Two things I am passionate about are good food & drink, and San Francisco history. The city’s wild tales can be found in its buildings, on its streets, underground, in its people, and of course — on the menu.
Comstock Saloon has been around since 1907. The bar (I mean the literal wooden bar) is a piece of art. Once when I was sitting at the bar, a bartender told me that the trough that runs along the bottom was used by patrons to pee in, so they didn’t have to leave their seat. That person may have been yanking my chain, but every time I take someone there, I tell them about it.
I love Comstock because it proudly embraces its history without being overly hokey — it's a great place to take an out-of-towner for a drink. I’ve never had a better Manhattan than the one I’ve had there (same night as the pee story, incidentally), and they also serve food, which is one of my favorite features of a bar. Up until recently, I couldn’t tell you much about the food at Comstock (they had fries?) but that was before I experienced their new tasting menu.
For $55 (!!!) you get 8 courses, which includes two half-sized cocktail pairings, and fun surprises! The food is delicious, locally sourced, beautiful, and elevated while still remaining accessible — like a potato chip topped with house-made ranch dressing, a tater tot, and caviar; or a chocolate bonbon with miso caramel that is made to look like a giant Ferrero Rocher.
Chef Jason Raffin, who is the creative force behind Comstock’s new(er) creative menu, personally came out and explained each dish to us. He told us that he went out that day to pick up the ingredients for our Farmer’s Market Salad; he told us that one of the courses (I want to say the 5th?) changes based on whatever family meal is that night (family meal=staff meal). It was a personal touch that made the evening that much more special!
By the 6th course or so, we were really starting to feel the drinks (The other cocktail pairing was called Cherry Bounce, and had brandy in it — not ever really my go-to spirit, but holy cow, I would order this again in a heartbeat.) and giving poor Chef Jason our kneejerk reviews of every single thing he brought to us. But it was hard not to sing his praises every time he appeared with another plate full of meat! (And it was also the perfect amount of meat — one more meat course and the meat sweats would have been real.)
Every single course was delicious, but for me, the standouts were those starters, the beef with Szechuan chimi, scrapes, and potatoes, and the big-ol’ “Ferrero Rocher”.
Would I go back to Comstock? Of course, their drinks are some of the best in town. Would I do the tasting menu again? YES, for sure. It was one of my favorite food experiences in SF, and that is really saying something.
Bonus! As we left, we got a slice of delicious coffee cake all wrapped up beautifully to take home and enjoy the next morning….or later that night.
Comstock Saloon |155 Columbus Ave, SF | comstocksaloon.com
