Baby Cakes

With its unfussy Italian food and wine, Bar Bambino celebrates the little things in life.

It’s early April, and Christopher Losa, a former transportation consultant–turned-restaurateur, walks through the half-finished Mission District space that will soon be Bar Bambino, gesturing at what still looks like a construction site. “Underneath those packing blankets,” he says, pointing to the bar, “is white marble. And there—that’s where the climate-controlled cheese refrigerators are going.” Like a kid at Disneyland (or maybe the Italian pavilion at Epcot), he continues to narrate his vision-in-progress. “Big patio here, with plants—and two communal tables.”

Several weeks later, like magic, the transformation is complete. The plywood that hid the restaurant from view has been removed, revealing an interior that’s surprisingly sleek for this slightly grotty block of 16th Street. A custom light fixture crafted from wine bottles, each filled with a thin filament of light, illuminates the big front windows.

The interior belies the rustic food streaming from the kitchen, overseen by chef Lizzie Binder, onetime sous chef at Jardinière. Antipasti, including a starter of baked tomini cheese topped with shavings of prosciutto and a glug of olive oil, gives way to a long selection of bruschette, grilled slices of Della Fattoria bread topped with straightforward combinations such as poached eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano and truffle oil, or fresh ricotta and oven-roasted tomatoes. Paninis, which Losa refers to as “the best food between two slices of bread,” continue the less-is-more theme; the mortadella with red-onion jam would be at home in a Roman caffè. The menu rolls on: A selection of pastas includes a classic dish of tagliatelle in a hearty meat sugo and a plate of meatballs in a sweet sauce of tomato, red onion and green chard. There’s also a salumi-and-cheese bar, where an attendant stands, Benihana-style, ready to slice coppa and cut wedges of Gorgonzola.

Familiar varietals are represented on the all-Italian wine list, but you’d do well to give yourself over to Losa’s suggestions, allowing him to uncork a bottle of Luigi Ferrando Canavese, an inexpensive, easy-drinking country wine from Piedmont. In fact, the whole staff is almost puppy-like in their eager-to-please attitude. The recommended citrus polenta cake—a generous, moist slice with a crackly top, accompanied by whipped mascarpone—doesn’t disappoint. Nor does vanilla gelato topped with macerated Italian cherries.

“I come from a family that appreciates neighborhood places,” says the Alaska-born, Germany-raised Losa, citing a childhood spent exploring the small family restaurants of Europe. But in a city like ours, rife with neighborhood eateries, many of the Italianate ilk, it takes something special to get our attention. Bar Bambino’s got it.

Bar Bambino 2931 16th St., 415-701-8466

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