PizZando

The best way to end a lovely day of wine tasting in Sonoma? Dinner at PizZando in Downtown Healdsburg.

After closing to renovate and expand its space in January, PizZando reopened in late March with a new, sleek bar and upgraded food and beverage offerings. In addition to the classic Napolitana, PizZando now offers a Romana-style, which is long, thin and crispy.The pizzeria has a cozy dining room with large windows and views of the pizzaiolos busy making their delicious pizzas. As the weather continues to warm up, take advantage of PizZando’s alfresco dining as you look on to Healdsburg Plaza.

When it comes to Italian cocktails, the spritz has become a summertime favorite. PizZando offers the traditional Aperol Spritz and Elderflower Spritz, which is made with St-Germain, prosecco, soda water and mint; both choices were crisp and refreshing. Additionally, PizZando offers a Spicy Oaxacan Paloma and a twist on the espresso martini with its Coffee Island.

After ordering your cocktails, waste no time requesting warm, pillowy focaccia served with olive oil from Healdsburg’s local Preston Farm and Winery. You’ll want to eat the whole plate and then some. Next, our server suggested the tuna tartare caponata, and it truly set the tone for the rest of the meal. With a foundation of saffron aioli, tuna, potato and green beans are then piled high and topped with sunchoke chips and a soft-boiled egg on the side. This dish was unlike anything we’d eaten before. We could have eaten an entire second helping–it is not to be missed!

PizZando offers a succinct variety of pastas that provide both traditional and inventive flavors. Preserved lemon ravioli nestles near Petaluma’s Bellwether Farms ricotta and spinach with tart citrus to create a pocket of light yet rich pasta. We tried the classic beef Bolognese; the sauce was simple and full of flavor, exactly as it should be. Additionally, PizZando offers its Bolognese sauce in a lasagna made with lasagna noodles from scratch.

As the name suggests, you’d be remiss not to get a pizza at PizZando. With a choice of Napolitana and Romana crusts, your next decision is a cheese- or red sauce-based pizza. We were very tempted by the Finocchiona, made with fennel salami, Greek olives, feta, green onions and garlic confit in the “rosse” section. We ultimately went with the broccolini pizza, made with Italian sausage, Preston Farm and Winery’s olive oil, garlic confit, provolone cheese and hot honey. We wanted to cry when we finished the broccolini pizza, but we smiled because it happened. The flavors were complex and the crust was perfectly crisp and fluffy.

Just when you think your meal can’t get any better, PizZando brings the dessert menu. The soft serve is a thing of legend, and the ricotta doughnuts with caramel sauce sound incredible. We opted for the cannoli. Filled with rich, sweet cream and submerged in mini chocolate chips, PizZando’s cannoli was the ideal ending to such a fantastic meal.

PizZando is open Sunday to Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

For more information about PizZando, visit www.pizzandohealdsburg.com.

301 Healdsburg Ave.
Healdsburg, CA 95448