International cuisine
Let’s establish two things first: there isn’t enough Central and Eastern European food around. And there is something to be said for industry vets who were part of establishing San Francisco’s dining scene back in the 1990s.
You’ll find both factors behind Gambit Lounge, a new Hayes Valley spot that quietly opened November 2022 to strong user reviews but under-the-radar buzz, in the former Noir Lounge wine bar. Gambit continues the wine bar vibes, backed by two industry vets, Cezar Kusik (formerly of 25 Lusk and game-changing Rubicon, where he was wine & beverage director) and Edward Calhoun (25 Lusk, Southpaw, Dogpatch Saloon). Kusik was trained under the great master sommelier Larry Stone in those storied Rubicon days, a restaurant that launched the careers of many great SF chefs, opened in 1994 by restaurateur Drew Nieporent with none other than Francis Ford Coppola and Robert De Niro.
Since my youthful solo European backpacking trip in 1999, visiting then-non-touristy Hungary had me longing to dig deep in Central and Eastern Europe, immediately in love with Hungarian food and wine. I realized back then just how much decades of being cut off from the rest of the world under Communist regimes, the world has missed out on the culinary and drink glories this part of Europe offers, confirmed by the growing popularity of Georgian food and wine.
Much like the American South, where you find barbecue, fried chicken and soul food dishes across many states, the styles, sauces, seasonings and cooking methods of the same dishes vary widely state-by-state. Same goes for countries as wide-ranging as Poland, Romania, Georgia and Slovenia. You may find pierogi/piroshki, cabbage rolls, borsch and a range of dumplings from varenyky to pelmeni across countries, but nuances and styles vary. Central/Eastern European is the ultimate comfort food: rustic cooking that beautifully shows off root vegetables and winter ingredients.
Back to Gambit: Calhoun hails from North Carolina and Kusik from Poland, in an unexpected mashup of Southern hospitality in a three-room space, paired with Eastern European-tinged bar food, a robust wine list, cocktails and spirits. The back room bar will evolve into more of a Champagne and wine focus, with cocktails and spirits under the golden dome in the front lounge, accented with paintings of musical greats like Nina Simone and Ray Charles between the rooms.
Charcuterie, focaccia pizza, house-cured salmon, fondue and meatballs are basic wine bar fare, a bit discordant with their influx of pierogi, sausages, paprika chicken and stuffed cabbage rolls (gołąbki in Poland, golubtsy in Russia). As part of the crucial business need to operate during the day, too, they sell sandwiches for lunch, some on Josey Baker Bread, inspired by one of my sandwich faves, Zuni Café alum Ken Turner’s Turner’s Kitchen. Kusik and Calhoun collaborated with Wes Rowe of WesBurger ’N’ More on the sandwich menu. Eastern European touches show up in a white kielbasa sausage sandwich in Sonoma Brinery kraut. Similarly, the wine list sports a couple Eastern/Central European bottles and it’s immediately where I go.
On a recent Friday night, me and a small group of friends were able to snag a cozy window booth at 6pm and order rounds of food. While you’ll find Hungarian and Georgian wines all over SF for the 22 years I’ve lived here, wines from other parts of Central/Eastern Europe are harder to find, though Slovenia and Czech Republic appear regularly but not robustly. I feel more Eastern European wines could be Gambit’s strong suit and unique niche, especially with Cezar’s Polish roots and wine background. Not unlike what Piala Georgian Cuisine (#13 in my top new openings of 2022) is doing in Sonoma County with their restaurant and wine shop, I could see Gambit doing similarly in SF.
As we sipped a lush, earthy, balanced-with-acid 2017 Monastery Tvrdoš red wine of 100% Vranac grapes produced by a Bosnian monastery — and the dark fruit, volcanic soil notes of a rounded 2018 Stumpf Pincészet Eged-Nagy Dűlő Kékfrankos from Hungary — I couldn’t help but wish the majority of the menu was made up of such rarities. While I appreciate a wine list veering from Anderson Valley Pinots to Austrian Gruners to Greek Assyrtikos, we can get plenty of that around SF. I long for more of the unique knowledge Kusik can bring us. Maybe adding menu tasting notes like “for Pinot Noir drinkers…” or “for fans of orange wines” could steer all of us unfamiliar with the grapes of Central and Eastern Europe.
