Stoa
Cocktail bar · Lower Haight
701 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117
Highlights
Creative Asian-inspired cocktails and unique, flavorful gluten-free small plates.
Creative Asian-inspired cocktails and unique, flavorful gluten-free small plates.
"Pros from San Francisco’s restaurant and cocktail world opened Stoa in 2024. The high-class bar offers chill vibes alongside titanic food and drink; savory mochi with seaweed flanked by hits including the Holy Smoke, a medley of Manzanilla sherry, Benedictine, and Ardbeg scotch. It’s a wild, inventive place. It’s still a spot for locals, though, despite being a space for Detroit Lions loyalists." - Paolo Bicchieri
"The entire food menu at this Lower Haight cocktail bar and restaurant is gluten- and dairy-free, so anything is fair game. Take your pick of one of the many bar stools and booths and settle in over chewy grilled mochi, fish sauce-kissed chicken wings, and porridge that’s heavy on the ginger (that’s a good thing). The drinks here are categorized as “Lean & Mean” and “Stern, But Firm.” No matter how you decide to interpret that, they’re still worth your time. " - julia chen 1, ricky rodriguez, patrick wong
"At Stoa, you can order a cocktail from categories like “Stern, But Firm” or “Lean & Mean,” slice into chewy grilled mochi, and slurp back spoonfuls of warming chicken porridge. The Lower Haight cocktail bar and restaurant is the neighborhood’s best place for a drink that easily turns into dinner—there’s plenty of booth and bar stool seating, and the “anything goes” food menu is more interesting (and successful) than most people’s entire dating app profiles. Don’t skip the chicken wings, coated in a sticky fish sauce, honey, lime, and chili glaze you’ll want to slather on everything. " - julia chen 1, lani conway
"This dimly lit cocktail bar is the neighborhood’s moodiest place for date night, and it won’t end in you serendipitously running into your ex-situationship—it’s so long you can’t see the other end. There’s plenty of seating throughout, from stools at one of two bars to cushy booths and high-tops. And while you’re hanging out with someone you like in a dark corner, drink a cheeky cocktail (categorized into sections like “Stern, But Firm” or “Lean & Mean”), and get a shareable plate from a menu we can only describe as “anything goes.” There’s chewy grilled mochi topped with corn and bacon and fish sauce-kissed chicken wings, or, for full-on cozy mode, bowls of rice porridge with scallions and chili sauce." - ricky rodriguez, lani conway, julia chen 1
"The Lower Haight’s newest watering hole comes from a foursome of hospitality industry experts who helped grow Nopalito. Now they’ve turned their attention to the corner of Haight and Pierce streets, where they’re serving a menu of lean cocktails intended to straddle the line between being exciting and not too fussy. The list includes the Holy Smoke, a cocktail of Manzanilla sherry, Benedictine, and Ardbeg scotch, as well as the Katana made with Suntory Toki whiskey with Dolin Blanc vermouth and ginger eau de vie. Food comes in the form of bar bites such as peanuts brined and tossed with MSG and mala spice, potato chips dusted in dried seaweed powder and served with a miso onion dip, and a grilled beef salad." - Lauren Saria, Dianne de Guzman
