Volpi’s Ristorante & Bar is an Italian restaurant with lots of charm and a secret. The charm comes from the fact that this restaurant was built in an old converted general store.

Though its operated as a grocery for most of its existence, Volpi’s major claim to fame was the speakeasy in the back, an homage to hidden bars during prohibition.

Locals know that the “secret” bar is still in operation, with a convenient escape door to the alley in case of a raid. Or your ex-wife.

Volpi’s has kept much of the aesthetic of the old store, including shelves full of antique products as decoration. The grocery became a restaurant in 1992, though there’s still an old Italian grocery vibe with well-worn wooden floors and walls lined with Italian tchotchkes, accordions, and candle wax-covered chianti bottles.

Volpi’s appetizers include deep-fried calamari, steamed clams, garlic meatballs and gnocchi with the guest’s choice of pesto, marinara, alfredo or bolognese sauces. Entrees range from classic items like the chicken fettuccine and spaghetti and meatballs to the San Francisco cioppino with scallops, prawns, clams, mussels and fresh fish in a tomato broth and topped with sweet Dungeness crab.