Will be in San Francisco in 2 weeks. Any suggestions for a good food and beer spot and a bottle shop in the Fishermans Wharf area? Thanks for any help you can provide.
My suggestion: don't stay in fisherman's wharf. Total tourist trap, so many great spots to stay in the city...FW is not one of them.
I put together a crazy map for you - it probably won't meet your needs exactly - it's just where I would want to go if I was up in SF right now https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Cel...2ccdef58e9f!2m2!1d-122.711545!2d38.441802!3e0 was up at RRBC on friday and Rare Barrel on Saturday. Cellarmaker IPAs were quite impressive. FYI Rare Barrel closed Sunday.
The city is very small and easy to get around. Get Lyft/Uber or check out the muni/BART routes. There are no good beer anythings in the Wharf. The closest beer spots to there are La Trappe and Churchkey in North Beach and a little further down is Hopwater Distribution.
This. No reason at all why you can't hit Toronado, Monk's Kettle, and Mikkeller (and City Beer and Cellarmaker) with the help of Uber.
Boooo, Wharf. If any of your fellow business travelers invite you to hang out there with you, give them a major eye roll, unless it is to eat 5 pounds of crab. I think that is the only acceptable activity if you are going to be there. Also, The Ferry Building down the Embarcadero a bit is foodie heaven. Spend an hour there sampling stuff, getting an oyster here and some salami there. It can be pricey, but is practically a unique experience with some world famous culinary spots all in one place. Somebody needs to open a craft beer bar there. Since you are an out-of-stater, here is a nice beer alternative to simply running around The City. Go to Marin County, which is the suburb on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Visit Marin Brewing and maybe even Iron Springs Brewing. Take a ferry across the Bay to Marin Brewing Company. It departs SF at The Ferry Building, lands in Larkspur spitting distance from MBC and is a fun sightseeing experience. MBC is pretty damn great for both food and beer, which is a quality many SF breweries lack. Grab a seat on the patio if it is a nice day. Schedule: http://goldengateferry.org/schedules/Larkspur.php You can also take a Marin County bus (the 29 or 228) from Larkspur to Fairfax, which has Iron Springs Brewing. Iron Springs is always my recommendation to out of towners who ask for a non-so-well known spot. Food and beer here is fantastic, it is one of my favorite brewpubs in CA (hell, or outside of CA) for the complete experience. If you like the Grateful Dead, you will especially want to visit. Schedule: http://www.marintransit.org/
...from the ferry building you can also take a ferry over to Jack London Square in Oakland, and you'll be just steps away from the Beer Revolution, and a very short distance from The Trappist and Faction Brew Co.
This is not beer-related but you'll thank me later. Walk over to The Buena Vista and have a few of the best Irish coffees you will ever have in your life.
ah, that's sad. RIP. i'd recommend some clam chowder and an anchor steam in a plastic bottle. best place was a stand up deal around the north most end of the chain of eateries.
Fishermans Wharf is so bad, so bad. At least you are sort of close to the Ferry Building. If you make it to the Ferry Building the meat cone from Boccalone is a must. Also, what others said, Uber and Lyft are a good bet, because trying to find a 'regular' cab is pretty much impossible.
Could also just grab a couple-day pass on MUNI for a whole lot cheaper. They sell them through Clipper's site and Walgreen's, OP (if you're interested).
Upstairs at Aliotto's for crab cakes and clam chowder. Boudin's for sourdough bread. You WILL want to take sourdough bread home! It's touristy but it is the BEST sourdough in the world....THE WHOLE WORLD!
If I may briefly hijack the thread, I'm also an out-of-towner and will be in San Francisco this weekend. Really appreciate the advice above. If I'm looking to try some pliny the elder, are there any options in San Fran, or do I need to trek all the way up to the brewery? If I do make the trip up there to sample the taps and pick up some bottles, is there anything I should know? I'll be in town from Friday through Monday. Thanks!
The Toronado on Haight almost always has it flowing. Other places around the city will too, most of which are on and off.
@danscott, as a local I might borrow your suggestion and do it myself some day. I've grown accustomed to MUNI (the local bus system) and find it a ... manageable... way to get around but after nearly a decade of living in the area I've only recently become enamored with the Ferry system. To the OP: as many have already said, avoid the wharf!
The Urban Tavern at the Union Square Hilton almost always has both PtE and Blind Pig on tap. Check City Beer in SOMA on Wednesday for PtE in bottles.
To the OP, you could take a short walk from FW up Columbus and have a great eggplant parmesan sandwich at Mario's Bohemian Cigar and then cross the street to the Rogue Pub. For a more interesting beer selection, there is La Trappe Cafe also just off of Columbus. Regarding Pliny, I have had more success getting bottles at Cask (3rd Street near Market) than City Beer Store. However, Cask has a really small beer selection, especially compared to City Beer Store. On tap, you can almost always find it at Toronado on Haight Street plus other RR options. As an added bonus, both City Beer Store and Toronado have had Alpine Hoppy Birthday on tap recently. I use the site Untappd to get a sense of what is available before heading to a spot (e.g., https://untappd.com/venue/1026). Cheers!
I can confirm this. Went there on last night in San Francisco after several several people telling us to go there. Before we went there we thought "how good can an Irish coffee be?" we left saying "why didn't we go here every night for a final drink?!?"
Touché. I will be back there in a couple weeks and have to give it a try in the morning! The bartenders are also amazing and hilarious there...hope I get the same one!
