With a career that has included stints at world famous restaurants like Eleven Madison Park in New York, Mirazur in France, and Tickets in Barcelona, chef David Nayfeld has lived, breathed and cooked the best of what food can be. Wanting to strike out on his own, Nayfeld took his vast and culturally diverse talents to San Francisco, where he opened his first restaurant, Che Fico, which celebrates both his passion for Italian food and his Jewish roots by highlighting the Roman fare dubbed Cucina Ebraica.
With the whirlwind success of Che Fico, Nayfeld decided to open a sister restaurant, Che Fico Alimentari, where he offers customers a way to experience his cuisine in more accessible ways. Here, customers cn choose to dine in at the lively, Roman wine bar-esque restaurant—or take things to go and try cooking at home.
(ph. Ed Anderson)
“Che Fico Alimentari is much more about the idea of cooking from the pantry, “says Nayfeld. “Everything on the menu we also sell retail, from the cheese and salumi to all of our wines. The options are great because you can both engage with the space and experience everything that we have to offer.”
Alimentari’s menu is littered with goodies for easy at-home meals, whether for one, for families, or for catering a party—making it the one-stop Italian deli/restaurant/retail shop of your dreams. Find everything from house-made breads, salumi and pastas (pastas like bucatini cacio e pepe and rigatoni amatriciana to unique wines, fresh fish, melt-in-your-mouth parmigiana, and olive oils from Sicily, Umbria, and Liguria.
(ph. Albert Law)
Although Che Fico and Che Fico Alimentari are well southwest of San Francisco’s Little Italy, Nayfeld is proving that the only place you need to go for your Italian fix is his little stretch along Divisadero Street.