Our Reviews
by Carey Sweet, San Francisco Gate
The front door of Boca Pizzeria in Novato displays a document proclaiming that the restaurant’s chef-partner, Sam Ramadan, has completed Verace Pizza Napoletana training. The cafe and wine bar, which opened in June, awaits its final inspection for certification.
Your server probably will mention the VPN designation, smiling and pointing to the wood-burning, 900-degree oven that is the centerpiece of the exposition kitchen.
It’s a reasonable point of pride. The 10 pizza combinations ($12.95-$14.95) are honest renditions. They arrive moist-chewy in the center and crisp-bubbly on the edges, though one evening the undersides of two pies were nearly charred.
Toppings are premium, such as the Farmers ($13.95), with judicious scatterings of pancetta, potato, leeks and snowy blobs of burrata crowned with a golden-yolked egg.
But the sizzling sounds and enticing smells emanating from the kitchen are clues that servers could be boasting about more.
by Leslie Harlib, Marinscope
Roaring wood-based flames gleam in the mouth of a giant tiled lion oven. From the fire come crisp, blistered pizzas, nine a minute.
These toasty pies are just part of the attractions at the new Boca Pizzeria, which opened two months ago in the Village at Corte Madera. It occupies more than 5,000 square feet in the space that was formerly Sharper Image.
The county’s second Boca Pizzeria opens in southern Marin two years after the first one debuted in Ignacio.
“Community response has been terrific,” says Shah Bahreyni, managing partner with executive chef Sam Ramadan and also a partner in Novato’s Boca Steak. “We’ve been busy since we opened. People say they’re excited we’re here. There are not too many restaurant choices in this area.”
by Tanya Henry, Marin Independent Journal
A couple of things happen when professional restaurateurs branch out from upscale dining into more casual territory. Diners suddenly have access to a caliber of dining and level of service that is typically reserved for high-end restaurants. And that is exactly what the team behind Boca Steak has achieved with its stunning new Boca Pizzeria, just a block away from its upscale relative in Novato.
Owners Shah Bahreyni and chef partner Sam Ramadan opened their Italian-themed restaurant a month ago, and already it appears to be running like a finely tuned machine. The breathtaking space that used to be home to a shoe store and a pizzeria has been completely gutted and transformed by uber-designer Michael Brennan.
The open, airy room with exposed structural steel and concrete, slatted wood ceilings and two outdoor seating areas with wicker chairs seamlessly combines edgy, modern industrial with Wine Country casual.
Whimsically designed light fixtures throughout the room evoke turn-of-the century gas lamps, adding a rustic charm to the 150-seat restaurant. This is definitely not your average pizzeria.
by Jason Walsh, Pacific Sun
Q: Boca pizza crusts are so thin that:
a. You could slice pizza with them
b. They’ve earned AMA approval as replacement tissue in skin-grafts
c. Even Jack Sprat’ll lick the platter clean (good thing he’s not on the Boca line staff)
The answer, quite obviously is none of the above. But they’re still pretty thin–quite possibly the thinnest thin-crusters we’ve seen in Marin. Boca Pizzeria opened in June and instantly became Novato’s lone Neapolitan-style pizza joint. While many Italian restaurants offer such Northern Italian pizzas, and even the more casual chains have thin-crust as part of their menus, at Boca thin crust pizza is the menu—with a handful of pastas and salads thrown in for good measure.
Boca rolls its dough in the space at Pacheco Plaza shopping center where Red Boy Pizza dished the deep dish for many years. But Boca’s a different slice altogether. A sister restaurant to the excellent Boca Steakhouse a few doors down on Ignacio Boulevard, the pizzeria appears to be positioning itself as the North Marin suburb’s “uptown” pizza restaurant—a sort of Manhattan-meets-Novato hybrid, but with better parking.
As your server will no doubt inform you within a few seconds of being seated, Boca pizzas are “authentic Neapolitan” style (certified by Verace Pizza Napolitana, which we guess is like an American Bar Association for crispy pizza makers), blasted in a 900 degree Italian wood burning oven for a mere 120 seconds. So, our pizzas were ready in practically the same amount of time it takes my wife to correct my pronunciation of bruschetta. And, on that note, Boca’s bruschetta is a new favorite, at least for those of us who find the super-tomatoey versions a tad on the soggy-bread side. Boca’s is toasted to a crisp and topped with a chickpea puree-eggplant-mint mix—highly recommended.
Boca’s interior of deep colors and sharp shapes—brick-red upholstery, dark-wood furnishings, rectangled windows, tables and chairs—is the essence of business casual; its outdoor seating is more laid back with flower beds and the usual wicker. We sat outside, enjoying the view of plaza named for 19th century Marin land baron Ignacio Pacheco who is said to have “rode in a saddle encrusted with silver and gold.” But all we cared about was whether his lot’s new pizzas would be encrusted with salami and garlic.
by Christina Mueller, Marin Independent Journal
Baby octopuses are not cute and cuddly, nor are they overfished in California. Eating these lime-sparked beauties at Boca Pizzeria, Corte Madera is, then, a guilt-free oceanic delight. Partnered in marinade and on grill with cipollini onions, the tiny cephalopods ($8.50) sporting a hint of char, were beautifully tender, the soft onions a supporting note, à deux. It was a clue to expect more than just pizza at this lively pizzeria.
Open since December 2011 at the Village Shopping Center, Boca Pizzeria serves classic Neapolitan pizza. Chef and partner Sam Ramadan, known for his American menu at Boca Steak in Novato as well as his nearby Boca Pizzeria, received his official pizzaiolo certification from the Neapolitan pizza watchdogs, or Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVN). Boca’s wood-burning oven, stoked with apple and almond wood, reaches the AVN’s mandated 900 degrees and speedily gives the pizza char and bubble. Topped with raw arugula, prosciutto di Parma pizza ($15.50), sized to the AVN’s required 11 inches diameter, had a chewy crust and just the right amount of fresh mozzarella.