RESTAURANTS • First Person
I squeezed into the buzzy new Bar Jabroni on a drizzly Thursday night, hoping the hype had died down, or at least been temporarily dampened. No such luck. Grabbing a glass of cremant at the bar, I ran into a handful of food media types, a restaurant publicist, and my hair stylist — all within 10 minutes.
Hoagie fans have dearly loved Palm City Wines since 2020, and apparently everyone you’ve ever known is excited for the follow-up, Bar Jabroni, which opened in the Lower Haight in March. While Palm City is more of a wine shop with sandwiches, Bar Jabroni is a full-service experience, with its plates both small and large.
Since it’s owned by a couple of wine pros — husband Dennis Cantwell was Nopa’s wine director, while wife Monica Wong worked up front at A16 and Bar Agricole — that chilled house red “Vini Jabroni” from Mendocino is super fresh and crushable. For the food, they tapped Chef Robert Hernandez, previously at Octavia. He’s rising to the occasion with dishes like a flaky green garlic pancake dunked in whipped feta, charred cabbage sunk in black garlic ranch, and ultra rich braised wagyu beef cheeks.
Bar Jabroni occupies a sweet corner space in the ground floor of a Victorian which has been repainted a wild canary yellow, in quintessential San Francisco style. The bar runs down the left, several high tops sit to the right, and of course, the most coveted seats are at the front, a couple of tables in the big windows. Don’t miss the fun art toward the back, including the Dude from The Big Lebowski, abiding in the bathroom.
If you can’t score a reservation, that’s fine — they take walk-ins, but there’s going to be a wait for a table. Lucky for you, there might be no better place right now to drink in the scene and a glass of wine. –Becky Duffett
→ Bar Jabroni (Lower Haight) • 698 Haight St • Tues-Sat 5-11p • Reserve.