The Lush

The former Velvet Lounge reopened this past weekend (April 14) as ~443~. George Somers, who owns Bert & Ernie’s in Redding, partnered up with a friend from college, plus a helicopter pilot, a fireman, and a pal who owns an apartment complex. Sounds like the beginning to a good…

Ya gotta love it when three bartenders get together and open a bar. After 3 ½ years of planning and saving, ~TRUCK~ has opened in the former Wilde Oscars space (yes, the bar where a truck ran into it, but that wasn’t the inspiration for the name). Partners in the…

Okay, I have known about this joint for so long it was getting ridiculous. And then they didn't want me to write about it. For months. But now that it's getting close to the opening date, the Iron Curtain has dropped. Since some of you are…

The divey Luau Bar & Grill in Cow Hollow is almost done transforming into the intimate ~MERCURY APPETIZER BAR~ that is one part restaurant, one part lounge, and one part bar. The space features distressed hardwood floors, a brick wall, treated metal art pieces, and a polished stainless bar with…

Opening just next door to Salt House will be ~HARLOT~, an upscale lounge from local talents/party posse Martel, Nabiel, Jacek Ostoya, and Robert Nuñez. The name was, ahem, inspired by local Barbary Coast history, when street names in SoMa actually referenced famous prostitutes (supposedly that Minna put on quite…

Okay, not only is Duggan McDonnell one of the most badass chef mixologists in town, but he's also opening his bar concept, ~CANTINA~, into one of my favorite spaces in town, the former Johnny Wok's on Polk Street, right next to O'Reilly's…

The boys from Vintage 415 continue to take over and hippify the city, one place at a time: this time it's the King Henry VII, a bar sitting just across from Rye on Geary St. It will morph into ~THE AMBASSADOR~ by December. Expect a 1950's…

Just this weekend, ~ICON ULTRA LOUNGE~ opened in the former Luna Lounge space in SOMA. Three born-in-SF residents are behind the project; the upscale lounge atmosphere was designed by Charles Doell AKA Mr. Important (he was formerly of FUN! Display—think Backflip, Red Room, etc.) and includes a bar made…

Opening next spring in the Hotel Fusion will be ~INFUSION~, a sub-level lounge that is slated to be a classy and upscale downtown destination for young urbanites and hipsters who are sure to flirt in the unisex bathrooms. A Hong Kong designer is introducing some unique elements with Asian flair,…

Now, most of my friends know I'm not a sports bar kind of girl at all. But when I heard about the "deconstructed" corn dogs at ~WOODY ZIPS~ in North Beach, I decided I just might have to break my usual "no sports bars"…