The New Fillmore

Verve Wine’s stylish shop is now open at 2358 Fillmore Street.

ONE OF New York’s top wine shops, Verve Wine, is opening a West Coast outpost at 2358 Fillmore today, bringing master sommelier Dustin Wilson back to San Francisco, where he and director of operations Eric Railsback collaborated at the late RN74 and Mason Pacific.

Wilson went on to greater glory in New York at Eleven Madison Park and in the film Somm before launching the first Verve shop in Tribeca.

“We’re super excited to join the neighborhood and looking forward to getting involved and supporting the community,” Wilson said. The stylish shop will offer small-production wines from Italy, France and California, as well as classes and tastings.

Wilson offered a few thoughts about the new shop and his return to San Francisco.

Master sommelier Dustin Wilson: “We’re super excited to join the neighborhood.”

Why a shop on Fillmore Street? 

Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights is a vibrant, walkable neighborhood rich with retail stores and notable restaurants. I admire the neighborhood’s juxtaposition of international brands and small, local businesses, and its ability to maintain a strong sense of community. Between Fillmore Street’s Michelin-starred restaurants, rising star chefs and historic nightlife, it is clear that both residents and visitors appreciate food and drink much as we do. 

Isn’t coming from New York to California with wine a bit like bringing coals to Newcastle?

As a former resident, San Francisco left a lasting impression on me. Leaving the city and my position at RN74 to serve as the wine director at Eleven Madison Park was bittersweet, but with California’s deep connection to wine, my return was inevitable.

With our Pacific Heights store, we not only had the opportunity to design a space that truly captures our brand but also integrate technology — specifically, in-store iPads used to shop our 3,000 label inventory — in a way that would resonate with San Francisco’s tech-savvy locals.

In addition to highlighting some of our favorite small producers and non-manipulated wines from California, we’ll introduce San Francisco customers to a variety of Old World wines and small allocations that are unavailable elsewhere.  

How often do you expect to be out here?

As often as possible! I hope to be in town about once a month for about a week or so, if not more frequently, for events, tastings and to further explore the neighborhood. 

For more information, stop by 2358 Fillmore or visit Verve online.

Photographs of Verve Wine by Jessica Monroy for Drew Altizer Photography

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FILLMORE BEAT | CHRIS BARNETT

This just in: Noosh is the name of the new restaurant being created on the corner of Fillmore and Pine. The concept is a fresh take on casual fine dining at reasonable prices. The cuisine: Eastern Mediterranean inspired, California made.

The name — soon to adorn the Victorian storefront at 2001 Fillmore that once housed the revered Pacific Heights Bar and Grill and most recently Thai Stick — is a festive Persian toast “to eat and drink” that also translates as “lovely lady.”

Partners John Litz and the husband and wife chefs Sayat and Laura Ozyilmax are still noodling the menu. Says Sayat: “Think California cuisine, locally sourced, farm fresh, healthy with an eastern Mediterranean inspiration — your favorite dishes from Turkey, Iran, Greece, all carried through to the bar and beverages.” Adds Litz: “We’re not just about food and drink. It’s about elevating the aesthetic, the service, the hospitality. We hope to set a new standard.”

The trio have the chops. The chefs have cooked in five of the world’s 50 highest rated restaurants. Litz has launched restaurants in Chicago and Mexico and is a founding partner in the tough-to-get-into Lazy Bear in the Mission.

Fillmore residential interior designer Eden Wright has been commissioned to collaborate with the partners on a totally new look for the space. She has an easy commute. The Eden Wright Design studio is just up the stairs above Noosh.

Noosh owner John Litz (center) with chefs Sayat and Laura Ozyilmax.

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“We want to take advantage of the great corner location,” says new owner John Litz.

By CHRIS BARNETT

Ending months of rumors and speculation, new owners have confirmed they are taking over the former Thai Stick — once the site of the legendary Pacific Heights Bar and Grill, and before that a hippie plant store — on the choice corner of Fillmore and Pine.

Three partners — one of them John Litz, co-owner and co-creator of the Michelin two-star Lazy Bear in the Mission — have signed a lease and hired an architect for the space at 2001 Fillmore and hope to open their new restaurant in the fall.

