Evil Eye
Traditional mocktails, Matt Norris told The San Francisco Standard, often carry too much juice and syrup. He built this Mission bar a four-drink alcohol-free list to the same spec as the drinks list. Astrid Kane reported it in January 2024.
Why go
Norris's objection is texture. Trying to mask a missing spirit, he told Kane, gives you an artificial mouthfeel, so the bar bulks the drinks up instead. The Mellow Yellow runs Wilderton's peppery Earthen and Seedlip's pea-based Garden 108 over a house tonic. That tonic is hops, turmeric, fennel seeds, lime and peach bitters. The Staycation is built on a strawberry-balsamic shrub the team made themselves.1
Lani Conway described the room round it for The Infatuation. It has plush velvet and leather couches, a pool table, pinball, and cocktails in vintage glasses. You snack on pork belly sliders and chicken liver toast while a punch bowl goes round.2 Christina Campodonico put the bar on the Standard's seven for large groups, for the couches.3 I haven't found anyone who has written about the drinks with alcohol in them.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Mellow Yellow, whether or not you are drinking.1
- Order: a punch bowl if there are enough of you to finish it.
- Avoid: planning round the Dry January card. Kane described it in January 2024 and nothing says it still runs.
What locals & experts say
- Matt Norris, co-owner, to Astrid Kane of The San Francisco Standard, January 2024:
We get a lot of requests for nonalcoholic drinks.
The no-alcohol list gets the same care and attention as the regular menu.1 - Lani Conway, The Infatuation, December 2019:
If Stevie Nicks was in the market for a crash-pad in San Francisco, she'd most likely rent out Evil Eye.
2
Good to know
- Booking: walk in.
- Where: 2937 Mission Street, near 25th.
Jeff's take (his words)
- His review (Jeff, first-hand, 4 stars, 17 June 2017): No words with it.
Verdict
should-visit — Take a group, claim a couch, drink the zero-proof list on its own merits.