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People who party in New York or Los Angeles tend to look down on San Francisco nightlife. Our bars and clubs close on the early side and the majority of late-night food is limited to greasy diners or Korean barbecue.
The teams behind Monarch Management Group (Monarch, The Great Northern) and Bisou Group (Beso, ChouChou) are hoping to change that with The Pawn Shop, a secret tapas bar and lounge hidden behind an old SoMa hock shop. The Pawn Shop is adjacent to Monarch, a bar and nightclub, and is open for happy hour, dinner and late-night eats. The kitchen is open until 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
To enter, pick up the golden phone on the door and the theatrically smarmy Pawn Master will buzz you in, punch a code on a key pad masked by vintage jewelry and let you into his world. Here’s a sneak peek from a preview event on Jan. 24:
THE VIBE: The decor is lively with a Cuban, art deco style featuring tropical wallpaper, exposed brick, neon-rimmed mirrors and color-changing panels flanking the bar.
THE FOOD: The menu offers plenty of choices, including traditional Spanish bar bites ($5-$13), tapas and pinchos ($8-$19), toasts and flatbreads ($6, $18) and vegan tapas ($10). Among the most memorable dishes were the crunchy, piping hot Croquetas Trio ($13) of mushroom, chicken and creamy ham and kale; the Lamb Lollipop ($19), one piece of roasted rack of lamb served on the rare side with an addictive avocado-pistachio sauce; and the perfectly-executed Churros ($10) doused in cinnamon sugar and served with chocolate sauce.
THE DRINKS: The Pawn Shop has an extensive menu of wines from around the world, plus four beers on draft and another six in bottle or can. They offer three low-ABV cocktails ($10 each): Uno, made with grapefruit, elderflower liqueur and prosecco, was the most pleasing. The Madeira wine-based Dos lacked complexity and Tres, with its Port, orange and pomegranate notes, reminded me of sangria. We hope to see more cocktails in the future.
DON’T MISS: A secret door takes you to Monarch. And stay tuned: The owners are working on a late-night bowling alley in the basement.
PERFECT FOR … A pinot-and-pincho-filled escape; stylish late-night eats; and carbo-loading on patatas bravas before hitting the dance floor at Monarch.
DETAILS: Open from 4 p.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday, until 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays (plus weekend brunch 10 a.m to 3 p.m.) at 993 Mission St., San Francisco; https://thepawnshopsf.com.
