After making it through some inspections and the usual pre-opening delays in this town, ~BOTTLE CAP~ will be holding their soft opening this week, from Thursday July 7th-Saturday July 9th. To refresh your memory, Bottle Cap is the newest opening in North Beach, in the former Washington Square Bar & Grill space. Owners Dane Boryta (Sens) and his wife Liz Ferro (the food and beverage manager at the SF Opera) are excited to be opening, offering affordable New American dishes made with quality, organic, and local ingredients. They also opened the French bistro Circa, in Northampton, Massachusetts.
An opening press release mentions mushroom and Carmody cheese pierogi in dill and pearl onion broth along with red cabbage slaw ($16); Mary’s chicken sealed in pastry with English peas and tarragon ($17); a Humboldt beef burger with San Joaquin Gold cheese and smoky onions ($12); and heirloom tomatoes with crispy-cured pork belly and buttermilk dressing ($9). Since Boryta was a vegetarian for nine years, you can bet vegetarians will have plenty to chose from (i.e. you won’t find an “uninspired risotto” on the menu, as he puts it). As I mentioned in an earlier piece, chef de cuisine Matt Sullivan (recently at Plate Shop) will also be in the kitchen. Starters will range from $7-$12; entrées $9-$24; and desserts $3-$7.
As for cocktails, Pete Gowdy (Bourbon & Branch) is running the show, which will include up to 10 hand-crafted drink specials, some barrel-aged cocktails this summer, and 8 hand-picked tap beers (like St. Bernardus Prior 8 Belgian Abbey Ale, Telegraph California Ale, and Acme IPA), plus additional selections in the bottle (and cans). Selections on the concise wine list will span from the local to French, Italian, and Spanish offerings. Fun fact: Dane, Liz, and Pete Gowdy all worked at Bruno’s in the mid-90s (that was a hell of a good time then). Oh yeah, and a New York egg cream will also be on the menu.
Regular hours start July 12th. Open Tue-Fri 11:30am-10pm, Sat-Sun 10am-10pm. Bar menu available 10pm-12am. No reservations; walk-ins only.
The cheerful exterior of Bottle Cap. Well look at that, they left the WSBG sign up.
