Pizzeria Delfina (Palo Alto, CA)

PIZZERIA DELFINA (Palo Alto, CA) – I was pretty excited to read that Pizzeria Delfina (of course, originally in San Francisco), had expanded and opened a spot up in Palo Alto. Back in 2005, Annie and Craig Still, the owners of the James Beard Award winning Delfina, opened up a pizzeria next door to bring Neapolitan style pizzas to San Francisco. And have now expanded to Burlingame and Palo Alto for more people to enjoy their delicious pizza. Another city eatery that I can go to more easily, yay! I’ve come here a few times for lunch, and it’s always been so worth it.

The eatery is on Emerson Street off of University, so it’s a little more quiet than the main street, but there are a lot of great places in this area too. I like the bright yellow door that welcomes customers – it’s an easy way to find the restaurant while searching for street parking! They also have a great outdoor space that is great for groups – and inside as well.

When we first sat down, there were these long, thin sticks in a container, which I totally thought were decoration, but were actually really thin breadsticks. Show you how sophisticated I am, tbh. Looking through the menu, you can see that they switch up their offerings at least monthly, so there are different appetizers and pizzas along with their mainstays.

For appetizers, I tend to gravitate to the cheese heavy ones. I saw that they had my favorite, so I had to order it without hesitation. The fresh-stretched Mozzarella Belfiore Burrata with arugula, crostini, and extra virgin olive oil, was so good! I love how creamy burrata is since it’s basically cheese inside a cheese ball – the best kind. And of course, the arugula provides some freshness and you need the crostini as a vessel, and because, bread.

Though I could have just eaten burrata as my whole meal (which I’ve totally done before, btw), I had to make some room for the thing we came for: pizza! The first time I visited, we kept it classic and ordered the Margherita, which has tomato, fior di latte mozzarella, and basil.

This is everything you want in a Margherita pizza. Generous blobs of mozzarella, flavorful tomato sauce, and basil for that extra kick. They have a variety of regular pizza options ranging from sausage to clam pie to even having vegan options, but I would totally go back to eat the Margherita. It has all of the essential elements and it’s made well. What’s not to love?

However, the next time I went, they had a special that was made for me – a burrata pizza! I wasn’t joking when I said I LOVE burrata cheese.  This was essentially like a Margherita pizza, just replacing it with burrata – which only made it a bajillion times better. There was also additional olive oil and herbs garnished on top. I just really love the layers of creamy cheese of the burrata pizza and I feel like it takes pizza (or anything really) to the next level.

I’m glad that there’s another quality pizza place in Palo Alto. Delfina decided they were gonna make Neapolitan pizza, and they really did it. I highly recommend any of their locations, it’s good for a few people or a large group, though you’d probably have to get there early since it’s popular. I hope to one day be able try their original spot!