CrazyJ
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- May 27, 2010
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Edit: for those of you who don't know what a speakeasy bar is: a speakeasy is a private invitation party back in the 1920's where people would go to drink during the prohibition. Only the coolest cats even knew where to find it.
Definitely the coolest bar I've ever been to. First of all, I didn't even know this place existed. I was dining at a restaurant a few miles away for Valentine's having some cocktails, and I told my server I liked his suggestions, and that they were very similar to a speakeasy bar up north I had been to previously. He looked surprised that I'd been there, then suggested this place called Ciro's, and that he'd meet us there after work.
I drove to where he told me, could not find anything. Got desperate, pulled over and asked some young people on the sidewalk. They pointed to a giant wooden door across the street with absolutely no signs around it, on the bottom floor of what looked like a run-down, vacant condominium tower.
After parking, we got out and we were accosted by two tall men in black suits and fedoras, asking if we knew the password or had a reservation. my girl and I completely baffled at this point, I'm just like "uh some dude told us to meet him up here because his girlfriend bartends. *not mentioning names*" They're like okay, we'll let you through.
The owner opens up the big ass oak door for us, and inside it is completely dark. The only light is candles all along the walls under a low ceiling, with a blue-glowing jelly fish tank in the center of the cocktail area. All of the servers, bartenders, and clientele are dressed in 1920's-ish tuxedo outfits, and even though there are quite a few patrons here, it is very hush. Everyone, including the guests, seemed to take the speak-easy theme very seriously, creating quite the 1920's atmosphere. To the left are a line of booths shielded by light curtains. Each booth looked like a circle of a bunch of really comfy pillows around a table, but it was dark so I could be wrong. Either way, they looked very intimate.
Off to the right was the bar, with beautiful oak seats each like a throne, and SOOO comfortable. Mirrors surrounded the bar making the room seem much bigger than I thought, especially with the effect of the candles. Ended up walking into a mirror thinking it was another room LOL (I was already kinda buzzed).
The grub menu looked delicious, even though the kitchen had closed at this point. Really interesting stuff... truffled pop corn, duck fries (fries cooked in duck fat), filet, some other crazy things.
The drink menu was the star of this place though. Every single drink seemed to have been designed by the most expert mixologist. I had a "Bee's Knees," which was gin, honey, and other botanical herbs mixed together, creating something I've never experienced palete-wise before. My girl had a blackberry bramble, which looked like an icecone in a glass of chambord, blackberry, other herbs and such. ******* delicious. Wish we traded.
As I watched the bartenders make the drinks (I happened to run into another bartender I knew from the area too), every drink took at least a couple minutes to make. So many ingredients went into them... cucumber, shaved jalapeno, sage, parsely, fruit, concoctions of liquors etc. list goes on. The liquor list was about 5 or 6 pages long, with substantially different kinds of whiskey available, as befitting a speakeasy bar. Also had about 8 or 9 different kinds of absinthe which they used in their drinks.
I asked the bartender how the hell people find out about this place. Purely word of mouth, absolutely no advertising whatsoever. They even necessitate a password which you receive upon making a reservation, unless you know someone who works there.
All in all, coolest bar I've ever been to. Definitely deserved a write-up for SF.
Definitely the coolest bar I've ever been to. First of all, I didn't even know this place existed. I was dining at a restaurant a few miles away for Valentine's having some cocktails, and I told my server I liked his suggestions, and that they were very similar to a speakeasy bar up north I had been to previously. He looked surprised that I'd been there, then suggested this place called Ciro's, and that he'd meet us there after work.
I drove to where he told me, could not find anything. Got desperate, pulled over and asked some young people on the sidewalk. They pointed to a giant wooden door across the street with absolutely no signs around it, on the bottom floor of what looked like a run-down, vacant condominium tower.
After parking, we got out and we were accosted by two tall men in black suits and fedoras, asking if we knew the password or had a reservation. my girl and I completely baffled at this point, I'm just like "uh some dude told us to meet him up here because his girlfriend bartends. *not mentioning names*" They're like okay, we'll let you through.
The owner opens up the big ass oak door for us, and inside it is completely dark. The only light is candles all along the walls under a low ceiling, with a blue-glowing jelly fish tank in the center of the cocktail area. All of the servers, bartenders, and clientele are dressed in 1920's-ish tuxedo outfits, and even though there are quite a few patrons here, it is very hush. Everyone, including the guests, seemed to take the speak-easy theme very seriously, creating quite the 1920's atmosphere. To the left are a line of booths shielded by light curtains. Each booth looked like a circle of a bunch of really comfy pillows around a table, but it was dark so I could be wrong. Either way, they looked very intimate.
Off to the right was the bar, with beautiful oak seats each like a throne, and SOOO comfortable. Mirrors surrounded the bar making the room seem much bigger than I thought, especially with the effect of the candles. Ended up walking into a mirror thinking it was another room LOL (I was already kinda buzzed).
The grub menu looked delicious, even though the kitchen had closed at this point. Really interesting stuff... truffled pop corn, duck fries (fries cooked in duck fat), filet, some other crazy things.
The drink menu was the star of this place though. Every single drink seemed to have been designed by the most expert mixologist. I had a "Bee's Knees," which was gin, honey, and other botanical herbs mixed together, creating something I've never experienced palete-wise before. My girl had a blackberry bramble, which looked like an icecone in a glass of chambord, blackberry, other herbs and such. ******* delicious. Wish we traded.
As I watched the bartenders make the drinks (I happened to run into another bartender I knew from the area too), every drink took at least a couple minutes to make. So many ingredients went into them... cucumber, shaved jalapeno, sage, parsely, fruit, concoctions of liquors etc. list goes on. The liquor list was about 5 or 6 pages long, with substantially different kinds of whiskey available, as befitting a speakeasy bar. Also had about 8 or 9 different kinds of absinthe which they used in their drinks.
I asked the bartender how the hell people find out about this place. Purely word of mouth, absolutely no advertising whatsoever. They even necessitate a password which you receive upon making a reservation, unless you know someone who works there.
All in all, coolest bar I've ever been to. Definitely deserved a write-up for SF.
