Che Fico Pizzeria Is Slinging Slices at a New Shop Near Chase Center, Complete With a Walk-Up Window

As of Wednesday, October 9, Che Fico’s pizza is finally all grown up and moved into a space of its own. The cult-favorite pies have long been relegated to a single section of the Che Fico menu, competing for attention amongst pasta and other dishes at the beloved Divisadero Street restaurant. But now chef David Nayfeld and business partner Matt Brewer are finally spinning off the pizzas into a stunning space of its own as Che Fico Pizzeria, located at Thrive City, the area just outside the Warriors’ home at Chase Center.

It’s a natural progression for the team to branch out into a pizzeria, Nayfeld says. “That was something we’ve always known after we opened the original Che Fico and we realized we had something special on our hands with the pizza,” Nayfeld says. “We always knew that a pizzeria would be forthcoming — we just had no idea what it would look like, where it would be, and how it would go.”

Although pizza has been on Che Fico’s menu for years, Nayfeld is excited to give it the star treatment at its new location. It’s still the same, naturally fermented dough made with local grains, but Nayfeld has refined the recipe, making it perfect for eating in-house and tough enough to withstand delivery — a first for the pies. The other change is the sizing, which will be slightly different than what people are used to, moving from a 12-inch pie to 14- and 20-inch sizes befitting its new, pizza-centric location. “Anybody who knows anything about me knows [pizza is] the thing that I probably spent the most time obsessing about at Che Fico,” Nayfeld says, “and it’s the thing that I was the most sensitive about, it’s the thing that I had the strongest opinions about, and it was the thing I struggled with the most.”

As much as Nayfeld has spent time obsessing over his pizzas, he also knows its place in terms of location and diners. The pizzeria has a takeout window for grabbing a slice before a Warriors game or a concert. Nayfeld doesn’t want to give off the impression that what they serve is “artsy fartsy pizza,” as he put it. “When you come to get a slice at our slice window, a slice of cheese should remind you of walking down the streets of New York City with your favorite slice of cheese,” he says. “We’re not trying to do a spin on it, we’re trying to do the best cheese pizza San Francisco has to offer.” And that goes for the OG Pepperoni slices with its crispy cups of pepperoni or the pepperoni, mushroom, and sausage pies. That being said, diners will still see that Che Fico flair for pizzas with long-running restaurant favorites on the menu such as the bianco, which stars four types of cheese — provolone, mozzarella, stracchino, and ricotta — plus the house-made Calabrian chile bomba and chile honey. The famous pineapple and chile pizza (dubbed Ananas, the Italian word for pineapple, at the original restaurant) will also be on deck, starring thin slices of pineapple paired with the chile bomba, a slice so good that Nayfeld swears it’s converted longtime pineapple pizza naysayers.

The pizzeria’s menu is also geared toward lunch crowds. Nayfeld and company developed a selection of salads and sandwiches on the occasion that — gasp! — diners might want something other than a slice or full pizza. The chopped salad is ported over from Divisadero — “If we open a restaurant without it, people would riot,” Nayfeld notes — but they also have protein-laden salads such as the bomba shrimp salad, made with kale, romaine, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, and grilled corn, dressed in tomatillo salsa. Chicken cutlets can also be added to any salad, including the Caesar or the Greek salad that “every pizzeria needs,” Nayfeld says. There are also four sandwiches on the menu such as the muffuletta, that olive-laden New Orleans classic, here served on a sesame roll with Genoa salami, mortadella, provolone, and giardiniera. From there, a crispy chicken cutlet stars in two sandwiches: the Parmigiana, which pairs the cutlet with marinara and mozzarella, and the Chicken Cutty, which dresses the crisp chicken in provolone, marinated artichoke, pesto, pepperoncini, and pickled red onions.

There are other draws to the new location besides the stunning waterfront views and the interiors designed by Jon de la Cruz of DLC-ID. Nayfeld says the cocktail menu features drinks meant to be light and bright, such as the Che Fico Negroni, made with gin, contratto bitter, and sweet and dry vermouth. Also on deck is a continuation of Il Mercato di Che Fico’s gelato program, with seasonal gelato flavors served out the takeout window, much like the slices.

Pair this new expression of Che Fico with the fact that Nayfeld is a tried and true Warriors fan who grew up within walking distance of Warriors games and even got haircuts at the same shop Chris Mullin would go to — Razor’s Edge in Alameda, if you’re wondering — he’s calling this opening a “kismet dream come true.” He continues: “All those things have, for me, a very meant-to-be kind of feel to it, if that’s not too trite,” Nayfeld says. “Like hometown kid opens pizzeria with his hometown team.”

Che Fico Pizzeria (1 Warriors Way, Suite 300) debuts Wednesday, October 9, and is open for dinner 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and will soon extend opening hours to Monday. Lunch hours will also follow shortly and will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, when it launches.

Correction: October 9, 2024, 5:10 p.m. This article was corrected to reflect the restaurant’s current cocktail program at Che Fico Pizzeria.