Redwood City has a new pizzeria, transplanted straight from Lake Como.
The new restaurant is the result of a real-life love story between restaurateur Mohamed Farouq, who immigrated to Italy as a teen from Morocco, and Peninsula resident Sarika Batra, who found her way to Farouq’s pizzeria while traveling near Milan in 2018.
The then-16-year-old Farouq was headed for Switzerland by train, when he disembarked near Lake Como and didn’t have enough money to get back on. Stuck in a new city, he began working in a restaurant whose chef trained him as his assistant and eventually, his successor.
Eager to start his own place, he began making and selling pizza, first from a window he rented by the day and eventually at his own restaurant, Pizzeria Cardamomo — a reference to his nickname, “Momo.” Some 25 years later, he’d become a renowned pizzaiolo, known for his clean cooking style and unique recipes, like pistachio pizza, built on a distinctive sourdough pizza crust.
That initial meeting in 2018 soon had Batra and Farouq traveling between Farouq’s home in Italy and Batra’s in Burlingame. They decided to marry during lockdown.
Last month, Farouq opened his new Pizzeria Cardamomo on Broadway, Redwood City’s up-and-coming restaurant hub. He’s excited to adapt the menu for a new audience of American customers, Batra says, but already he’s finding fans with his lineup of classic and signature pizzas, including the Momo ($25) with fior di latte, montaggio cheese and yellow potatoes, and a pizza riff on Carbonara ($27). As for that famous pistachio pizza, it’s here too: The Bronte ($26) is topped with fior di latte, ricotta, pistachio pesto and chopped pistachios.
Details: Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday-Sunday at 2053A Broadway in Redwood City; pizzeriacardamomo.com.