Arlequin Wine Merchant
Arlequin is the retail arm of the Absinthe Group, so its shelves carry the wines the group's restaurants pour. The shop has been on this block of Hayes Street for more than twenty years and opens daily. Champagne, sparkling and pet nat are the strong suit.
Why go
Bill Russell-Shapiro's group also runs Absinthe Brasserie & Bar and Arbor on the same run of Hayes Street. Arbor sells Arlequin's wines beside its own food. Janelle Bitker reported when it opened that the back patio there belongs to Arlequin.
Arbor took over the Arlequin Cafe space. Esther Mobley covered that closure for the Chronicle in April 2019. The cafe served its last on a Sunday, with margins across the group running to five percent or less. Russell-Shapiro told her the model no longer let him pay people properly. He also told her the wine merchant was doing quite well.
Order this / avoid
- Buy: Champagne or a pet nat. That is what the shop keeps deepest.
- Ask: what has just landed. The team puts as much work into value bottles as into rare ones.
- Avoid: coming for the cafe. It closed in 2019.
What locals & experts say
- Bill Russell-Shapiro, owner of The Absinthe Group, to the San Francisco Chronicle in April 2019, on closing the cafe next door: the Arlequin Cafe model
no longer allows us to pay people what they need and deserve.
2 - Sarah Chorey, 7x7, December 2022:
Arlequin Wine Merchant is among Hayes Valley's most low-key gems. The well-rounded bottle shop always has a great selection of Champagne, sparkling wines, and pet nat from around the world.
3
Good to know
- Getting in: walk up, open daily. Same-day in-store pickup on orders placed before the afternoon cut-off.
- Where: 384 Hayes Street, between Franklin and Gough.
Verdict
could-visit — Buy a bottle on the way to dinner and let them pick the producer.