Papa Potrero's Pizza in San Francisco, California: A Restaurant Review

Papa Potrero's Pizza is one of those little mom-and-pop pizza, pasta and sandwich joints tucked away in the corner of the Mission near Potrero Hill. It's far enough from the BART stations and the main party/club thoroughfares that it is pretty much just a kind of obscure neighborhood joint, but likely you'll notice it if you're going to or from San Francisco General Hospital.

Nothing special as far as the location or interior goes, the vast bulk of the business is carry-out or delivery. They do have a combo salad bar and mini-buffet on site as well as pizza by the slice if you plan to eat in. They're either not open on Monday, or they simply don't deliver on Mondays, I'm not totally clear. Regardless, the hours are a bit surprising even for being off the beaten path in the Mission - they are only open until 11 on weeknights and 12 on weekends, and delivery cuts off an hour before each of those times.

Everything on the menu here is pretty much standard fare for a neighborhood delivery joint. The one unique highlight that might be worth checking out is the Indian pizza, a combination I haven't yet seen done anywhere else. This comes with spinach, eggplant, cauliflower, ginger, garlic, green onion and tandoori chicken. It's good but a bit pricey at $17.60 for a medium and $21.45 for a large. This pricing is pretty much standard for all their specialty combo pizzas or anything you choose yourself with four or more toppings. It's a little high by general standards but pretty average for San Francisco. Other specialty combo pizzas include the Cable Car (mushrooms, salami, sausage, pepperoni), Papa's Special (pepperoni, sausage, bell pepper, mushrooms, onions), Bay City Special (clams, shrimp, garlic), Makan's Special (spinach, pesto, onions and feta cheese), Polynesian Fantasy (ham and pineapple), La Fiesta (ground beef, mushrooms, linguica, onions, jalapenos), Mission Special (ground beef, salami, linguica, ham, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions), Vegetarian By The Green (bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, olives, tomatoes) and Tandoori Chicken (chicken, cilantro, green onions). Pizza is available by the slice as well, though I don't know if they make all of the special combos by the slice.

There's pasta, chicken, ribs and other options on the menu, but I'd skip them. From what I've tried they seem to be passable in a pinch, but a little too pricey for the mediocre preparation and ingredients (pretty much everything comes from CostCo and the sauces are straight out of a can.) The only possible exception here is the subs, which are a pretty good size and come with a choice of small salad or fries for 6.10. You have your choice here of a pizza sub, meatball parmesan, Italian sausage, ham and cheese, eggplant, cheeseburger or chicken parmesan.

They have a couple of deals worth knowing about if you plan to order. If you pick up an order you can get a free 2 liter soda or slice of cheesecake for any order over $15. Also, save your receipts, because when you buy ten pizzas that are $10 or more each, they'll spot you a free large pizza with up to three toppings.

The pizza here is OK, kind of on the thin side but a little doughy, and is good enough to satisfy in a pinch (or if you just need a local delivery place.) The subs aren't bad either. Don't expect the moon and the stars, and there's nothing worth crossing town for, but it at least lives up to the basic standard of a quickie neighborhood pizza and pasta joint.