One of the single greatest names for a street I’ve ever seen, and located just west of famous Lombard Street, or at least that section you keep seeing in the movies. You know, the small twisty part? It served as the starting point of an aimless search upon which Peter (friend, and CEO of SharedReviews.com) and I embarked in an effort to find a nice little place to talk shop. Even though it was only one of the few moments of free time during the week of the Web2.0 conference, somehow talking busines over a beer qualified.
As we made our way west from this street, the first thing we noticed was that the area looked amazingly like SOHO, the entertainment district in London. Sharing not only similarities in architecture, but also the many pubs and cafes with their own brand of intesting nomenclature, undoubtedly originating from some equally interesting beginnings. But there was something completely unlike SOHO, and that was the energy and a disctinct shortage of the population out on the same late night quest, and thus, the number of open establishments, and herein lay the problem.
After driving around a few blocks, parking, and walking around for a few more blocks, we were going to call it quits when we stumbled upon a great looking lounge that looked like something out of an interior design magazine. Yet, there was something different about this place – it smelled of money. A fact confirmed by the phenomenally obscene cost for a couple of double gin and tonics, which, I have to say, didn’t taste like it. These two points made for excellent conversation on the way back to the car.
Feeling completely let down by the lack of suitable open watering holes, we finally found a pub, almost next to the car ironically, which was open, had people inside AND had some live entertainment, although I take a few small liberties there. It was exactly what we wanted.
I still keep wondering where in San Francisco lay the hub of pubs and eateries. I’ve been to many smaller cities with a higher concentration of activity and for much later into the evening. Granted, we didn’t wander around too much and there’s clearly a lot more to the city that what we saw, but I really would have thought that it was a no-brainer.
If you are staying at the Cathedral Hill Hotel on Van Ness, then there are a few places within a block that you can wander into for a beer and a meatball sandwhich. One is Moe’s Diner across the street, and Tommy’s Joint next door. While not a source of entertainment per se, they are a great place to hang out and yak over a few pints. We found it great for decompressing and light conversation after a long day in seminars. The food is as American as it gets – good solid fare for not a lot of money.
And if the conversation runs out or gets boring, there always a ton of junk all over the walls that are certainly worth investigating. It screams Roadhouse and down to earth.
If a real dinner is your thing, then finding a great place to have dinner while taking in all the sights of San Francisco is a no-brainer. A quick drive down to Fisherman’s Wharf for a steak at Pier 39 yields a feast for both the eyes and the stomach. Sitting on the bay, with boats going by and seals yelling at each other in the marina next door, with Alcatraz and the hills in the background, Pier 39 gave us the setting we wanted while giving us yet another chance to go over Conference notes.
All-in-all, the visit was a great one. San Francisco is a beautiful city, with beautiful buildings and architecture and a stunning waterfront. I’ll look around some more on the next trip and hopefully find all those hidden pubs and bars.
