Eatery - Gelateria Naia (CA)

520 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133 (Neighborhood: North Beach)
Pricing - $ | Dining - Casual, To-Go | Cuisine - Gelato
www.gelaterianaia.com

I happened upon this place by accident really. Duc and I had been talking about gelato since we were in the Italian area of SF but weren't actively looking to get any. However, on our last night there, we had finished dinner and were walking back when we saw a bunch of people walk into a store. I gave a cursory glance before pulling him to a stop and pointing out that it was a gelateria (and we hadn't had gelato that weekend yet!).


We stepped inside the modest place - nothing dolled up in there. It just had its two lighted displays with its unique flavors. I've worked at a gelato place before where there were traditional flavors & I've been to Rome to see many others but this had some neat ones I hadn't seen before. We decided we'd get two separate ones with two flavors apiece - he got pineapple (so fresh and very pineapple-y) and papaya lime (talk about tart!) while I got the cassia cinnamon (quite strong, just like the raw sticks or hard candies rather than the ground sweeter type) with nocciolo (hazelnut...just magnificent). We also tried some of their other flavors and man, when she tells you that the green tea is strong, she's not kidding. Good stuff though. I'd want to come back for more since there were so many interesting flavors! If you go, keep in mind that it's cash only!