San Francisco,California
$$

When you first step into Fig & Thistle, Hayes Valley’s new wine and beer bar, you might think you’ve wandered into someone’s living room. A cliché, we know, but one that’s close to the truth—this tiny space was previously a therapists’ office. Instead of a daybed, though, a bunk bed turned couch sits among the tables. Perhaps in the belief that too many options make people anxious, the owners limit the wine list to six reds, seven whites, two rosés, and one bubbly by the glass or the bottle, and mostly single-varietal wines—a rosé from the Central Valley, say, or an Italian-style white from Mendocino. For beer, there are more than a dozen bottles, ranging from domestic farmhouse ales to Danish canned brews. The Hobson’s-choice strategy applies to food as well. The main option is a cheese plate: could be Crater Lake Blue served with honey and apple slices, Tumalo Farms’ Pondhopper (with Marcona almonds), and Cypress Grove’s Truffle Tremor (with fig preserves, of course). Don’t you feel more relaxed already?

Last Reviewed
000 2016

Address

313 Ivy St.
San Francisco,CA

Contact

415/589-7005

Fig & Thistle

San Francisco, California
$$

When you first step into Fig & Thistle, Hayes Valley’s new wine and beer bar, you might think you’ve wandered into someone’s living room. A cliché, we know, but one that’s close to the truth—this tiny space was previously a therapists’ office. Instead of a daybed, though, a bunk bed turned couch sits among the tables. Perhaps in the belief that too many options make people anxious, the owners limit the wine list to six reds, seven whites, two rosés, and one bubbly by the glass or the bottle, and mostly single-varietal wines—a rosé from the Central Valley, say, or an Italian-style white from Mendocino. For beer, there are more than a dozen bottles, ranging from domestic farmhouse ales to Danish canned brews. The Hobson’s-choice strategy applies to food as well. The main option is a cheese plate: could be Crater Lake Blue served with honey and apple slices, Tumalo Farms’ Pondhopper (with Marcona almonds), and Cypress Grove’s Truffle Tremor (with fig preserves, of course). Don’t you feel more relaxed already?

Last Reviewed
April 2016

Address

313 Ivy St.
San Francisco, CA

Contact

415/589-7005