread, evoo, rosemary, pecorino
crunchy, aromatic with scent of olive oil and rosemary, and a touch of saltiness from pecorino

chilled octopus salad
this special of the day was fantastic with a generous portion of flavorful and tender octopus slices taking this lightly dressed salad to another level

love the burst of salty notes from the capers

roasted monterey calamari, basil oil, greens
calamari was tender with bright notes from the basil oil but it’s under-seasoned to this palate

baby octopus stew, spicy tomato sauce
this much loved octopus stew wasn’t for me. the octoups was probably long braised so it lost much of the flavor and the texture was too soft to my liking.

the sauce itself was spicy as advertised but i really couldn’t detect much complexity beyond the primary notes of tomato and spiciness

fresh spaghetti, spicy garlic oil, cured fish roe
al dente and chewy pasta, lightly spicy with a bit of funk from the grated roe

sardinian fusilli, sea urchin, tomato, grated tuna heart
pasta was cooked to perfection but i thought the uni flavor was quite muted and the sauce was too thick and a bit too rich

gelato trio: marsala raisin, hazelnut & chocolate, goat cheese & fig
textbook richness and creaminess

beefnoguy · January 22, 2020, 7:32pm

Sorry to hear it didn’t quite work out for you. Were you told of their nightly specials as well? It is a very different style compared to other regional Italian. The octopus stew’s sauce is not thick and dense by default. Also possible that they had an off night, and I recall my last visit was not as stellar as prior visits but doesn’t deter me from returning (and I know my family didn’t particularly enjoy it as much…so I won’t be dining with them again there for sure lol). Does this cuisine exist in Southern California?

To their credit their wine list is extensive and includes some very affordable (with markup) Sardinian wines (my favorites are the Cannonau Riserva, great acidity and food wines) that work very well with the food.

moonboy403 · January 22, 2020, 10:03pm

yup. that’s where we got the chilled octopus salad which was excellent.

not that i know of! but i don’t know much at all.

it wasn’t a bad meal at all but i was simply expecting more. it could also be my preference toward fresher and lighter flavor profiles so the dishes i ordered worked against my perception of la ciccia.

ilykejordans · January 23, 2020, 12:14am

That bottarga pasta, octopus stew, and Yoshizumi are among my favorites in SF.

PorkyBelly · January 23, 2020, 2:49pm

You must have never had good sardinian food before.

moonboy403 · January 23, 2020, 5:06pm

i have not and never had good fish either

robert · January 23, 2020, 5:51pm

La Ciccia reminds me of being in Italy, both in the cooking and the hospitality. It’s still the first place I would recommend to a visitor to SF.

js76wisco · May 12, 2020, 9:48pm

Hopefully this helps keep one of FTC favorite SF restaurants around longer. They got a Zuckerberg PPP.