Black Sands

 

 

Recently acquired by Fort Point Brewing. More of a neighborhood sport, this corner restaurant /taproom/cafe in the lower Haight (2 blocks from Toronodo) is worthy of a visit. While their beer doesn't have a wow factor, it pairs adequately with solid offerings from the kitchen.

 

super hip little spot here right on haight street. while the beer selection of in house brews was extremely limited when we were in (just three or four house brews on), the beer we had was awesome. we had a red ipa called moon gate and a saison called distant shores, and both were very good. they have polished clean feel, a contrast to the old hippy neighborhood it occupies, but this is slick and clean, updated, long and narrow, black and chrome, mod. the brew house is small and shiny and visible from anywhere at the long bar. they have an awesome looking food menu with well dressed chefs scampering around the open kitchen, but the food menu has weird hours and was not available in the middle of the day when we were in. bartender was a cool cat, but did not act pretentious toward us, and was generous with the samples. prices were fair, the vibe was mellow and relaxed for being a little more upscale than the normal taproom. we had a great time here, and if the food was available, we might have stayed here all day and tied one on. they have a neat looking garage type area attached on the side street that serves as a homebrew supply store and looked rad. cool beers, bold flavors, neat hip vibe, ill check this out again next time i am in the area. the red ipa was fire.

Black Sands is a pretty small brewery, with just 4 taps, but the beers are good and the vibe is pretty cool. It's kind of a hip little gastropub with a neat vibe and a darn good kitchen. They had one saison and 3 IPAs when I visited, I had the saison and the dark rye IPA and was favorably impressed. It's a nice place to visit if you're in the neighborhood.

 

It’s a good time to be a beer drinker! Newish SF spot that makes for quite a contrast with my usual lower Haight haunt, the Toronado. Black Sands is upscale, hip, trendy, and it delivers on the goods. Beers are solid, the food is pricy but good, and if you’re feeling inspired you can learn how to homebrew (and pick up what you need) while there.