(more…)

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Photograph of The Bar at Hotel Kabuki by Aubrie Pick

SALOONS | CHRIS BARNETT

In a city of grand, gilded, pricey hotels, the 225-room Hotel Kabuki at 1625 Post Street in Japantown is a serene temple of hospitality, owned by a powerhouse Wall Street investment fund that has quietly spent $32 million re-imagining the hotel.

The Kabuki’s low profile is about to change.

Wall Street’s muscular Blackstone Group emptied the vault on design and details in the long makeover. Blackstone doubled the lobby ceiling height to 19 feet, added 13,000 square feet of meeting space to entice business travelers and the conference crowd, and created outdoor Japanese gardens, ponds and a lounge. The rooms are roomy. A 3,000-square-foot lavishly equipped fitness center, which includes a 400-square-foot yoga studio, is exclusively for guests and without charge.

Drinks in the spacious, just-opened bar and lobby lounge have the same creativity and Japanese authenticity in the glass — and are on a libational par — with what’s poured in Tokyo’s most stylish and priciest watering holes.

Five unusual combinations of spirits and sodas are offered during a weekday
4 to 6 p.m. happy hour at $7, almost half the normal $13 tariff. The Nikka G&T is a refreshing twist on the English classic cooler, using imported Japan-distilled Nikka Coffey gin and Suze, a Japanese take on a French fruit liqueur and dandelion tonic. The Natsu Soda mixes vodka, sake and a watermelon flavor. Madame Chou mates tequila with pea flower tea. Imaginative tea and “luxury” cocktails, a sheet of sakes and some 20 Japanese whiskeys float above the $20 range. Plus, there’s a list of beguiling bar bites.

A destination restaurant is in the works, being created by what’s said to be a big name San Francisco chef.

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Black Bark owners Monetta White and David Lawrence

THE CITY’S DITHERING over the future of the Fillmore Heritage Center has claimed another casualty: Black Bark, the modern barbecue joint at 1325 Fillmore, did not reopen after a holiday break.

Only weeks after ending regular dinner service across the street at their upscale 1300 on Fillmore restaurant, owners Monetta White and David Lawrence decided to remain closed as they continue negotiations to move Black Bark to another location “on the other end of Fillmore,” White said, gesturing toward the Marina but refusing to be specific until a lease is signed.

White and Lawrence have already begun moving their equipment and say they hope to reopen in the spring.

White said the food, the concept, the graphics and the furnishings will all remain the same. Since it opened two years ago, much of Black Bark’s thriving takeout business has come through delivery services, and they are preparing to launch a line of sauces and other products.

But they want more foot traffic, and that may take years on a block where the entire east side is occupied by massive empty spaces that for a few years housed Yoshi’s restaurant and jazz club, plus a gallery and screening room.

In November the city threw out the bids from five potential buyers and said the process of finding a future for the heritage center will begin all over again.

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The Snug opened November 29 at the corner of Fillmore and Clay.

SALOONS | CHRIS BARNETT

The Snug conjures up a cozy corner in a centuries-old smoky pub where big-bellied Brits and tweedy types quaff suds, trade insults and argue politics The new Snug, at 2301 Fillmore, is the polar opposite — a sleek, fun, split-level cocktail bar with friendly skilled staffers mixing, pouring and serving classic and creative libations at reasonable prices.

In a stylish makeover of the former Mehfil Indian restaurant, the centerpiece here is a 31-foot-long bar fashioned of the trunk of a single Douglas fir. The barstools spin. There’s plenty of table seating for a couple, a foursome or a crowd. Mercifully, there’s not a single blaring TV on the premises. To justify its name, the owners have a carved out a small snug that seats four, but frankly it looks a little uncomfortable.

The Snug has more than a dozen craft beers and ciders on tap, five wines by the glass and six or seven house cocktails ranging from a White Lily #2 — gin, rum, orange liqueur, absinthe and curry leaf — to a timeless Old Fashioned, with bourbon, bitters and sugar. A tall wall of every spirit imaginable overlooks the airy space. There’s no happy hour.

The kitchen puts out snacks and a few inventive small and large plates. A burger and a $16 Cobb salad top the list. Brunch is coming soon.

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