Fireside

Two Jews walk into a bar and what do they do?

Well they walk through the coolest bar door in San Francisco

The Fireside Bar is right on 9^th avenue in the Inner Sunset, and is unlike any of the other bars in the area.  When you first get there, you walk through a very old style wooden door, that on hot days can separate leaving the bottom half closed and the top half open.  We think they call it a barn, or stable door and it makes you feel like you’re about to cross into a bar with décor from the middle ages.  Not so much though, inside looks recently remodeled and I feel is trying to look a little more upscale than it actually is.  It has pretty low lighting with some neon strewn around.  It’s a quiet, chill atmosphere.  There is also a cool looking fireplace in the mix.  There are small tables with small chairs surrounding them and booths along the walls.

The bartenders are very nice and it usually doesn’t take too long to get a drink.  One of them owns a dog that you’ll see walking around sometimes.  They always tend to have a small list of special drinks available that are reasonably priced.  They make tasty mixed drinks and have a nice little selection of beers. 

There’s a new jukebox that usually has a good selection playing, and people are usually more open to talk to you than at Yancy’s.  I (Ben) took a date there once when I first moved up to SF from RWC.  It’s a better place to take a first date than, say, Blackthorn and definitely better than Mucky Duck.  Because of Fireside’s possible recent renovation, I hoped it gave me the appearance of putting more thought and class into my meeting place selection.  Sadly though the date wasn’t great and I showed maybe too much interest in the attractive, slightly older bartender than the younger girl who met me there, oh well.

What I love about this bar, besides the low lighting and neon, and much like Toronado (review coming soon), is they allow you to bring food in.  They have a big black binder close to bursting full of restaurant menus.  Last time these two Jews visited Fireside we first stopped off at Pasquale’s pizza across the street and brought in a couple personal pies in with us.  Very cool.

Fireside

603 Irving Street
San Francisco, CA 94122-2401
(415) 731-6433