Nomica was one of the most creative modern Japanese restaurants in SF from the owners of Sausalito’s legendary Sushi Ran. I was so sad when it closed at 2223 Market Street after a short, unimpressive morph into the less exciting Izakaya Sushi Ran. But let’s get this straight: brand new Copas, which opened quietly in late September of 2021 in that same storied space, is nothing like Nomica.
What warmed my heart at a recent dinner was that the space exuded life I hadn’t seen since it was 2223 Market Street restaurant a decade ago. Granted, that restaurant was very uneven in food quality but drew a well-dressed Castro clientele sipping Cosmos, feasting on gourmet meatloaf at dinner or salmon benedict at brunch. For a space that once housed the Purple Pickle gay piano bar in the 1970s, vibrancy should be in play.
As inspired as dishes could be at Nomica (damn, I still miss their whole chicken baked in brioche!), over my many visits, it never exuded the gaiety I experienced in one visit to Copas. The dining room/bar layout is like Nomica, with nondescript wood tables and orange walls imparting a warm glow. Corningware coffee pots line the entry, and rotating local artists are on the walls (currently Marco Osvaldo Razo Veyro, whose card-playing table painting exemplifies Copas’ vibe).
At dinner, the playlist moves from feel-good 80s film soundtracks to 80s pop and rock greats, keeping pace with the buzz of diners, even amping up the fun. Copas is blessedly open all day, Wednesday through Sunday, bringing a needed new weekday breakfast, coffee and lunch stop, as well as a nighttime destination, intended to be the kind of place you can stop by for coffee and a bite, a drink at the bar or a full meal. Breakfast rolls out (forgive the pun) a “rollie” or house flour tortilla rolled up with cherrywood-smoked brisket, scrambled eggs, pinto beans, cheddar cheese, avocado, and salsa, as well as farmers market toast, runny egg sandwiches, or comforting churros.
Now, the team: founder Jessica Kapoor is Chief of Staff for Saison Hospitality Group (Saison, Angler, Saison Smokehouse), so she comes from The World’s 50 Best, Michelin-starred pedigree. But Copas is not that kind of place. Chef Julio Aguilera focuses on the wealth of California seasonal ingredients with Mexican- and Spanish-inspired touches — years back at La Urbana, he did modern Mexican food with Mexico City flair, and more recently was exec chef in Miami at Morrofino Barcelona.
Then there’s Copas’ larger team, exuding a collective spirit that comes through: consulting chef Glen Schwartz (whose playful-gourmet food I still miss from The Douglas Room) is bringing his good cheer and cooking to the dining room and kitchen. Novela GM Suzanne Miller-Smith likewise offers her cocktail expertise to the easy-going cocktail menu and is on the ground serving and keeping that convivial spirit going. Beyond cocktails, drink offerings include coffee beans from Proud Mary Coffee and a currently short Euro-Cali-centric wine list, collaborating (there’s that word again) with the world-class Angler and Saison team.
Grooving to Eric Carmen’s “Hungry Eyes” from my beloved Dirty Dancing, I, indeed, arrived hungry (what’s with the puns? I can’t seem to help myself). So while my husband Dan and I played our usual debate-and-narrow-down game with the menu, we got a chicharron dip and drinks underway. Crispy spiced pork cracklings scooped up whipped yogurt drizzled in sesame peanut chili oil, recalling salsa macha, which I adore, originating from Veracruz, Mexico. Chili peppers, garlic, peanuts, sesame seeds in oil, add up to toasty-spicy goodness, bringing the yogurt to life. Miller-Smith’s vibrant blue Ombre Renegado cocktail was just the right pairing. It’s a margarita variation, combining blanco and reposado tequila, lime and agave, but blue curacao is not what’s adding that hue. Rather, a smart use of blue spirulina imparts a natural blue haze.
The way to goose up a simple vodka-ginger beer cocktail? Berry vermouth, pluot tomato shrub, and fresh thyme, which is exactly what makes Miller-Smith’s Aluette Madame crushable yet interesting. She also crafts a mean Pimm’s Cup variation, likewise crushable: Copa Escoba, laden with cucumber and berries.
Seafood ease flows from oysters dotted with grilled scallions, savoy cabbage, pickled ginger, and a jalapeno citrus vin, to hamachi crudo, lively in agua chile with avocado, orange, jalapeño, and mint, scooped up with chile-dusted rice cracklings. This calls for a glass of Saison’s own Old World-balanced Chardonnay from Regan Vineyard in Santa Cruz, or black-owned LA brewery great Crowns and Hops’ (they’re everywhere in SF these days) sour beer tribute to Stacey Abrams — Blue Peach blueberry peach gose — or maybe Miller-Smith’s good-time Ronda cocktail combining reposado tequila, watermelon, orange, lime, and li hing mui (Chinese salted plum).
The tunes kick into Kenny Loggins “Danger Zone” mode, and with all this drinking, it was time to bulk up on heartier fare. Already a house favorite, Aguilera has been honing “cheesy pillows,” or potato dumplings, seasonal with the likes of winter mushrooms and porcini dust, decadent in patata cabra queso, a fluffy potato cheese mousse.
Pesce del dia (fish of the day) can be nurturing: recently it was a grilled halibut skewer, butter beans, romano beans and escarole, enlivened in mojo verde. Copper Creek New York strip steak with savoy cabbage gains intrigue from mushroom miso mole, and broccolini goes Caesar-style, dusted in toasted breadcrumbs, cotija cheese, and basil. You wouldn’t call this the most innovative food in town, nevertheless, its gourmet comfort exudes casual quality.
As Men Without Hats’ “Safety Dance” hit our ears, the night, indeed, was “young and so am I.” Time for dessert, even if we didn’t want the party to end. It didn’t as we tried all three desserts, starting with semilla de mamey ice cream under shaved mamey with poached Asian pear, exuding the mamey fruit’s creamy ripeness, tasting somewhere between spiced apricot, sweet potato, and persimmon. The aforementioned churros, though ubiquitous, hit the spot. But it was vanilla cream popsicles in citrus curd and cookie crumbles that felt both original and true to Copas’ playful, inviting spirit.
Bring your friends, sing along to the tunes, bask in the warmth of a team lending their skills to create a synergistic space that welcomes all into its possibility-rich glow. Copas feels quintessential Castro. Purple Pickle-goers in the space over 40 years ago would be proud.
// 2223 Market Street, www.copasonmarket.com
