Star-Backed Pizzando Now Slinging Pies and Rustic Cuisine In Healdsburg

There's more than pizza at newcomer Pizzando

By Meesha Halm

In some cases, having too many cooks in the kitchen isn’t a bad thing at all. Witness Pizzando, the latest venture to take a bite out of the Healdsburg dining scene, a small (18-seat) but mighty new spot in the h2h hotel overlooking the plaza that’s a collaborative effort of several Bay Area restaurant veterans including Aziza alum Louis Maldonado (who also runs the sister property Spoonbar).

Despite the name (which translates into “the act of making pizza”), the kitchen slings more than an assortment of market-driven topped pizzas and pizza bianca (crafted for now by consulting pizzaiolo Liza Shaw, formerly of A16): chef de cuisine Ben Davies (most recently of the now-shuttered Petite Syrah) also presents a small daily slate of ambitious shared plates (charred hamachi collar, fennel cooked in oxtail broth) and other moderately-priced rustic California-inspired offerings (grilled hangar steak with crispy bone marrow) served continuously from lunch through dinner.


The ultra-modern space, outfitted with copper counters, green tiles and a Mugnaini wood-fired oven, stays open late (10 PM during the week, until 11 PM on Saturday and Sunday), making it a perfect spot to quaff Italian wines, beer and before and after dinner cocktails including Italian aperitifs and specialty cocktails such as bottled Negronis, courtesy of the ace mixologists at the mothership Spoonbar. Check out the full food and drink menus here.

Pizzando: 301 Healdsdburg Ave., Healdsburg, 707-922-5233