Regulars know Bernal Heights Pizzeria as the kind of place where you watch soccer on the back patio, where the calabresa pizza gets you every time, where the owners remember your face. The online reviews are full of people who've been coming for years and plan to keep coming. So when the San Francisco Department of Public Health posted a red placard at 1361 Church Street yesterday, March 26, and ordered the place shut, it wasn't just a health inspection story. It was an uncomfortable one — for a community that was genuinely rooting for this spot, and for anyone who ate there recently.
What the Inspector Found
Let's not bury this: the inspection report is bad. Inspector Sojeatta Khim of the San Francisco Department of Public Health documented fresh rat droppings — and "fresh" is the inspector's word, not an editorial flourish — under the three-compartment sinks, on top of the food prep table, on the pizza preparation surface, on the wooden board where spices are stored, on top of the flour mixer, under the stove burner, under the pizza oven, and inside the deep fryer. The closure notice describes the droppings as "scattered throughout the facility," with the main kitchen bearing the heaviest concentration.
Read that list again slowly. The pizza prep surface. The spice board. Inside the deep fryer.
A red placard was posted at the front door. That placard can only be removed by a health department inspector — not by the owners, not by a cleaning crew, not by wishful thinking.
The person in charge at the time of the inspection — identified as Wanessa Cardoso, one of the co-owners — told Inspector Khim that EcoGuard Pest Management services the restaurant monthly, with the most recent visit on February 28, 2026. Less than four weeks before the inspection. No pest control report was provided; only a bill. Cardoso declined to sign the inspection report. Her refusal is noted on all three pages of the document.
The monthly pest control contract and the fresh droppings covering nearly every surface of the kitchen are difficult to reconcile. The inspector didn't try to.
A Spot That Mattered to Its Community
It's worth pausing on what kind of place is actually being discussed here, because the contrast matters. Bernal Heights Pizzeria was founded in 2013, relocated from Bernal Heights to Noe Valley in 2019, and changed hands in May 2024 when Thais Tiozzo and Wanessa Cardoso took over, according to the Noe Valley Voice. The two women — friends, both with Brazilian heritage — refreshed the space, added plants, and brought in Brazilian-inspired dishes: chicken with Catupiry pizza, Brazilian pastries, a brunch menu that built its own following fast.
The reviews after the ownership change are genuinely warm. On Google, the restaurant carries a 4.4 out of 5 across 185 reviews, with fans calling out the back patio, the Brazilian menu items, and the owners' hospitality specifically. On Yelp — where the overall score sits at 3.7 across 235 reviews, pulling in older complaints from previous ownership — the recent reviews trend strongly positive. One reviewer called it "the best gluten free pizza in Noe Valley and SF, seriously THE BEST." Another praised owner Thais as "delightful" and the pasta as "saucy, flavorful, and generous portions." A third described watching soccer on the back patio as "always a fun vibe."
These aren't planted reviews. These are neighbors who found a place they liked.
None of which changes what the inspector found when she walked into the kitchen.
The Road to Reopening
The inspection report lays out exactly what needs to happen before the red placard comes down: remove all rat droppings immediately; clean and sanitize all affected surfaces with bleach water at a minimum of 100ppm chlorine or 200ppm quaternary ammonia solution; seal all gaps and openings through which vermin can enter; initiate pest control only after cleaning and sanitizing; and email proof of pest control service to the department. The reinspection contact is Inspector Tiombe Wiley at (415) 252-3885 or [email protected].
San Francisco's rodent problem is real and well-documented. As the SF Standard reported in February 2026, local food safety consultants describe the city's rat population as "generational," and urban restaurant operators fight a constant, expensive battle to keep pests out. That context is worth acknowledging. It still doesn't fully account for droppings found on the pizza prep surface and inside the deep fryer. A monthly pest control contract, whatever its value, wasn't closing the gap.
Bernal Heights Pizzeria has not posted publicly about the closure as of publication time. Its current health inspection status can be checked through the SF Department of Public Health's restaurant inspection database. The restaurant can be reached at (415) 400-5644.
