LA CICCIA

Few restaurants have the charm of this cozy Sardinian storefront in Noe Valley but then no other restaurants have Massimiliano Conti and his wife, Lorella Degan. In more than 10 years in business, Conti has never missed a night in the kitchen. If he has to leave, as he did once for a family emergency, he closes the restaurant. Conti was in the wine business before he gave in to his persistent desire to re-create the foods of his childhood. Degan handles the front of the house, and seems to know just about everyone who walks through the door. If she doesn’t, she will by the end of the night. She steers dinners through the unusual menu and helps them pick a wine from the impressive list, which includes many regional Italian wines. The food, which is unlike any other in the Bay Area, has strong Spanish and Italian influences reflected in such dishes as baby octopus stew with a thick, smoky chile-spiked sauce, and fresh fusilli with a tomato sauce with smoked pancetta, salty cured tuna hearts and creamy uni that blends to create a remarkable dish.

Cuisine Italian | Specialties Baby octopus stew; spaghetti with bottarga; fresh fusilli with smoked pancetta, sea urchin and cured tuna heart; pane guttiau (traditional Sardinian flatbread); ricotta and saffron cake with honey. | Seats 49| Prices $20-$30 | Noise rating AAAA | Parking Street, sometimes difficult

Vitals 291 30th St., San Francisco. (415) 550-8114. www.laciccia.com Dinner TuesdaySaturday. Beer and wine. Reservations and credit cards accepted.

Saffron ricotta cake at La Ciccia, a cozy Sardinian storefront in Noe Valley.