Bay Area Pizza Pros Open Rancho Bernardo Restaurant and Bar

Veterans of San Francisco’s Little Star Pizza, which specializes in deep dish pies, brothers Brett and Cole Herring moved south to San Diego to build their first restaurant together. They open The Shop: Pizza + Cocktails today, bringing more full-service dining to Rancho Bernardo. The family-friendly restaurant and bar serves lunch and dinner daily, with a $5 happy hour featuring draft beer, wine, sangria, rosé slushies, and personal pizzas from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays.

The Shop is now seating diners on its large patio and on the surrounding outdoor plaza, which has a small fountain and a fire pit, but will roll into limited, COVID-compliant indoor seating later this month. Its menu, also offered for curbside takeout and delivery, centers around its signature cornmeal-crusted deep dish pizza — the 858 is layered with spinach, ricotta, fresh garlic, mushrooms, red onions, and crispy bacon — but there’s also thin-crust pies like classic margherita and veggie pesto. Pizzas can be customized with a wide variety of toppings, with the option of a cauliflower or gluten-free crust.

The all-day menu also includes housemade meatballs, a lasagna with housemade sausage, salads, and sandwiches. Coming soon are ice cream floats, both traditional and boozy.

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