About Absinthe Brasserie & Bar

Absinthe Brasserie & Bar is located at 398 Hayes Street, San Francisco, California, in the heart of the Hayes Valley shopping neighborhood near Civic Center. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner, and weekends for brunch; it is available for private parties. Ample street parking and nearby garage parking are available. For more information, please visit: www.absinthe.com, Facebook at www.facebook.com/AbsintheBrasserie, or follow @AbsintheSF on Twitter.

Address

398 Hayes Street (at Gough Street)
San Francisco, CA 94102

Reservations

Phone: 415-551-1590
Fax: 415-255-2385
www.absinthe.com

Established

1998

Management

Bill Russell-Shapiro, Proprietor, The Absinthe Group
Eric Vreede, Development and Operations Manager, The Absinthe Group
Adam Keough, Executive Chef, The Absinthe Group
Bill Corbett, Executive Pastry Chef, The Absinthe Group
Zach Pacheco, General Manager
Vanessa Harris, Director of Events and Marketing, The Absinthe Group
Ian Becker, Wine Director, The Absinthe Group
Aaron Wasserman, Chief Sommelier

Hours

Dinner Menu
Tuesday to Thursday, 5pm to 10pm
Friday and Saturday, 5pm to 11pm
Sunday, 5pm to 10pm

Lunch Menu
Tuesday to Friday, 11:30am to 2pm

Cafe Menu
Afternoons and late night

Brunch/Lunch
Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 3pm

Absinthe is closed on Monday.

Cuisine

Executive Chef Adam Keough is influenced by the culinary simplicity of his Boston roots and incorporates that basic approach to food, with techniques and philosophies learned through his years in fine dining, to the brasserie fare he offers at Absinthe.

On the dinner menu, starters include a range of specialty oysters, fresh from the Northern Pacific coast, and a selection of farm-raised caviar. Seasonal entrées include Coq Au Vin of red-Burgundy-braised Mary’s chicken, bacon, roasted crimini mushroom, crostini, and persillade; and Potato-crusted Arctic Char with little gem lettuce, haricots verts, red radish, and nicoise olives.

At lunch, diners can savor the Masami Farms Pork “French Dip” with horseradish aioli, provolone, buttermilk-fried onions, and pork jus; Grilled Steak Frites with green peppercorn jus and mixed green salad, or the Sugar Pie Pumpkin Soup with fall spice, mint cream, and brioche croutons.

Executive Pastry Chef Bill Corbett brings technique and innovation to his desserts and pastries, offering an approachable menu while incorporating some unexpected ingredients and flavor combinations for an element of surprise.

Decor

The casual atmosphere is inspired by a South-of-France brasserie during the Belle Époque. The front of the house is adorned with a colorful collection of French rattan café chairs, copper-topped tables, a diagonal mosaic floor, and original century-old Absinthe posters. Adjoining informal and formal dining areas maintain the same luxurious vibe, featuring rich leather and mohair banquettes and antique mirrors, softly lit by mica sconces.

Cocktails

The bar at Absinthe thrives on honoring tradition and experimentation, pulling from historic drink books, classic culinary dishes, and seasonal ingredients as a way to develop new cocktail recipes and resurrect forgotten classics. On the menu, under each cocktail, is a footnote paying homage to its original creators. The 21 Hayes is an Absinthe original designed to “provide relief to those arriving at our door by way of San Francisco’s Municipal Railway,” and is infused with Damrak Gin muddled with cucumber, a healthy splash of Pimm’s No. 1, lemon-lime, and simple syrup, shaken and served up with a fresh cucumber slice.

Credit Cards

Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club, Discover

Parking

Street meters. Valet service available Tuesday through Saturday for $10 in the evenings.

Seating

Dining Room: 80
Bar: 14
Café: 32
Sidewalk: 8
Private Dining Room: 45 seated, 50 standing

The Absinthe Group

The Absinthe Group (TAG), founded and managed by food-industry veteran Bill Russell-Shapiro, creates and operates unique, high-quality food and wine enterprises. TAG includes a carefully built collection of six businesses, five of which are located in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco. They are overseen by seasoned restaurant- and wine-manager Eric Vreede, and by TAG executive chef Adam Keough, executive pastry chef Bill Corbett, and wine director Ian Becker. These include Absinthe Brasserie & Bar, recently named a San Francisco Chronicle “Top 100 Bay Area Restaurant” under executive chef Keough, Absinthe Private Dining, Arlequin Café and Food-To-Go, Arlequin Wine Merchant, Boxing Room, and, in partnership with former Absinthe head bartenders Jonny Raglin and Jeff Hollinger, Comstock Saloon in North Beach. TAG is associated with Mad Will’s Foods, specializing in bottled-foods production at Auburn in the foothills of the Sierra, directed by Tim Sullivan.


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