Alioto's Restaurant

09/11/2026

09/11/2026

There are some moments you experience, and some you carry with you.

For our family, the unveiling of Alioto Plaza was both.

To see the Alioto name back at Fisherman’s Wharf, where Rose and Nunzio Alioto built their restaurant more than 100 years ago, surrounded by family, friends, community leaders, and so many people who care about San Francisco, was incredibly meaningful.

The stories, photographs, memories, messages, and words of support shared by so many people reminded us that this story was never just ours. It belongs the many Italian American families who came to this waterfront, worked hard, built businesses, raised families, and helped shape Fisherman’s Wharf.

It belongs to all of you here on this page who have shared your memories, and those not on this page who remember Alioto’s, whether they worked there, celebrated there, brought their families there, or simply considered it part of San Francisco.

And now, it belongs to a new generation who may not remember the restaurant at all, but can see the name, ask the question, and discover the story.

We are so appreciative of the representatives of the State, City and Port who made this event possible, and also to our Italian American community, the Italian Consulate, and everyone who helped make this moment possible. We are especially grateful to everyone who has shared a memory or helped tell the story since the Alioto Plaza opened.

For our family, there is still heartbreak in seeing Alioto’s Restaurant gone.

Standing there last week, we were reminded of something Rose and Nunzio could never have known when they began: they were not simply building a restaurant. They were building a legacy.

Alioto’s was never just a restaurant. It was, and remains, part of the story of San Francisco.

Now, that story has another place to live.

And we hope it will be remembered, discovered, and carried forward for generations to come.

08/31/2026

Alioto’s Plaza - The Legacy Remains

For nearly a century, Alioto’s was more than a restaurant. It was a place that made you feel part of San Francisco, set against the fishing boats, the Bay, and the Golden Gate Bridge, with good food and good company at the center of it all. Many of you returned year after year for the cioppino, cracked crab, and that unmistakable view of the Bay.

Over the years, so many of you shared your special moments with us, from birthdays and anniversaries to family gatherings, first dates, and countless meals that became part of your own San Francisco memories.

Those memories are part of the Alioto’s story. But they are also part of the story of Fisherman’s Wharf and the Italian American community that helped build it.

Now, the Alioto’s name will continue at the Wharf with the creation of Alioto’s Plaza.

The Port of San Francisco will host the Alioto’s Plaza Ribbon Cutting Ceremony this Wednesday, September 2, and we hope you will join us for this meaningful milestone for San Francisco and the Italian American community.

📍 Taylor Street between The Embarcadero and Jefferson Street
📅 Wednesday, September 2
⏰ Noon–12:45 pm

For our family, it will be a meaningful and bittersweet day. For everyone who has a memory of Alioto’s, we hope it will be a chance to return to the Wharf, see the new plaza, and remember the place that meant so much to so many.

The building may be gone. The memories are not. And the Alioto name remains part of the Wharf we helped build.

We hope to see you there. ❤️🇮🇹

06/08/2025

For nearly a century, Alioto's Restaurant stood at Fisherman’s Wharf—not just as a business, but as a heartbeat of San Francisco. From Nunzio’s humble fish stall in 1925 to our iconic cioppino, cradled by the stunning bay views, we became woven into the tapestry of this city. My great grandfather built the first structure here; my grandmother Rose officially opened the restaurant in 1938 as one of the first business women in San Francisco. Our doors not only withstood fire and wartime but the surge of generations who returned for birthdays, anniversaries, the comforts of heritage and delicious food.

When the pandemic forced us to close in March 2020, there was hope for a reopening. Three years later, the Port of San Francisco concluded that redevelopment costs, high vacancy rates, and declining foot traffic made reopening unviable. In June 2025, it announced plans to demolish our building and replace it with a public plaza—marking the end of an era.

This restaurant is more than bricks and mortar being removed—it’s a cornerstone of the city’s identity. Alioto’s was one of the first buildings here, a community anchor and a living testament to immigrant grit, family legacy, and civic pride.

While the structure may disappear, the legacy endures:
- The memories formed under our turquoise and black sign.
- Our family name, our recipes, and the “ #8” resonate beyond any address—those belong to the wonderful community and generations of people that made it an iconic part of San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf landscape. Historic.
- Every guest who made Alioto’s the heart of their San Francisco story.

It was a privilege to share the public’s celebrations, confidences, and palates. To all of you that dined at Alioto’s you now carry our history with you in your memories of every bowl of cioppino/cracked crab/seafood sausage/calamari, every cherished photograph, and every life-changing conversation.

As this chapter in our family's history closes, I truly hope that future storytellers of Fisherman’s Wharf remember us not just with nostalgia, but with appreciation for the immigrant dream and family perseverance we embodied.

Tonight, we raise our glass to those that live on in our memories and those that remain the fabric of the restaurant we remember.

Grazie per tutto!

03/16/2020

Great reviews don't happen by luck -- we are proud to earn every single one. Check out what people are saying on yelp: https://bit.ly/3cPEubL

03/13/2020

A picture is worth a thousand words. A bite is worth a million.

03/11/2020

Leave your worries at the door, and settle in for some great views and delicious food.

03/09/2020

Food just tastes better when you're sharing it with someone you love. Tag your favorite person to share a meal at Alioto's with.