Is there any topic more popular here than lamenting the cost of living? In San Francisco — where rent is two and a half times the country’s average — a bona fide deal on just about anything in the city can feel as rare as a 90-degree day in August.
If you feel like the cost of dining in particular has spun out of control, it’s not just you. The cost of eating out in San Francisco has been rising much faster than in the rest of the country as a whole. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, the cost of food eaten outside the home in the Bay Area has risen by nearly two and a half times the national average since last summer.
Nowhere is this more apparent than at happy hour. While historically it’s been a way to attract diners during off-hours with heavily discounted food and drinks, you can forget about two-for-one draughts or $3 cocktails here in 2019. How about a $16 burger or a $6 bowl of nuts instead?
I don’t begrudge the city’s restaurant and small business owners, who have the unenviable job of reckoning with the biggest culprits of inflated dining prices: high leasing and labor costs. But from the view of a consumer, it’s disappointing to see happy-hour “specials” like a $9 grilled cheese or a single oyster for $2.75.
Is it possible to still find happy-hour specials that feel like a good value in this town? Places where even someone who doesn’t have a lofty tech or finance salary can enjoy good-dining pleasures without the stress of overdrafting their bank account? To try to answer these questions objectively, I visited restaurants across town without getting comped for food or drink (a common practice in food media). I also laid out what I believe to be good happy-hour non-negotiables:
- Good energy at a manageable sound level. A place where I could still hear myself while catching up with a friend.
- Civilized happy hour. No happy-hour drinks made by the bucket. No long line of people clamoring to put in their orders before the close of the happy hour.
- Quality drinks and food at a discount. The quality needs to be up to San Franciscans’ dining standards, and the restaurant has to offer a discounted food menu with enough substantial options so someone could theoretically make a light dinner of the happy hour and still leave with change to spare.
I discovered that it’s still possible for nearly everyone to have an opportunity to eat and drink well, as demonstrated by the following places, which offer excellent dollar-for-experience value. I also learned that it’s not ideal for your liver to frequent happy hour every day for more than a week, but that’s the cost of service journalism.
Tataki
I’d heard good things about the happy hour at Tataki, a Japanese mainstay in Pac Heights that’s made a name for itself as the first sustainable sushi bar in the country. As I sipped on a sake- and tequila-based margarita, I noticed that happy hour wasn’t just relegated to bar seating — there were families in the dining room enjoying specials with their infants, and the omakase sushi bar was also a fun place at which to mingle. Several people near me were sipping cocktails and eating sushi alone.
From fried squid to nigiri to California rolls to margaritas, everything on the menu was $5. It was just after 5:30 p.m., and with a friend on the way, I put in an order for two. “It’s a good thing you’re here now,” the bartender told me. “Trust me when I say you shouldn’t come here at 6:30 p.m.”
With a round of margaritas, two pieces of scallop nigiri, and a number of sushi rolls, the total bill was less than $45. Everything was as fresh and delicious as it had been on the many occasions I’d eaten there before and paid full price.
Details: Every day from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. An all-$5 menu of sushi rolls, two-piece nigiri offerings, small plates, and soju-based cocktails.
Best Deals: Tataki margarita, Arctic char roll, albacore tuna roll, and garlic edamame (all $5).
2827 California Street (Pacific Heights)| tatakisushibar.com
Uva Enoteca
When I arrived at Uva Enoteca on a sunny Sunday around 4:00 p.m., the place was empty, but I’d brought Ruth Reichl’s latest memoir as company. At the recommendation of the bartender, I ordered the Gavi, a Sauvignon Blanc–like white from Italy’s Piemonte region, along with a margherita pizza. My pie quickly arrived, still molten from the oven, with a puffed, cracker-like crust. It was certainly big enough to share. I settled in with my book and a chili-oil-topped slice while D’Angelo played above me.
One chapter in, two guys joined me at the bar. “Long time! The usual?” asked the bartender. My eyes widened as he brought out a cup of assorted marinated olives the size of a soup bowl.
I asked the bartender which red wine was offered by the glass. He poured me liberal splashes of two different reds, saying, “Try this one, the Chianti by the glass, and this one too — it’s a Grignolino.”
“I have to go to the gym after this!” I protested.
“Don’t worry. Workouts are best when you’ve had some wine,” my bar neighbors joked. The total bill, before tip, was less than $21.
Details: Monday through Thursday, 5:00–6:30 p.m., and weekends 3:00–5:00 p.m. Drinks: $4–$8. Bar bites: $4–$10.
Best Deals: Fort Point KSA Kolsch ($4); olives ($4); six-ounce pours of a Picollo Ernesto Cortese di Gavi (white) or Badia a Coltibuono Chianti (red) for $8; margherita pizza or rigatoni pomodoro ($10).
