Park Tavern on Washington Square
Restaurant · North Beach ·
Creative American eats in a stylish space with wood-beamed ceilings
Creative American eats in a stylish space with wood-beamed ceilings
"North Beach is not a spot we find ourselves in very often before 8 p.m. - but on a nice day, a stroll through Washington Square Park and a brunch reservation at Park Tavern is a great call. And when we see the 45 person line for Mama’s to the left and the 50 person line for Tony’s Pizza to the right, we usually pat ourselves on the back for our judicious daytime reservation-making. It might not be the best sign that one of our favorite things about Park Tavern is that they take reservations, but to be honest, that’s just what you need sometimes for brunch. A two-hour wait for Outerlands is something we only reserve for the most special occasions. Park Tavern, from the crew behind Marlowe, has an extremely similar menu to the SOMA outpost, but the location by the park makes it a little more pleasant and a great spot to grab brunch with the ladies. The Bloody Marys are great, they make some killer toasts and eggs, and the vibe inside is understated fancy - tile floors, dark wood, a classy, marble bar. It feels sort of like a rip-off New York establishment, which we aren’t 100% opposed to. There are antlers on the walls. For being a pretty nice restaurant, the service can be spotty. Last trip there, all our plates came out at different times and drinks were slow every round. With that in mind, Park Tavern is definitely designed for a leisurely, slightly decadent brunch that you aren’t going to rush through. Portions are on the small side, so you might just need another order of avocado toast. Or two. The menu gets expensive at night - and there are too many places to eat dinner in this town - so we tend to stick to the daytime hours, especially because if we plan ahead we can get a table and eat an enjoyable brunch without having to drink five cups of coffee killing time. Because when it’s almost noon on a Sunday, no one wants to wait for an hour and a half to eat carbs and eggs. No one. RESERVE A TABLE WITH RESERVE A TABLE Food Rundown Toasts Avocado and crab for the table. It’s the right choice. Strawberry, Kiwi, Orange This is a beautiful fruit mountain. Get one. Smoked Deviled Eggs Bacon and eggs in a way cooler way than you’re used to eating them. Really tasty. Polenta Cakes Truffle is catnip for humans. It’s the truth. These cakes with poached eggs, mushrooms and parm are one of our favorite things here. Smoked Salmon Benedict A little small for the price, but excellent. The focaccia it comes with is delightful. Chorizo & Eggs Hearty, as you’d expect. The potatoes are somewhat lacking in crispiness which is a shame. Skillet Baked Eggs Nothing mind-blowing and with just one piece of prosciutto wilting on top. Eh. Marlowe Burger Per Marlowe, a good burger but not life-changing." - Taylor Abrams
"A San Francisco restaurant on Washington Square that Waxman runs." - Nadia Chaudhury
"Reopening on Friday, November 22 with decorated chef Jonathan Waxman in charge of the food, this North Beach restaurant reunites owner James Nicholas (of Marlowe and the Cavalier) with Waxman, a Chez Panisse alum and Beard Award winner he’s known for 20 years; the spot was a 2012 James Beard Award finalist for Best New Restaurant, lived up to the hype for nearly a decade, suffered an embattled post-pandemic reopening and then closed last December, and now returns with Waxman splitting time between SF and NY. Diners can expect a riff on the roasted chicken with salsa verde that Waxman serves at his celebrated New York restaurant, Barbuto: “We have a new open fire broiler that makes the skin even crispier,” Waxman tells Eater, and he adds, “And it will always be on the menu.” Other staples include Liberty Duck served with both a breast and confit leg alongside roasted apples with chiles and seasonal vegetables; comfort fish offerings such as sand dabs or petrale sole; and in-season Steelhead as an early fixture. Waxman’s decadent porchetta recipe is stuffed with prosciutto ends, a carbonara will feature savory guanciale along with a pasta recipe from the Amalfi Coast that he says fellow celebrity chef Bobby Flay introduced him to, and there’s a vegetarian Bolognese made with parsnip, turnip, rutabaga, garlic, onion, and portobello mushroom as well as a raw shaved vegetable salad — with Waxman clear “that the menu will change with the seasons.” The physical space at 1652 Stockton Street retains its location but has significant design updates: the old two-inch hexagonal white tiles have given way to pistachio green, cream, and black hexagons; black subway tile columns have been replaced by shiny Dorian Gray tile that brightens the room into an open kitchen with a 12-seat chef’s counter; and, as owner James Nicholas notes, “We used over 12,000 pounds of tiles in this revitalization.” Designer Jon de la Cruz contributed to a redesign that includes six custom Italian sable brown-leather banquettes (each able to seat up to a dozen people), 11 new wooden corner tables in the main dining room, bar and cafe seating, outdoor tables with park views, close to 180 seats in total, and a 65-person private dining room. Third Rail’s Jeff Lyon has revamped the bar program with approachable classics and creative deviations — The Last Leaf is a riff on a brandy Manhattan with pear liqueur and cinnamon bitters, while the Penicillin #2 marries blended scotch with fresh ginger juice, honey, lemon, and a spray of smoky Laphroaig scotch. The reopening also acknowledges the restaurant’s history and neighborhood heritage: a central wagon-wheel chandelier is now wrapped in deer antlers, and the famed moose antlers that once belonged to North Beach staple Ed Moose have been set into a mirror to symbolize the neighborhood’s eras. Service will begin November 22 with hours of 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays (bar opens at 4 p.m. daily); weekend brunch service begins Saturday, December 7, and reservations are available via OpenTable." - Adrian Spinelli
"After a tumultuous few months, I learned that the longstanding San Francisco restaurant Park Tavern will reopen under new ownership — James Nicholas, owner of Marlowe and the Cavalier — with Washington Square-adjacent roots intact. Former owner Anna Weinberg is no longer involved after the landlord began eviction proceedings in November 2023 over unpaid rent and the restaurant abruptly closed in December; now the space will get another pivot and facelift with original chef Jennifer Puccio returning to lead the kitchen and Jonathan Waxman joining from New York City's Barbuto. The kitchen staff will travel to Barbuto to cook with Waxman before reopening, the team expects to open in October, and Nicholas calls it “a happy ending, or a happy beginning.”" - Paolo Bicchieri
"Less than a year after it reopened, Park Tavern at 1652 Stockton Street has permanently closed: the landlord, North Beach Associates LLC, began eviction proceedings in early November, the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office served an eviction notice, and the landlord’s attorneys confirm the restaurant has cleared out and that the space will soon be up for lease. Court filings state Weinberg entered a ten-year lease on August 1, 2021, and that Park Tavern allegedly stopped paying rent in May 2022, accruing $508,968 in unpaid rent (earlier reports cited more than $460,000); including more than $13,000 in attorney fees, the landlord is seeking over $522,000 in damages. The landlord says discussions about a financial resolution are ongoing but is already working with Maven Retail to market the space to potential tenants. Prior to the recent reopening, Park Tavern closed during the 2020 COVID shutdowns, reopened briefly, then closed for a kitchen remodel in 2021 after Weinberg received a Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant; Chef Marco Cerruti of Santa Barbara’s Ellwood had taken the helm, serving “classics, elevated,” and Park Tavern was Weinberg’s last restaurant to reopen after the pandemic. Eater SF reached out to Weinberg but did not hear back by publication time." - Dianne de Guzman
