It’s usually a good sign at an Italian restaurant when the staff and some of the clientele are speaking in Italian. Upon walking into AcquaPazza Ristorante we were greeted promptly and seated at the table of our choice. San Mateo isn’t known for great restaurants and while Acquapazza doesn’t dispel this stereotype it does a decent job of overcoming it.
My dining companions ordered pasta dishes and I ordered the Pizza Margherita “Recipe Da Michele,” referring to the famous Da Michele in Naples which is high on my to-do list.
We were served bread with a bowl of olive oil with large clumps of garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. My pizza was larger than I’d expect and quite wet. The sauce and oils came close to creating a soupy mess but was saved by the blocks of buffalo mozzarella holding things into place. Rather enjoyable to eat but the eight slice cut is deciving as this pie requires a fork and knife. There was nothing interesting in the flavors, however. The sauce, cheese and basil were fairly plain. The crust was crispy on the edges and chewy. Nothing negative to say but I couldn’t find anything that would help it stand out against others. The sum of its parts were equal to the sum of its parts, so to speak. In summary: satisfying.
I can’t compare this pizza to Da Michele but I can say from what I know of San Mateo, not bad. For another visit it might be worth to explore more of the menu — the diners present that were speaking in Italian weren’t ordering pizza.
AcquaPazza Ristorante
301 E 3rd Ave
San Mateo, CA 94401
650-375-0903
It sure looks fresh. Too bad it didn’t come together into something better.