568 Haight Street (Lower Haight) | uvaenoteca.com
Barvale
With a recently relaunched happy-hour menu, Barvale was at the top of my list. I grabbed a bar stool next to the entrance right at the opening on a Tuesday night and was greeted immediately with a glass of water.
Per my bartender’s suggestion, I sprung for a Sherry Spritz, a low-proof cocktail made with Aperol. Another server swung by with a board of pintxos, assorted bite-size snacks on elegant toothpicks that ranged from meager (a small piece of roasted sunchoke) to hearty (a quarter of a pressed ham-and-cheese sandwich).
By the time my friend arrived to join me, I was ready for another round and ordered the only high-proof cocktail on the happy-hour menu: a gin and tonic. It was attractively presented in a globe-like glass with peppercorns and rosemary. When I took a sip, all the blood rushed to my head — it was that strong.
Pintxo boards came out regularly, each with something different, which was a fun way to try everything from deviled eggs to morcilla (blood sausage) to bites of Spanish tortilla. By 7:00 p.m., the place was packed, and the noise level so high that my voice started to go. I departed with a pleasant buzz and a full belly. My half of the tab, before tip, was $23.
Details: Monday through Friday, 5:00–6:30 p.m., with $6 drinks (sangria, cider, spritzes, and more) and $1 pintxos.
Best Deals: The Gintonic #1 if you’re looking to get drunk or the Sherry Spritz if you aren’t (both $6); bikini sandwich, ham and béchamel croquetas, and deviled eggs (all $1 each).
661 Divisadero Street (NOPA) | barvalesf.com
ROOH
ROOH is a convenient after-work spot for anyone with an office in South Park. When my cross-town Lyft dropped me off there at 5:00 p.m. on a Wednesday, there were already more than a dozen people at the bar. But the stress of my day melted away as I entered the airy space, which felt like a departure from the city bustle with its saffron-colored curtains, indigo walls, and tufted chartreuse benches. Lo-fi music with a South Asian bent played softly under the conversations.
I sat at one of the bar-adjacent high tables, contemplating the cocktail special, a fizzy drink with rum and kiwi purée ($8). I ultimately sprung for the Greek Clover Fizz, a ginger-based mocktail that’s perfect for a carsick food writer. I scanned the crowd, which skewed older and heavily male; next to me, a bunch of mid-forties men in suits swapped notes about balancing the business world and family life.
Instead of popcorn, I had the cauliflower koliwada to go with my people-watching. It resembled sweet-and-sour battered chicken, only it was meatless and more addictive. The papads, a basket of crisps with three chutneys for dipping, were such huge portions that I thought they would never end.
My server checked on me regularly and didn’t rush me at all. But 10 minutes before cocktail hour ended, I witnessed the rush when a party of 12 arrived and ordered a lengthy list of food and drink. My total tab, before tip, was around $25.
Details: Monday through Friday, 4:00–6:00 p.m., with $5 craft beers, $7 mocktails, an $8 cocktail special, and $5–$8 bar bites.
Best Deals: Allagash White beer ($5), mocktails ($7), assorted papads with homemade chutneys ($8), chutney sampler with garlic naan ($8), and cauliflower koliwada ($8).
333 Brannan Street (SOMA) | roohsf.com
Ace Wasabi
“Two,” I told the hostess as she led me to a table. It was Friday at 5:34 p.m. Ace Wasabi had been open all of four minutes, and there were already half a dozen people seated for Bingo Happy Hour. I’d heard enough about the spot’s post-work specials to know that I’d have to arrive right at opening on a Friday night to secure prime seating.
The place was rowdy and convivial; everyone around me seemed to run into someone they knew. My friend was looking for parking, so I ordered a glass of Spanish Verdejo. It came out in an oversize stemless glass that held an enormous pour.
Right at 6:30 p.m, servers handed out bingo cards and began shouting out numbers. While the cacophony cut off my conversation, it was hard to be upset over the prospect of winning more sushi.
Soon, we were shouting, but we were also chest-deep in sashimi, maki, karaage, and tempura. As I left, I spotted a letterboard sign that I hadn’t seen on my way in. It read, “Sushi is better than therapy.” It’s certainly cheaper, I thought to myself. The total tab per person was $34.
Details: Monday through Saturday, 5:30–6:30 p.m., with $6 rolls, 50%-off sashimi platters and select wines, and small plates for $5–$8. Bingo around every night at 6:30 p.m., with a chance to win a $20 gift card to the restaurant.
Best Deals: $21 for a 20-piece sashimi sampler, $6 rolls, and $6 white (Arindo Rueda Verdejo) and red (Laya Garnacha) wines by the glass.
3339 Steiner Street (Marina) | acewasabisf.com
