Roman pizza favorite Montesacro is opening in Walnut Creek

Montesacro's quadraro pinsa with tomato, guanciale, red onion, Pecorino and hot chile pepper.

The Bay Area's most popular destination for the super-light Roman-style pizza known as pinsa is gearing up to open its first East Bay restaurant.

Montesacro Pinseria will arrive in Walnut Creek on Saturday, Nov. 26. The 1686 Locust St. restaurant, at Giammona Drive, will serve pinsas draped with toppings like crispy guanciale, creamy mozzarella and basil. The oval-shaped pinsas get their lightness from a mix of soy, rice and wheat flours, and earned Montesacro a spot on The Chronicle's list of the best pizza in the Bay Area.

Montesacro's menu in Walnut Creek will mirror that of a new location in San Francisco's Marina district, which opened in May. While pinsas are Montesacro's calling card, the restaurant will also serve pastas, lamb chops and seasonal dishes like squash with chicories. For dessert, expect delicate panna cotta topped with wild fennel pollen from Sicily and drizzled with olive oil. Or try maritozzi con panna, a Roman specialty that's hard to find in the Bay Area: a soft bun cut in half and filled generously with unsweetened whipped cream.

The newest Montesacro will have one major addition over its San Francisco locations: pricey cocktails that will cost as much as $85 for a single drink. They’ll be made with high-end liquors, such as a $400 bottle of rare single-malt whisky that goes into the $85 Peated Grandfather. A $65 margarita has just three ingredients: lime, agave and Tequila that costs more than $200. Here, a $75 vodka martini will be accompanied by a luxury snack — a cracker topped with caviar and bottarga.

Insalata di arance with blood oranges, shaved fennel and Kalamata olives at Montesacro in San Francisco.

Beyond the ultra top-shelf cocktails, the bar will serve more affordable drinks, as well as mocktails, which have been a hit in the Marina, owner Gianluca Legrottaglie said. The wine list will focus on biodynamic, organic and natural wines made by small producers. Montesacro will also serve its own wine for the first time, made in partnership with producers in Sardinia: one a Sardinian Barbera and the other made with Cannonau, a grape also grown on the Italian island.

Montesacro Walnut Creek will be open for brunch on the weekends, with dishes like scrambled eggs with house-made sausage and a frittata studded with roasted artichokes.

The 50-seat dining room is going for a "sleek, elegant" look, said Legrottaglie, with an enormous Italian chandelier hanging from the ceiling and white marble bar. For seating, Legrottaglie found and restored benches from a shuttered East Bay church. An outdoor parklet offers an additional 25 seats.

Montesacro is the latest established Bay Area restaurant to expand to Walnut Creek, joining outposts of San Francisco's Dumpling Home and Oakland's World Famous Hotboys. Legrottaglie took over the new Locust Street space from 54 Mint Forno, an offshoot of the San Francisco Italian restaurant 54 Mint in which he's a partner.

Walnut Creek brings Montesacro's total locations to four, joining one in Brooklyn and two in San Francisco. The first opened in SoMa in 2015. Another Montesacro location, in Portland, Ore.,opened in 2018 and closed this year, according to Eater Portland. Legrottaglie said he has no immediate plans to open more pinserias, but isn't ruling out future expansion.

Montesacro Pinseria. Opening Saturday, Nov. 26. 1686 Locust St., Walnut Creek. 5-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 5-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. montesacro.com

Elena Kadvany (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @ekadvany