Similarly, I’d love to see the food 100% focused this direction, although you’ll find a heavier dose of Eastern/Central Europe in the food. With roughly 12 dishes plus sides, it’s focus that sets them apart from hundreds of other wine bars and bar food menu.
The biggest win? Three types of pierogi. While Asian-influenced spicy pork and chili vinegar pierogi admirably nods to SF’s deep Chinese population, there are literally hundreds in town who craft such dumplings beautifully. It’s much harder to find classic fluffy potato pierogi dumplings touched with cheddar cheese, bacon and sage butter. These are easily my number one recommend at Gambit. Poppy-seed dusted short rib-porcini mushroom pierogi in Bordelaise red wine sauce are umami comfort, even if the beef is a tad too dry.
Similarly a bit overcooked are sausages, available individually or as a “double sausage platter,” from Polish deli/market gem since 1977 in SF’s Outer Richmond, Seakor Polish Delicatessen. But slightly less cooked/juicier, they’d make another top dish, especially with killer sides, namely Kusik’s potato salad, which, as a potato salad geek, is perfection. Caramelized onions and chimichurri roasted potatoes accompany the smoked hunter’s sausage. While seared paprika chicken runs borderline dry, too, it’s classic, pumped up with a generous hit of paprika and happy partner of soft potato dumplings.
I was delighted to see a version of gołąbki here, Polish-style stuffed cabbage rolls, listed as “Impossible stuffed cabbage,” filled with Impossible vegan “meat” and porcini mushrooms, drizzled in tomato sauce and vegan sour cream. This gratifying vegan dish pleased our entire table of meat eaters, though I could envision two Gambit versions (meat and vegan), as cabbage rolls are such a ubiquitous part of the region’s foods.
Aforementioned Josey Baker Bread “service” gets proper Eastern European treatment as slices of Baker’s dark rye and Wonder Bread levain are accompanied by pickles, mushroom and garlic butters. Cezar puts the spin on a classic caesar salad he became known for at 25 Lusk, with his fava bean accent, while a classic beet salad is sprinkled with walnuts, arugula and an irresistible fluffy, creamy feta.
Shrimp and crab fondue was our standout off-theme dish, as I’ve never been known to resist a fondue. Would I rather the fondue be Eastern European-influenced? For sure. But this cheesy white cheddar shrimp crab melange scooped up with buttered toasts was hard to say ”no” to.
Sampling four different cocktails was a game of hit-and-miss, whether the more “one note” Pillow Talk, a slight, Cognac-based French 75 variation, to the still light and breezy but a bit more nuanced Life Coach, where a touch of Fernet Branca mingles with blackberry brandy, Malbec wine, lemon and thankfully not too much ginger beer to drown the other elements out. There are also five beers, three SF-brewed, two European and one local cider on draft.
If you’ve got room for dessert, a moist poppy seed bread pudding touched with dark chocolate and creme anglaise is a blissful finish, especially with a pour of spirits from Calhoun’s tight collection. So is an off-menu treat of a poppy seed roll from the aforementioned Seakor Polish Delicatessen, warmed up and so dense with poppy seeds, as a proper roll should be, that it almost tastes like earthy chocolate.
While I long to see them fully commit to the much-needed Eastern/Central European focus to set them apart in SF — and even push into the modern Hungarian/Eastern European greatness much-missed chef Nick Balla used to wow us with at Bar Tartine — the experience at Gambit Lounge is a heartwarming one. Especially given the service of industry vets who sure know what they’re doing when it comes to hospitality.
Gambit reminds me of the SF I visited as a teen in the 1990s and when I first moved here in 2001: authentic, unpretentious but high quality. It also reminds me of homey, warm neighborhood spots we’re still blessed with densely all over SF, especially in less hip neighborhoods covering half the city like the Richmond, Parkside and Sunset Districts. In sometimes achingly hip Hayes Valley, that’s a gift.
Virginia Miller is a San Francisco-based food & drink writer.
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