Meg W.
Yelp
We have a trusty set of local pubs, and we're guaranteed to run into more than a few other regulars on any given night at any one of them, and end up w an impromptu Session with a group of characters lasting well into the night. This is good, no?
No.
Not when it seems like the two of you hadn't seen eachother, really SEEN eachother, in forever and you just want to relax in a dark pub and focus on the collective You. Not when you just want a low-key night, no distractions.
Project Secret Bar. Something understated, relatively close, dark, divey, heavy handed bartender.
We had a Secret Bar out in the Sunset for a few weeks, but an unfortunate slip of the tongue one night resulted in the group of boys rounding up and heading on over. Done. We'd suggest new Secret Bar places to eachother, and just as quickly shoot them down.
The one on Taraval? No, whatshisname is there for sure.
The one 3 blocks over? Umm, no, M just moved into a place across the street, guess what his new local is.
Around the Corner? Umm, are you serious? At least 4 of them are there at some point every night.
The one down Geary? Yeah, umm, I can't go there, had somewhat of an incident w a bartender there one night... Long before I met you, but still. Oh.
Hey, what about that weird looking little place at like 11th or something, looks like it's straight outta some small town about 50 years ago... I see it from the bus...
THE HEARTH. The Hearth. Nobody will ever look for us there.
And they didn't.
And the two end/corner stools were open, just waiting for us to stake our usual claim.
Texi (Texie?) was great, treated us like we'd been locals for years from the minute we sat down, nicely poured vodka sodas, good balance of chit-chat and leaving us be.
There is nothing outstanding about this bar. It's a drinkers bar. Yes, there are diversions for those wanting activities with their drink, but these are cleverly kept away from the bar. I don't want to hear Pac Man chomping away while I'm finally relaxing, alone with my sexy Irishman.