Music

“Every Saturday since 1971…”

Our cafe has a long-running, rich musical tradition about it. The entire Giotta family has been performing across Northern California since their arrival in this country in 1951. Eldest son Gianfranco and sister Sonia performed in talent competitions, shows, operators, and on radio during their childhood in the 1950s along with their parents, Papa Gianni and wife Ida. Gianfranco sang professionally and pursued a musical career before deciding to settle into the family business.

Papa Gianni, Mamma Ida, Fabio and Sonia Giotta have frequently appeared on local, national and international television and radio, in films, and in print and Internet media since the 1950s, and the cafe has been a popular set for movies and television work. Interested parties, please e-mail: triestemusic@aol.com or call 415.550.1107.

The Caffe Trieste Saturday concert is the longest-running show in the city of San Francisco. It has evolved from a small family show with a guitar and mandolin ensemble into an Italian-flavored version of the Lawrence Welk show (one of the Giotta Family’s favorite television indulgences from the 50s through the 1970s). Wonderful local singers such as Irving Monk and Alfredo Tollis bring new facets of jazz, show tunes, balance, as well as songs by Piaf, Weill, and Dean Martin to the Trieste repertoire.

Some Caffe Trieste celebrity aficionados.

This musically humble, yet powerful Concert has been graced with scores of awards, accolades, and reviews from local, national and international print and television media. The Caffe’s extensive archive safely preserves these treasures which number in the hundreds and date back several decades. Here are a few:

The San Francisco Bay Guardian, July 1999
“Original “Best of” Winner – 1974, “Best Singing Wait Staff”

SF Weekly – Best of 2003
“Best Afternoon Opera – “Saturday Live at CaffeTrieste”

The San Francisco Bay Guardian, August 1999
“Best Saturday Afternoon Entertainment.”

Over the years, the Caffe has also received many other awards from The Bay Guardian, SF Weekly, Citysearch.com, San Francisco Focus Magazine and others.