Anchor & Hope

Anchor & HopeAnchor & Hope
Anchor & HopeAnchor & Hope
Bar, Eatery

83 Minna St
San Francisco, California, 94105-3003
United States

// CLOSED //
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.28
Reviews:
12
Ratings:
15
pDev:
9.35%
View: Place Reviews
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Ratings by Redrover:
Photo of Redrover
Reviewed by Redrover from Wisconsin

4.09/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4 | food: 4.25
I was able to check out Anchor and Hope during my last visit to San Francisco.

It is located on kind the empty end of a one way street. Easy to find with Google maps.

As you enter there is a hostess stand and then a fairly large rectangular room. There is a high ceiling with exposed beams and some of the walls have been exposed to show the brick.
The bar is on your left as you enter. It is metal topped and stylish (zinc I think). It seats about 12 and the if you sit at the bar you can see them working in the kitchen.

On to beer, they offer 11 taps and a cask. Maybe 40 bottles. Wide range of brewers and styles. Everything from a barrel aged berlinerweisse to Pliny the Elder in bottles. Not cheap, but there is quality.

Food is impressive. Not a huge menu but everything is inviting with lots of local ingredients.

Professional and beer savvy servers.

Well worth a stop if you find yourself in that part of the city. Bring your allowance as it is pretty pricey (example $15 for a bottle of 1809 Berliner. I can get that at a beer bar in Chicago for $ 7 to $8).
Jun 01, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of spoony
Reviewed by spoony from Colorado

4/5  rDev -6.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.25 | selection: 3.75 | food: 4
V-Located a block or so off Mission, Anchor & Hope is an upscale restaurant with a decent beer list, so don't come here expecting to find the latest pastry stout or hyped up hazy IPA. The space inside is open and airy with a good number of tables and a sizable bar that seats at about 20 people. The decor is industrial chic with exposed brick and wood. It feels comfortable if not a little generic. When I visited early on a Sunday evening, the place was starting to fill with the dinner crowd.

Q-The bottle list displayed some good craft options, including a large number of local brewers, as well as bigger craft names, e.g., Russian River. The draft list leaned heavily local with some good options from brewers like Fort Point.

Ser-Beers were served promptly and in style-specific glassware. The bartender could answer basic questions about the beers, but he did not seem to be an expert on the subject. Food service was timely and in-line with what you would expect from an upscale place.

Sel-The draft list was decent, but a bit on the short side to rank among the best places. If you want a nice bottle, you have more options, including a few Belgians, but I would again say that other restaurants have larger lists.

F-The menu is seafood heavy and on the pricey side. I had mussels and a salad, and I enjoyed them both, but I don't know if the food was worth the price.

O-A nice restaurant with a decent beer list, but nothing to stand out among the crowd of great San Francisco restaurants.
Mar 25, 2018
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Reviewed by Sludgeman from District of Columbia

3.8/5  rDev -11.2%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
Visited at 4pm on a Friday. Place was empty except for about five people at the bar. I stayed for about 3 hours. Placed filled up.

Ser – Direct, friendly, made a good first recommendation for a beer. One of my servers needed to relax and smile more. 4

Sel – A very good, not excellent, choice of beers, with the majority in can or bottle. Pliny the Elder in a bottle. I had a Modern Times Black House coffee stout, St. Archer White Ale and the Almanac Rye'd Piper IPA. 4

V – Open, bright, cool rustic exposed beams, a place anyone should like, but not necessarily a beer vibe, 3.75

Qual – Glass was a little dirty for all of the beers I was served. 3.25

F – Food was great. Come for happy hour and get the $1 oysters. The oysters wrapped in bacon were yummy as well. Food is on the expensive side, beer did not seem as expensive.4.5
Dec 19, 2015
Photo of Biggiekrock627
Reviewed by Biggiekrock627 from Maryland

4.76/5  rDev +11.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 5 | food: 5
Located on a side street a half block off 2nd is this hidden gem for great beer and seafood.
They have very knowledgeable bartenders that are very engaging. The wait staff can be overwhelmed so don't be in a rush and plan ahead. When you see the beer list you will quickly change your plans anyway
My last visit I enjoyed a bottle of pliny the elder, bottle of deschutes inversion ipa, and ballast point sculpin IPA in a can. The beer paired perfectly with fresh oysters and their catalan mussels with fries. Perect beer drinking food.
I recommend sitting at the long bar / raw bar and you will have a great time.
Aug 08, 2015
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Reviewed by Gavage from Nevada

4.65/5  rDev +8.6%
This place is located down a side street next to a large construction project. Big airy warehouse feel here as skylights let in plenty of natural light. Loads of brick walls, with grey metal furniture and bar gives it a cool look. There were 16 beers on draft here covering several local CA beers. They also had a cask conditioned beer from Thirsty Bear.

The food here is a bit eclectic and very good. Service is professional and prompt. This should be a must stop for anyone in the area.
Sep 16, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by aoampm from Hawaii

Sep 10, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by OEB from California

Jul 21, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by atpca from California

Jul 17, 2014
Photo of jgasparine
Reviewed by jgasparine from Maryland

3.38/5  rDev -21%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 2.5 | selection: 3
Atmosphere- The large open floorplan and classy nautical-industrial theme make for a great atmosphere. Perfect for a date with a lady. My wife and I got there just as they were opening, so we couldn't really get a feel for it during peak hours.

