San Francisco’s Go-To Place for New Jersey-Style Pizza and Cuisine

A Taylor Pork Roll Pizza does exist!

By Milvian Prieto
New Jerseyans are filled with pride. Prideful of our Jersey roots. Prideful of not having to pump our own gas. Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi. Having the best damn bagels. And, of course, PIZZA.

If you’re a Garden State transplant in the Bay Area, searching for pizza that reminds you of home can be quite challenging. So if you’ve been searching long and hard, look no further. Located in the heart of the bustling SOMA district of San Francisco lies a hidden Jersey gem. With a brick wall on one side of the bar, a graffiti-styled mural on the other side and a lengthy American flag draping in the front, the interior boasts an urban yet cozy vibe in Jersey. 

Mitchell and Steven Rosenthal | Photo courtesy Jersey SF

The Trenton Tomato Pie

It’s a low-key Monday afternoon during happy hour. ESPN is playing on the televisions, and the cooks are preparing for the after-work rush. I glance through the menu and when I read “Trenton Tomato Pie,” I immediately feel at home. The bartender pours me a beer. “A lot of people from Jersey come here,” he says, with a grin on his face. “You know how I know? They tell me within the first five minutes of meeting me.” (See what I mean? Prideful.)

Steven and Mitchell Rosenthal, brothers and owners of Jersey, are no strangers to the culinary world. With an extensive resume as cooks in various restaurants, the brothers permanently migrated to San Francisco in 1994 to work as executive chefs at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant, Postrio. This was the stepping stone in the Rosenthal brothers’ journey to creating their own restaurant empire.

In total, the brothers are partners in four restaurants and two coffee shops. While the menus at their first three restaurants—Anchor & Hope, Town Hall and Salt House—range from “East Coast meets West Coast fish house” to southern and new American, they wanted to open a place that represented their Jersey roots. With inspiration from their hometown pizzeria, Ferraro’s Pizza Parlor in Edison, N.J., their travels to Italy and experience as chefs on the West Coast, Jersey was born in 2015.

Bianca Pie

“Jersey is close to our hearts,” said Steven Rosenthal. “From the music to our food, everything about this place represents who we are as people.”

The pizzas in the menu are separated by “Jersey style” and “California style.” The dough’s fermentation process is a bit longer than usual, and the crust on the pizza has a nice crunch to it. The Rosenthal brothers made sure to include menu items that would make any homesick New Jerseyan feel at peace. Key menu items include the meatballs, Trenton Tomato Pie and Taylor Pork Roll pie. So if anyone in the Bay Area is missing the classic Taylor ham/pork roll, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich, they can have it in pizza form at Jersey.

Jersey is located at 145 Second St., San Francisco, CA 94105.
Must try: Trenton Tomato Pie, Bianca Pie, Taylor Pork Roll Pie