Rose Pizzeria

Rose Pizzeria was opened in 2021 by Gerad Gobel and Alexis Rorabaugh, a married couple from the Bay Area who had previously operated an Italian restaurant in Chicago. The restaurant seats up to 22 and has a rose garden for outdoor dining.^[1][2] As of January 2023^[update] it serves 9 varieties of thin-crust pizza,^[3] in a style described by Gobel as "a mix of Neapolitan and New York", made with vegan dough, salads, bread from Starter Bakery, two desserts, and natural wine and beer.^[1][4] The kitchen is small^[4][5] and the oven has a capacity of 6 pizzas.^[6]

The owners plan to expand the pizzeria to San Francisco. In January 2025 they will also open Cafe Brusco at 2000 University Avenue; it is to serve sandwiches, pastries, and coffee from Counter Culture Coffee during the day and be a wine bar in the evenings.^[7][8]

In the restaurant's first month of operation, a writer for the East Bay Express called the Caesar salad "my favorite salad of 2021".^[4] In 2023, the San Francisco Chronicle listed Rose Pizzeria as one of 24 top pizza restaurants in the East Bay;^[9] earlier that year a restaurant critic for the Chronicle called the pizza "top-notch".^[3]

Rose Pizzeria was included in The New York Times's 2024 list of the 22 best pizzerias in the U.S.,^{[6][10][11][12]} according to which "The toppings aren't flashy, but options ... are deeply delicious."^[13] The only other California pizzeria listed was Pizzeria Sei in Los Angeles.^[10]