Brucato l Restaurant and Distillery
Restaurant · Mission ·
Upscale California cuisine, craft cocktails, and house-distilled amaro.
Upscale California cuisine, craft cocktails, and house-distilled amaro.
"Brucato Amaro is known for its line of California amari, but now the local brand has launched both a restaurant and bar in the former Seven Stills space at 275 South Van Ness Avenue. On the bar side of things, order the Brucato Amaro flight to get a lay of the land, or dive into an original cocktail like the Tish Tang o Tang, which mixes Brucato Orchards with mezcal, pineapple, and lemon. If you’re feeling more experimental and curious, order a highball, where visitors get to choose one of three amari and add it to either a soda, egg cream, or ginger beer. Chef Chip King leads the food menu, where diners can sample items like the octopus confit skewer or harissa-spiced hangar steak with salsa verde." - Dianne de Guzman
"One of the city’s few proper distilleries opened a restaurant companion on South Van Ness, a fancy place to get ice cream pairings with the business’s suite of amaros. Chef Chip King runs the kitchen after his time as chef de cuisine at Merchant Roots. Try the aromatic saffron pasta with sardines, fennel, and pine nuts." - Paolo Bicchieri
"Bar Brucato is from the people behind Brucato Amaro, the local liqueur brand that’s gained a cult following for their Californian ingredients, like elderberries and yerba santa. But even if you have no idea what a digestif is, the airy second-floor spot is the ideal place to bring a date you want to impress with cocktails and approachable amaro flights. And don’t skip the seasonal dishes, like decadent gnocchetti in a white wine sauce or the puffy charred bread with cacio e pepe butter. If you’re not staying for dinner (though you should), at the very least, start off a night here with the Cheese Pennies, which are essentially grown-up Cheez-Its. photo credit: David Dines" - Julia Chen
"An expansion of the Amaro brand into a 6,000-square-foot distillery with a 40-seat restaurant and bar; chef Chip King is serving items such as lamb riblets in a smoked beet barbecue sauce, kohlrabi salad with smoked creme fraiche and in-season citrus, and harissa-spiced hangar steak." - Dianne de Guzman
"A South Van Ness Avenue liqueur-focused restaurant pairs a suite of chef-driven ice creams with the distillery’s amaro: Mexican-spiced chocolate ice cream, burnt honey ice cream, and preserved lemon sorbet are highlighted. The chef, Chip King, focuses on complementing flavors between amaros and desserts and lets customers “choose their own adventure” rather than being prescriptive. Operations prioritize small-batch, affordable gear — King relies on the Ninja Creami freezer-mixer — and price points reflect a tasting approach: a $7 order comes with two small scoops (portioned more like a tasting) and amaro poured on top. The burnt honey flavor grew from a lean approach: the honey comes from owners Sierra and James Clark’s rooftop apiary, and the dairy and eggs for bases are sourced from Northern California, enabling a hyperlocal, tariff-resistant foundation while supporting upcycling and ingredient-economy strategies." - Paolo Bicchieri