The Coolest Wine Bar in San Francisco
From the outside the passerby spies an iconic pawn shop. Through the windows filled with guitars and gadgets, a masked man stands at attention behind the counter.
Upon entering the small retro chic space we give our names to him, and with deft movements he pushes against a shelf of tchotch·Kes. And a door reveals the inner sanctum of this fabulous wine and tapas bar, appropriately named 'The Pawn Shop'.
At first glance is the spectacular Art Deco bar. It’s glorious light patterns reflected in the black marbled surface of the bar top.
In the corner is a community table set against tropical wall paper, decked with a smattering of palms and ferns. The lighting is dark hues of green and purples.We move to the bar and order their signature sangria and one of the tapas on the menu. The menu is what one would expect from a Spanish Tapas restaurant. ‘Patatas Bravas’, ‘Pulpo’, and 'croquetas.' Wines range from French Grenache to Tempranillo from Spain, Sangiovese from Italy, Malbec from Argentina, Zinfandel from Napa Valley, Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand…and Zweigelt from Austria.
From the menu we sampled Gambas al Ajillo with Shrimp, garlic, sweet smoked paprika, sherry vinegar, Brandy, toasted bread, parsley as well as the house Sangria.
