Pausa Bar & Cookery

"Thanks to its modern setting and late hours (by San Mateo standards, at least), a growing crowd of smart couples and tech types flock to this San Mateo sweetie. Everyone is here for the authentic Italian eats from Chef/co-owner Andrea Giuliani, who dishes up the cuisine of his native Veneto.The dining room has a view of the charcuterie-aging room and those artistically presented salumi boards of fennel-flecked finocchiona and exceptional salame al parmigiano. The wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas are equally strong—try the porchetta variation, topped with gorgonzola and radicchio. Of course, the pastas don’t disappoint either: spinach spaghetti amatriciana with house-cured guanciale, piennolo tomatoes, calabrian chilies, and pecorino is downright perfect."