Restauranttaproom caters to sports crowd
There’s a big new spot near Chase Center and Oracle Park for pregame brews: a massive restaurant and taproom from New Belgium Brewing, the Coloradobased company that’s known for beers such as Fat Tire and Voodoo Ranger.
New Belgium opened on Friday in the Mission Bay space at 1000a 3rd St. and filled it with vintage bicycle decor, a nod to the company’s logo. Floortoceiling windows line the dining room, which sits more than 100 people at tables and a bar. Another 60 seats are available on a patio; both the indoor and outdoor dining rooms are open to walkin diners.
It’s the first restaurant for the brewery and a way for it to experiment with oneoff beers that go beyond what’s offered mass market in grocery stores. New Belgium has had a presence in San Francisco since 2017, when it purchased Magnolia Brewing out of bankruptcy, and did a serious revamp of Magnolia’s Dogpatch taproom.
The drinks menu at the new restaurant is, of course, focused on New Belgium beer, though a selection of California wines by the glass or bottle and lowABV cocktails is also available. The goal is for onsite brewer Ramon Tamayo, who used to work for Russian River Brewing Co. and Anchor Brewing, to change the menu regularly.
Belgian styles will remain a constant, but sour and hoppy beers will be a key part of the menu, with an eye toward food pairings. On the opening tap list, there’s a Traceable Wit, a Belgianstyle beer that uses malt from Alamedabased Admiral Maltings.
With its proximity to stadiums, the new spot has lots of classic American drinking foods — but with playful, overthetop spins that come from chefs Laura and Saya Ozyilmaz, the wifeandhusband team who made their names in S.F. at Mediterranean restaurant Noosh.
The burger is a Wagyu patty stuffed with cheese, and a jalapenoandcheddar sausage comes wrapped in bacon. Tacos go multicultural: They’re served on paratha, the South Asian flatbread, and the fillings might be shrimp with papaya salad or braised chicken with raisins and mint yogurt.
New Belgium’s new restaurant is replacing another brewery, the shortlived operation of Australianbased brewery Little Creatures. But the swap may not have been so hard: Both companies are owned by Lion Little World Beverages, which is part of beer giant Kirin.
New Belgium Brewing. 1000a 3rd St., San Francisco. Monday through Friday, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., with hours subject to change during game days.