Causwells has been a neighborhood staple in the Marina District for a decade now, with quality food from Adam Rosenblum and inspired cocktails from Elmer Mejicanos. The same dynamic duo thankfully took over the little space next door to Causwells and in it, they debuted Lilah this fall.
SF’s new bar on Chestnut Street serves up low- and zero-proof cocktails with lots of panache and pow, ranging from shaved ice spectacles to drinks that say boom right on top.
Mejicanos has long mastered low-proof sherry and vermouth cocktails and here clearly has fun digging deep with over 20 low ABV cocktails in all spirits and seven cocktail styles: spritzes, sours, martinis, tiki, kakigori (Japanese shaved ice), savory and nonalcoholic. Alongside Rosenblum’s playful bar food, this whimsical little spot — named after Mejicanos’ daughter, Delilah — is a win for locals and cocktail lovers alike.
Lilah’s hand-cranked kakigori ice shaver was in full effect when I went in on one of our hottest, 90+ degree heat wave days early October during Lilah’s opening week. Boozy shaved ice — also available in dessert, non-alcoholic form — tasted like heaven on a sweltering night, a savior sans air conditioning at home. Heat savior or not, kakigori is a delight any time, especially talking the likes of key lime kakigori!
But first, Lilah’s design grabs you. The former eyeglass store is now a small but lofty space of rosy peach, patterned woods, greenery, animals drinking at a bar wallpaper, bird-shaped wall sconces, a couple outdoor tables and an exterior that matches neighboring 1937 art deco Presidio Theatre.
Rosenblum’s Asian-influenced dishes start with irresistible snacks like fried makrut lime leaf peanuts. Green papaya salad, fresh Vietnamese spring rolls and “white poke” are the lighter dishes. White poke is cubes of kampachi fish tossed with cucumber, mango, watermelon and radishes. There may be crudo and poke I love more, but this summery version was ideal during our late summer SF weather.
Heftier dishes include Taiwanese pork belly buns laden with scallions and peanuts, with pickled mustard greens and jus bringing a needed bright acid hit to fatty-good pork belly. Likewise, spicy Thai chilled noodles tossed with bell pepper, herbs and peanuts in “Lilah sauce” deliver cool contrast to warm dishes. Rosenblum’s banh mi succeeds on properly crusty-flaky French bread, packed with lemongrass pork and house paté, pickled veggies, jalapenos, cucumber and “umami sauce.” It integrates nicely in a crisp, meaty yet restrained whole.
I haven’t been for brunch yet but am eager to try one of my favorite Taiwanese dishes here: danbing or scallion egg pancake, a “rolled egg crepé” filled with with Chinese pork sausage, scallions, egg and chili crunch aioli, wrapped in a Chinese scallion pancake.
But how about those cocktails? Mejicanos makes some of the most most visually beautiful cocktails around, as his recent drinks at Causwells prove. Thankfully, balance and deliciousness follow visuals. The hard part will be knowing what to narrow down to, though 100% low proof makes it easier to try a bit more.
Easy Tiger is is maybe my favorite of the “sours,” a mixture of low proof tequila, Cappelletti aperitif, passionfruit, salted vanilla, citrus, seltzer and a little spoonful of passionfruit salted boba, evoking creamsicle but with passionfruit perk and textural contrast. California Girl refreshes with “vodka,” Jardesca California aperitif, citrus, cold-pressed cucumber, lemon curd, saline, wild honey and manzanilla sherry to dry it out. Firecracker brings the “boom!” in the form of an edible cartoon layer over the top of a cocktail blessedly heavy on Angostura bitters, meaning it tastes like clove and spices, with brown butter-infused low proof “whiskey,” citrus and orgeat.
Pho Margarita is one of my top two. Aji amarillo-infused (Peruvian yellow chili pepper) “tequila” is mixed with cilantro, Thai basil, mint, star anise, cinnamon, agave, lime and egg white. It’s silky, savory, herbaceous and refreshing simultaneously.
Key lime pie kakigori is my favorite of all the shaved ice options, being my favorite pie since childhood. Mejicanos nails it with tonka bean-infused low-proof vodka, key lime cordial, lime leaf aperitif, salted vanilla orange bitters, a coconut spirit, garnished with Nilla Wafers and lime “dust.”
Clearly, it’s about good times here. Good times in a tiny package. Lilah is breezy, even romantic but not cloyingly so. It’s a great date night as it is an ideal stop solo or with a friend. The welcoming newcomer is not unlike running across a quirky, charming bar in a European city or alley in Japan. But it’s in San Francisco, ready to cool with boozy and non-boozy kakigori, diverse low ABV cocktails and heartwarming dishes.
// 2336 Chestnut Street, www.barlilah.com
Virginia Miller is a San Francisco-based food & drink writer.
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