Comstock Saloon

The brussels sprouts are the one must on the menu, and the kitchen sells its own staff meal to paying customers.

Why go

Will Kamensky reviewed the Columbus Avenue bar for the Infatuation and made the case for the food as much as the drinks: the food here is excellent. But it doesn't stick to the throwback theme.1 The room has wooden booths, live jazz, two bars and well-dressed bartenders, and his point is that it arrives without being pushed at you. The cocktail list is classics, priced reasonably for San Francisco, and he says the bartenders will build to your taste if you ask. The kitchen's own confidence shows in one line on the menu: Comstock even proudly serves their staff meal (the meal that the cooks, bartenders, and servers eat before service hours) to paying customers.

Order this / avoid

Order: the brussels sprouts. Kamensky: They're roasted, tossed in dressing, and topped with cheese... If there is one must on the menu, this is it.1
Order: the lo mein cacio e pepe. The lo mein noodles add a different textural element that works really well here.1
Order: the white cheddar Chexx, which come with caviar and creme fraiche on the menu and can be asked for on their own.1
Avoid: the unicorn tuna tartare. A server pours a liquid on the plate and the sauce changes color. Kamensky: This seems like it was designed more for social media than taste purposes - stick with the other things on the menu.1

What locals & experts say

The Infatuation SF (Will Kamensky): on what the room gets right that others do not, Plenty of other places have wooden booths, live jazz, and old-school bars tended by well-dressed bartenders - but at Comstock, it all comes together without making you feel like someone's trying to shove an aesthetic in your face.1
The Infatuation SF, on the burger: A really solid burger that comes topped with a few potato chips. If you're the hungriest person at your table, get this.1

Good to know

Booking: walk in. There are two bars, high tops and booths, so group size decides where you land.
Timing: it works as a first stop on a night out or a weeknight catch-up.
What we have: the review carries a byline and no publication date, so treat the menu detail as undated.
Getting there: Columbus at Pacific, on the North Beach edge of the Financial District.

Verdict

could-visit — A kitchen that sells its own staff meal to paying customers is telling you what it thinks of the food the cooks eat, and Will Kamensky read it the same way. The dish he calls the one must is a plate of brussels sprouts, roasted and dressed and topped with cheese, and the second pick is a cacio e pepe built on lo mein noodles for the texture. Wooden booths, live jazz, two bars and a classic cocktail list that he says is not expensive by this city's standards. It sits at could-visit because the review carries no date, so nothing here can be called current with confidence.