Quality- Everything was clean and well-maintained, including the draught lines. I would have given it a higher quality score, but the cask beer I had was muddy with yeast and cold; they could use a lesson in cellarmanship.

Service- Despite the fact that we were the only people in the place, the service was somewhat slow. Perhaps this is because they were tying up some loose ends in preparation for peak service, but it still seemed unnecessarily slow. I will also say that the bartender was not well-versed in beer.

Selection- Not a large selection. The beers they had were definitely craft-centric, but I had both good and underwhelming beers here.

Value- Everything was expensive. I don't think they should have even charged $$$ for that muddy cask beer. It was just bad. However, I am not one to complain to a bartender. Instead, I evaluate their service and provide reviews like this afterward!
Nov 02, 2013
Photo of TheSevenDuffs
Reviewed by TheSevenDuffs from Canada (ON)

3.88/5  rDev -9.3%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.75
This is a great place but is more of a dinner spot than a stand-alone beer spot. The food here is fantastic (heavy on the seafood though) and the atmosphere is great at well. But the beer itself is not worthy of making this one of the top spots to hit in San Francisco, so make sure you go here for dinner to get the best out of Anchor & Hope.

Tap list was only about 8-10 strong with an very average selection. Bottle list was decent and included Pliny, which was nice to see.
Aug 05, 2013
Photo of LittleDon
Reviewed by LittleDon from Texas

4.68/5  rDev +9.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.75
Plus: Good variety of excellent craft beers on tap, outstanding food
Minus: Expensive, can get crowded, even on a Monday

As a regular traveler to SF, I had been to many of the often visited places, so I was looking for something new. For an overall dining experience, the Anchor & Hope was a great choice. Service is very attentive, staff knowledgeable, food stellar, and beer selection satisfyingly broad, despite having only sixteen or so taps. I started with the oysters (fresh and well prepared) and Rodenbach Grand Cru, an Ommegang Rustica with my pork loin (wonderful combination of spicy and sour), and finished with Coconut Ice Cream with Red Velvet Cake and Boon Framboise. If you plan to go here, I'd suggest arriving before 6. I went on a Monday night. Empty at 6, packed by 7. Expect to spend some money, too. If you want to do things right, it will likely be at least $75 - $100 per person. Despite the cost and crowd, I'd likely return, even if it's just to sit at the bar and have a few beers.
May 14, 2013
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Reviewed by EspressoGuy from Canada (BC)

4.5/5  rDev +5.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
The room has a high ceiling and an open feeling without getting noisy. Our maitre'd/beer sommelier was excellent at matching our fish with one of the MANY beers. I was amazed at how many more beers than wine were available! And the pairing was delicious. Beers were a mix of local (Bay Area) and European. Personally would like to see more Northwest beers than European but that's just being picky. Excellent seafood simply prepared (entrees $25-$30). Reasonably priced for the quality and service. I'd come back just to sit at the bar with appetizers and beer!
Mar 22, 2013
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Reviewed by RblWthACoz from Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +1.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
I had been wanting to check this place out for quite a while and finally got around to it. Set back in an alley, of sorts, you'd easily pass this spot 100 times and never realize it. Beer selection is quite diverse. I felt like the list covered just about any style. Server made sure I knew what I was ordering was sour, which I can appreciate. Seafood galore here, of course. I would have liked more on the seafood tower I got - Balthazar in NYC gives twice as much for about the same price - but it was nice still. Overall, a pretty nice place. I don't think I'll yearn to return, but glad I took the chance when I had it.
Jan 04, 2013
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Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

4.88/5  rDev +14%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5
Stumbled into Anchor & Hope yesterday for a business lunch not expecting anything beerwise, so it was quite a surprise to see a beer list that could be put up against many of the more famous upscale beer-oriented restaurants around the country.

Essentially a seafood restaurant with an upscale grunge quotient that is off the charts, there is bar seating as well as tables, with a tap list of about 20 - a range of styles represented and not a macro in sight. Plenty of domestic craft and interesting Euro selections.

I'm always delighted when I find a place where the quality of the beer selection is matched by the focus on the food preparation. If you are looking for a place in San Francisco to get some good seafood (raw oysters, lobster rolls, grilled fish, creative seafood salads, etc) and to have a nice beer to complement your meal, look no further.
Jan 18, 2012
Photo of rossthefireman
Reviewed by rossthefireman from California

4.45/5  rDev +4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
I saw this place pop up in someones Facebook status so I decided to try it for lunch while I was in the city for a class.
Small place right behind (literally) Eddie Rickenbachers. Very busy for lunch and a little loud (my only complaint) but if you go with more than just yourself, you may want to make reservations.
I sat at the counter and the service was excellent. They claim to be a fish house and they aren't lying! A fish centric menu with oyster specials on the wall. I ate a Vietnamese style fish sandwich that was excellent and the house bread was quite tasty.
But enough about the food, they have a huge beer selection along with a quite large wine selection.
The taps included Black Butte Porter, Duvel Green, Old Rasputin, Allagash White, Le Merle and Trumer. The bottle list had too many to name! They serve the beer in the proper glasses too! Not a BMC to be seen on the list!
Overall its a great place, but a tad pricey, however it is SF and everything is pricey. If your down at Moscone for something or just want a new place to try in the city, this is it.
Dec 08, 2009
Anchor & Hope in San Francisco, CA
Place rating: 4.28 out of 5 with 15 ratings