Grappa Bar 888, San Francisco
As you might have guessed, I am a huge fan of grappa. It was hence delightful to find out that right here some brilliant mind devised a grappa bar!! I love the people at the new InterContinental Hotel!
Grappa Bar 888 stands in the lobby of the new InterContinental Hotel at Fifth and Harrison. On a Saturday night, last call was at midnight and the place was for sure not the hip scene you would expect in SoMa, but the grappa selection made the point! I am also going to take a wild guess and venture to say that they get about 3 or 4 people in any given month who know exactly how to navigate their selection, so our server was not very grappa savvy. However, she and the bartender let us pick our own flight, which was a total bonus, as we got to try some different grappa than the ones already laid out in our home collection (which has grown since this picture was taken!). In fact, since my own favorite is Marolo grappa, I tried to stay away from it and try something different, despite the wide selection of my favorite distiller!
We enjoyed a fine Poli Amorosa di Vespaiolo, a non-better defined barrique (from Poli again), and a wonderful Amarone grappa by Bertagnolli, a good find I will to add to my collection. What a wonderful way to wrap up a memorable dinner at La Ciccia- heading to the Grappa Bar and enjoying a nice digestive and great company! The list is quite pricey to be honest, and I have found good-priced grappa at the San Francisco Wine Trading Company, but the possibility of actually enjoying a sip outside the house was a welcome change in the end-of-meal routine.
Both the recommendation for the Grappa Bar and the SF Wine Trading Company came from Greg, the Bay Area’s resident coffee expert and fellow grappa lover.
Grappa Bar 888
at the InterContinental Hotel
888 Howard St
San Francisco, CA 94103
415.616.6566
Filed under: San Francisco, Traditional Foods
A grappa bar? D-A-N-G-E-R-O-U-S. Though, I’m more a fan of grappa glasses than anything else. They’re so cute.