Magnolia Pub & Grill

This has quickly become my favorite micro brew in San Francisco. Granted, my knowledge of the Bay Area is rather limited for the time being, but Magnolia is the one must stop place I have in San Fran. The location is awesome, right in the middle of Haight Street – hippy and eccentric central! There is a wide variety of shops, boutiques, restaurants of all countries and cultures and a plethora of bars and liquor stores. This street has it all! Magnolia seems to capture the essence of Haight St. in its small corner of land. There is a bright and colorful mural stretching from the back of the bar, around the corner, and in towards the dining area. The mural is rather hard to describe… there is a river that flows into an ocean, with kegs of beer floating in the river; a train riding the waves with a brown horse running beside it… on the water; a flaming skull with pink roses around it while pan sits on a rock playing his flute. A picture of Mr. Garcia of the Grateful Dead walking into the sunset and, of course, the hand of god shooting dice. You get an idea of what I’m talking about? I didn’t think so, you have to see it to believe it; it really is a great piece. The same artist that painted the mural also has some framed pieces in the eight or so booths in the pub.

As I was saying, there are eight or so booths in the pub, with chairs and tables making up the bulk of the seating. The actual bar area is very of a good size, but on weekends it gets busy and cramped. If you are there for Strong Beer Month… good luck. The cramped conditions at the bar do not really annoy all that much though. The service provided by the bar keeps is really good, as they try to keep everyone’s whistle wet, and you meet some really nice people. The atmosphere is great, it has this very comfortable “at home” feel to it and is a great meeting place for locals and tourists alike.

The food is tremendous! They have a seasonal menu that changes every so often because they use locally grown foods in all their dishes. This is a great way to build up the local economy and promote local pride. Their burgers are great, with the meat nice and juicy, and for you vegetarians, they offer a good variety of salads, soups, and sandwiches to fill you up too.

While the food, art, and atmosphere is great, the real reason I go to Magnolia is the beer. They have an underground brewery that serves up some of the best beers in Northern Cali., ranging from blond, to IPA, to stout. All their standard beers are quite good, and they pair up nicely with the food menu, but the real treat comes one month a year… Every February, Magnolia and The 21st Amendment celebrate what they like to call Strong Beer Month. This is when Magnolia pulls out all the stops and brews up some of the most delicious and potent beers around. Strong Beer Month “celebrates age-old brewing traditions surrounding the higher gravity beers that emerge during the coldest and darkest winter months.” In other words, they want to help people stay all warm and fuzzy during the bitter cold San Francisco nights. For the month of February only, they serve up beers with alcohol content no lower than 8.5%. That is more than double the alcohol content your average store bought can or bottle. The strongest beer of the lot is one of my favorites, and our 100th reviewed beer, Old Thunderpussy Barleywine. She will slap you silly with her 11.2% alcohol content, but will make it up to you by keeping you warm all night long. After about half a glass of Ol’ TP on an empty stomach and you will be buzzing.

For a great atmosphere, friendly people, good food and better beer, I give Magnolia a 9 out of 10.