All claws
Fat Cat Wine Bar/Claws of Mantis (Bernal Heights)
RESTAURANTS • First Word
The Skinny: After years as a pop-up, Fat Cat Wine Club moved into a brick-and-mortar home in Bernal Heights this spring. In May, another former pop-up joined the business: Vietnamese-leaning pandemic sensation Claws of Mantis, which boosted the space into one of the city’s hottest wine bars.
The Vibe: A hip and queer spot to be sure, Fat Cat has an easygoing air, with both counter and bar service, extremely friendly staff, on-trend music selections at a fairly low volume, and some quirks like (the night I was there) a vintage stag film of some kind (soft-core) playing on a small vintage television tucked between bottles in the bottle shop area. Also, they’re open on Mondays, so between that and the cult fandom behind Claws founder and former Nari sous chef Kevin Tang, definitely attracting an industry crowd.
The Food: Tang’s California-meets-Vietnam dishes are out of the ordinary and delicious, beginning with a course of warm and crusty Bernal Bakery bread that comes with pickled carrots and kohlrabi, as well as butter that’s been blended with chicken fat, ginger, and scallion to create a deeply flavorful spin on schmaltz. Chicken croquettes come with ginger nuoc cham, calamansi-chili aioli, red mustard greens, and green mango. Beef tartare is dressed with mo hanh aioli, and garnished with fresh cherries, spring onions, cucumbers, and horseradish. While there are heartier plates including steak frites with a bo kho-inspired au poivre sauce, the lighter stuff might be more impressive, like a dish of perfectly cooked black cod in fish-sauce caramel with braised radish tops and Tokyo turnips. (There’s also 10-course, family-style prix fixe, $75 per, on Sundays and Mondays, if you want a full tour of Tang’s food.)
The Drink: Self-taught wine maven Jessica Bell started Fat Cat as a passion project during a pandemic funk, and her love of wine — particularly small-production bottles from under-represented regions and producers — is clear from the moment you start asking about the menu. One night in June featured, in addition to the regular offerings, local winemaker Justin Michelle Trabue of Ward 4 Wines, a Black- and queer woman-owned operation with unique bottles like a dry and floral Muscat from Contra Costa County and a richly savory Barbera from Mendocino. There’s also a selection of vermouth- and wine-based spritzes, and most of the wines are available to-go by the bottle at reasonable prices, many under $50.
The Verdict: Do note that the lighting is on the brighter side, and while you can linger over your wine as long as you like, the food comes out at a brisk, fast-casual pace (read: might not be right for a quiet date). That said, Bernal Heights and the Mission may have an ample share of wine bars these days, but none with quite so distinct of a sensibility, and none with food as good as this. –Jay Barmann
→ Fat Cat Wine Bar/Claws of Mantis (Bernal Heights) • 3215 Mission St • Mon & Thu 5-10p, Fri 5-11p, Sat 3-11p, Sun 3-10p • Walk-ins only.