One of Redwood City’s newest restaurants is Pizzeria Cardamomo, which opened this past September. Serving Italian food, it is most well known for its pizzas but also offers a few pasta dishes and various appetizers.
Although the restaurant only just opened in the Bay Area, it had previously been established in Como, Italy, which is where the founders, Momo Farouq and Sarika Batra, met. The two, who are now married, wanted to bring their food to where they are currently residing.
Pizzeria Cardamomo serves mainly pizzas, with numerous types available, some of which have white sauce while others are made with red.
The Carbonara pizza and Calzone Cacio Pepe are both based off of the traditional pastas for which they are named, capturing the tastes by using the same meats and cheeses. The former is served with egg on top while the latter is a folded-over pizza filled with cheese.
One of the most popular dishes is the Crudo e Parmigiano all’ Aceto Balsamico, which is a basic red sauce pizza with balsamic dressing on the top. On the side, there are pieces of prosciutto that add a salty flavor along with protein. It is also a good option for groups in which some are vegetarian while others are not, since the meat is removable.
There are also a few pastas on the menu, which includes the Tagliatelle Bolognese. With its long, flat noodles topped with a flavorful meat sauce, the dish is a delicious reprieve from the wide variety of pizzas.
One of the appetizers on the menu is the Arancini Cacio e Pepe, which is fried risotto filled with a typical cacio e pepe flavor from the cheese.
“I also really love their arancini balls, their cacio pepe arancini balls, because it’s [a] creative take on it and like, it adds two good flavors together with the arancini and the cacio pepe,” stated Zerella.
Even though it is a new restaurant to the Bay Area, it is evident that Pizzeria Cardamomo is well-established and authentic as its dishes all seem like traditional Italian food and the combinations of flavors are very well thought out.
