San Francisco Honeymoon

Unfortunately Abbot's Cellar closed last month. Too big a space and not enough weekday business combined with rising cost of doing business in the city.

 

Wow. I was there on the 28th (the night the building around the corner caught fire). Had no idea.

 

I'd just do a beer there. So many better places for food in the city.

 

Funny I was there that night as well. Surprised they didn't mention it to you as they closed just a couple days later.

 

Food-wise, to me, it's more of a lunch stop but I know the sour room downstairs is only open during certain hours so you may want to call in to check that first before deciding whether to eat there.

Walking distance bottle shops: The best ones I know of are City Beer and SOMA Whole Foods (1 mile and .7 miles away from Hotel Nikko, respectively).

 

This was beyond helpful to me the first time I visited San Fran. It's your Honeymoon, make it count! Cheers:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/place/l...wery=Y&bar=Y&eatery=Y&sort=name&sort=avgbeers

 

Lunch: 4505 BBQ, Maven (pricey), Rosamunde (sausages), or if you want to hit another beer spot, Magnolia is a bit of a walk but has decent food.

 

Hotel Nikko ---> powell st bart stop is about 2 blocks walking. Rare barrel is equal distance (or so) from the downtown Berkeley stop and Ashby stop. Just call an uber from one of those stops and head on over. Real easy!

If you're not renting a car how are you getting from SF to Napa? Doing a tour?

 

Mikkeller has really good food and by eating there you can extend your time to drink what is on tap or in bottles (which are available regardless of the Sour Room being open).

 

I'm not going to say I'm glad they closed, and this is OT, but their rules were total bullshit. You had to get an entree (avg price $30) to sit at a table. The one "reasonable" item on the menu (~$16 burger) was only available if you were lucky enough to snag one of the handful of bar seats. I will consider putting up with the must-buy-food thing if you have some affordable options, but I'm not playing that game. Hell, offer some damn cheese plates or something if you're all about pairing. Even if you went in and there were a bunch of empty tables yet a full bar, they wouldn't let you sit down w/o ordering an entree. Cool business model, bros.

 

Yeah they have food but when I was in there two weekends ago on Saturday at around 5:30pm, there was a sign that said they were out of sandwiches for the rest of the weekend. Other times I've been in there, the kitchen has been closed. One of the bartenders said it was cool to bring food in from Juan's which is a Mexican joint around the block.

Check this link for the menu before you go.

https://www.therarebarrel.com/tastingroom

 

Chinese food I assume? Or anything?

 

Can't help with Chinatown, but Mission Chinese is famous for its great food. The sign says "Lung Shan Restaurant" so it can be confusing.

Edit: Empress of China is probably right up your alley.

 

Also not in Chinatown, but I've heard good things about this place...Yank Sing.

 

Hunan Homes is in Chinatown and good. There is a Dim Sum place nearby that is good too, but I can't remember the name