Continuing on this SF trip, our next stop was thanks to a recommendation from @BradFord and @robert for a California-Italian restaurant known as Cotogna.
Cotogna is the sister restaurant to Michelin 3 Star Quince, situated next door. Walking in, the atmosphere is warm and casual, and reminded me more of a casual L.A. restaurant in its decor, compared to the fancier places around SF we’d been to.
Agnolotti del Plin:
Described by our server as one of the most quintessential Piemontese dishes, this came recommended by @BradFord. Each bite had a wonderful al dente quality, a great chew and density. The filling at Cotogna uses Veal and Rabbit cooked down and deboned, mixed with some veggies to create the filling. The Sauce is made from the bones of Rabbit and Veal, cooked down.
The Veal and Rabbit Sauce was a touch salty, but overall still very satisfying. 
The Pasta quality alone was a real standout.
Taglierini Neri with Dungeness Crab:
Their Handmade Taglierini Pasta was like a slightly thinner Spaghetti, and being a Fresh Pasta, it’s softer than the usual Dry Pasta versions, but still fine.
But the star here was the Fresh Dungeness Crab: Cotogna cooks and deshells fresh Dungeness Crab for their Taglierini Neri Pasta and it is spectacular! 
Fresh, inherently sweet, briny, wonderful Dungeness Crab meat makes all the difference (compared to frozen / bulk Crab meat). One of the best Seafood Pastas we’ve had recently, the broth was nuanced, perfectly seasoned (not too salty), and had the essence of fresh Crab exuding throughout.
The toasty crunchy Bread Crumbs were a nice touch as well.
'Nduja, Mozzarella & Calabrian Oregano Pizza:
This is our first time experiencing this local style of Pizza. As @robert put it, it’s cross between NY style Pizza and Neapolitan, and thinking about it that way, it makes sense.
It’s thin, slightly crisped, sort of foldable like a NY Pizza, still a bit wet as well.
The actual taste is quite tasty, but the 'Nduja topping felt a bit sparse. The Tomato base was tasty, piquant and the overall flavors were balanced.
Pizza is pretty personal, so I like DeSano and Mozza’s styles a bit more, but this was quite good and it hit the spot at this point in our vacation.
Service was excellent throughout the meal, our server was very accommodating.
Cotogna is a welcome, relaxed restaurant that made us feel a bit more at home while vacationing. We liked their Agnolotti del Plin, and were blown away by their Taglierini Neri with Dungeness Crab. I can’t wait to go back to try more of their Pastas next time.
Cotogna
490 Pacific Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94133
Tel: (415) 775-8508
Update 1:
We were pleasantly surprised by Cotogna for our initial visit, and we were running late in meeting up with some good friends (who already ate, but wanted to hang out and maybe snack, walk around, etc.), so we decided to stop in to Cotogna for a quick lunch before meeting up.
The casual sister restaurant to Michelin 3 Star Quince, you wouldn’t know that Cotogna was related given the relaxed, bright, sunny vibe and simple chairs and tables.
Soppressata, Cauliflower & Brussels Sprouts Pizza:
Consistent with our previous visit, Cotogna is making their own style of Pizza that seems to be a cross between a NY Pizza and Neapolitan. Lightly crisped crust, a wet center, and the 4 seasonal Pizzas on this visit were very California (in a good way), celebrating local, seasonal produce over more traditional offerings.
While the last time’s 'Nduja topping was a bit sparse, on this visit with the new seasonal Pizza was generous with the Soppressata, which was slightly crisped, porky, spicy and delicious with Cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts.
Tagliatelle alla Modenese:
This was Cotogna’s modern interpretation of a Bolognese with 5 types of meat: Oxtail, Pancetta, Veal Cheek, Pork Neck and Sausage. Taking a bite…
Incredible! 
It’s not a traditional Bolognese by any means, but there was something deeply seductive and unctuous with slow cooked Oxtail, Pancetta, Pork Neck, Veal Cheeks and Sausage. It exhibited this complex, really appealing “slow stewed meat” type of flavor that made us devour our shared Pasta in the blink of an eye! 
While it doesn’t approach Leo Bulgarini’s wonderful version, nor was it the best Pasta on our trip, Cotogna’s Tagliatelle alla Modenese was outstanding and another winner on the menu, along with the fantastic Taglierini Neri with Dungeness Crab (on our last visit).
We can’t wait to go back and try more of their Handmade Pasta dishes and a few more Pizza flavors as well. Thanks again @BradFord @robert.
Cotogna
490 Pacific Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94133
Tel: (415) 775-8508
What’s your favorite places for pasta in the Bay Area? At least the Dungeness Crab was nice on this visit.
Hope you enjoyed SF!
