Thick, Anti-Smash Burger Burgers and Lagers Arrive in the Sunset With the Opening of San Francisco’s Fifty Vara | Eater SF
"Opening Monday, March 31 in the former Sunset Reservoir location on Noriega Street, this expansive west-side San Francisco restaurant was first reported by Tablehopper in late 2024 and is already drawing locals. The space offers big, anti-smash burgers off the grill with a potato’s worth of fries, alongside Czech Republic-inspired beers; one beer even uses a special tap called Lukrs to slow the pour and preserve the delicious carbonation. Owner Brian Reccow, who has lived in the Sunset since 1997 and helped reignite Magnolia Brewing, calls the lush array of plants the "tree of life" and says he felt personally responsible to keep the location alive: "We’re bullish on San Francisco," and "This is my community. It’s super important there’s an evolution in this property that’s been here since the ’40s." The menu, from chef Adriana Fleming (formerly of the now-closed vegan restaurant Baia) with Trish Tracey of Myriad Hospitality also contributing, leans Spanish and old-school San Francisco: boquerones and orange-and-rosemary olives, pan-roasted sea bass with snap peas, Dungeness crab and herbed rice fritters, and bistro-style burgers with pickled red onions. On the beer side, Reccow is explicit about making house beer (styled as KINDS) accessible — the house lager is priced at $6 — supported by a whole new tap system including a special head for the Lukr; Jonathan Taylor is the on-site brewer (a former colleague of Reccow from New Belgium Brewing). West Coast bar pro Erin Rea created cocktails including the Sunset Delight (white rum, pineapple, mango, and lime) and the nonalcoholic Pacific Crest (hemp, ginger, and soda). Architect Jim Maxwell of Architects II handled the build, Cindy Bonilla of Sunset Roots supplied the foliage, Alexis Laurent provided driftwood light fixtures, and a Bose sound bath system fills the room. The large footprint contains four big spaces (two mezzanines, the ground floor, and a proper bar) with a to-go counter at the front; lunch and brunch hours will be added later. Reccow says he hopes Sunset residents will celebrate the good times and pour one out for the bad times there, and that "I also listened to the neighborhood and to the people," adding: "My goal here is to provide an environment that is nurturing and comfortable. It is big and powerful, but it’s protective." Opening hours at launch are Monday–Thursday 5 to 9 p.m. and Friday–Saturday 5 to 10 p.m." - Paolo Bicchieri
