Cafe Figaro

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Family Table Since 1989

The story of Cafe Figaro is, at its core, an immigrant's wager. John Akkaya left Turkey at 16 with little more than resolve. By 33, freshly licensed in real estate, he saw a late-night infomercial that lodged in his mind — "If you don't offer, you don't know." The next morning he found a classified ad for a struggling restaurant called Figaro on Broadway in Burlingame. He made an offer he didn't expect to be accepted. It was.

To build something worth keeping, John needed an exceptional chef. He found David Garro Sokitch — a culinary veteran who had led the iconic Tadich Grill and opened his own celebrated restaurant before the recession ended that chapter. When John saw the résumé, his first thought was: "I can't afford you." Garro, nearing the end of his career, saw something worth betting on: "Pay me $100 and we'll take it from there." They shook hands. John asked what the cuisine should be. Garro didn't hesitate: "Let's do Italian." That menu has stood the test of time.

The Next Generation

Today, John's son Will carries the legacy forward — and has brought a distinct obsession with it. On a cold Tuesday night in September, after an exhausting shift, Will opened a bottle of 1989 Pichon Baron — the same year his father bought Figaro. Something clicked. That bottle ignited a passion for wine that never left him.

Guided by Danny Meyer's Setting the Table and Will Guidara's Unreasonable Hospitality, Will came to see Cafe Figaro not just as a family restaurant but as something with a larger purpose: a love letter to the great restaurants of New York, brought to the Bay Area. His guiding question for the wine list says everything — "Whoever wrote the rule that a little café can't have the best wines in the world?"

As sommelier and owner, Will has assembled a list that reaches from Napa Cabernets to Grand Cru Burgundies, earning the restaurant a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. Bottles like Harlan Estate, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, and Soldera Brunello di Montalcino sit alongside the Italian cuisine on the table — not as trophies, but as companions to the food.

What's on the Plate

The Italian menu is broad and sincere. Antipasti run from Carpaccio di Manzo — thinly sliced beef filet with capers and shaved parmesan — to house-made Wagyu beef meatballs using Snake River Farms beef. Among the pastas, the Figaro Famous Pappardelle stands out: homemade pasta with diced filet mignon, cherry tomatoes, and mushrooms in a marsala cream. The Wild Mushroom Agnolotti, stuffed and finished with black truffle cream, shows the kitchen's more refined side. Secondi range from veal scallopini preparations to a grilled rack of lamb with rosemary and balsamic reduction, and a Cioppino-style seafood stew — Frutti di Mare al Pomodoro Zafferano — that pulls together prawns, scallops, squid, clams, and mussels in a saffron tomato broth.

Gluten-free and vegan lentil pasta substitutions are available on request at no extra charge.

The Atmosphere

Cafe Figaro describes itself plainly: "Simply Delicious." The room aims for family-like hospitality without pretension — a neighborhood spot that happens to hold one of the more serious wine collections on the San Francisco Peninsula. Private parties and catering are accommodated, and the kitchen offers takeout for those who want the Italian cooking at home.

It's a restaurant, as Will puts it, with Michelin aspirations and a family soul.