Ristobar

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Fourth-Generation San Franciscan's Tribute to Italian Craft

Emporio Rulli — the parent name behind Ristobar — is the creation of Gary and Jeannie Rulli, rooted in a story that stretches back more than three decades. Gary Rulli, a fourth-generation native San Franciscan whose family emigrated from Italy in the early 20th century, apprenticed with pastry chefs in Milan and Turin before returning to California with a clear mission: preserve their art on American soil. Since 1988, that mission has taken shape in historic downtown Larkspur, Marin County, twenty minutes north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge.

The result is something rare in the Bay Area — a genuinely authentic Italian coffee and pastry bar experience where everything in the display cases is made in-house, 365 days a year, in the Larkspur kitchen.

The Craft Behind the Counter

What sets Emporio Rulli apart is a commitment to doing everything from scratch. Artisan handmade pastries, breads, paninis, macarons, croissants, bomboloni, amaretti, cream puffs, and tarts are all produced on-site — no outside suppliers, no shortcuts. The coffee is roasted bi-weekly at the operation's own roasting plant by Chef Rulli himself, a discipline he learned under Alfred Peet, widely credited as the founder of the artisan coffee movement in America. Being the only Italian American inducted into AMPI — the Accademia Maestri Pasticceria Italiana (Italian Pastry Masters Academy) in Brescia, Italy — keeps the kitchen connected to both centuries-old traditions and the latest developments in Italian pastry.

Among the most celebrated products is the Panettone, the traditional Milanese Christmas bread that Gary Rulli has refined to the point where it is now shipped worldwide. Several varieties — Milanese, Genovese, Veneziana, Paradiso — reflect the depth of the Italian pastry tradition the operation draws from.

Recognition and the Ristobar Experience

Gambero Rosso's 2026 recognition with 2 Forks reflects what regulars in Marin County and San Francisco have long appreciated: a level of Italian pastry craft that holds its own against anything found across the Atlantic. The operation spans multiple locations and formats — from the Larkspur caffè to delivery and catering — making the Italian pastry bar experience accessible whether you're sitting down for breakfast or ordering ahead for an event.

This is a family-run operation in the fullest sense, built on 37 years of consistent, in-house production and a genuine cultural connection to Italy that goes well beyond aesthetics.