Wunder Brewing Company - CLOSED
Categories: Breweries, Restaurants [Edit]
Neighborhood: Inner Sunset1326 9th Ave
(between Irving St & Judah St)
San Francisco, CA 94122 (415) 681-2337
- Hours:
Tue-Sun 11:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
83 reviews
Neighborhood: West Portal
"Good food and great ambiance. Our group went for the combination appetizer : the falafel was really crispy and delicious, the hummus was…" read more »
88 Reviews for Wunder Brewing Company
Delayed review, almost to the point I should go back and refresh my taste buds. BUT I do remember a few things...The BEER was yummy! I was a little disappointed in the food. I thought they could have stepped it up a little to match the fancy atmosphere and the nice bar area. There is a big difference in food between a pub and a brewery. They also have great events through out the week.
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Gosh, why cant they just make a BrewPub in the Sunset work?? This location is perfect, the layout of the restaurant has so much potential! Beer is okay, I like the chili beer, but the food is terrible, at best! Service is slow and the place is always empty.
Funny how they just opened yet are now "closed for renovation." Im pretty sure they arent coming back, lets rejoice!
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I live a block away from the place and went to it when it was called Eldos. For me this place is not the cat's pajamas for a few reasons. The beer that I've tried is not that bad (haven't tried them all) , the food is OK and the setup is pretty decent. The thing that always kills me and I don't know if it's just me, but the service blows pink goats. Typically I'll go with a couple friends and we get a pitcher of beer and then wait on the food. 3 times I've been there when it's not busy at all, the beer would take like 20m. I've actually walked up and as nice as possible tried to get beer. Because when you're sitting in a brewery with beer on the mind and an empty gulliver it sort of intensifies. And I'm looking over at the bartender and he's not super busy and neither is the waiter, so I don't know what it could be. I'll try again after they renovate.
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Stopped in here after a relaxing day at the park and a friend's BBQ for a light dinner. The place looks really unfriendly as you walk in---it's dreary and cavernous. Despite its vast size, it was practically empty at 8pm on a Saturday night. They have two levels but don't even try to ask to be seated on the top because you'll be met with much resistance.
I genuinely believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt but the service here was straight-up rude. As some of us went to the restroom, apparently the waitress told me someone in our group that they were out of sweet potato fries. When a different friends tried to order those same fries, the waitress was so bothered that she sighed, rolled her eyes, and painstakingly explained how they are out of sweet potato fries as if we were asking her to make them herself. Not a single drink refill, either.
As far the food is concerned, I split the tuna melt and fries with a friend. The tuna melt was decent, but as dry as the Sahara. The fries were the only redeeming part of the night. My other friends split the fish & chips, and they said it tasted fine but usually you expect three whole pieces of fish. Overall it's pretty lackluster; nothing special here, folks.
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This place is lame. The food looks like it came from Costco and is about as fancy as something you'd find at Applebees. I wish it was better....the Inner Sunset needs more cool places to eat and drink.
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Wish it acted more like a bar and less like a restaurant. Love the chili beer. Sad that it isn't always available.
This is the second brewery that has attempted to succeed at the same location in the Inner Sunset. Unfortunately this is strike number two. While the previous business had decent food and beer, the atmosphere they were trying to create was decidedly not that of Inner Sunset. Wunder Brewing Company toned it down to more of the mainstream community but they missed the mark on quality of product and service.
I have been to Wunder Brewing Company three times, each time in hope of having a better experience. The exact opposite was achieved instead.
The service was slow and lacking any urgency which was odd since the establishment was always pretty vacant. The brew master was a very nice person but the rest of the staff was a bit rude. When I would ask questions regarding the beer I would be answered with sharp answers as if they were offended. To cite an example I simply asked what kind of wheat beer was being served. Their reply was ,"Wheat." When I asked what kind...German Weissbier, British or American Wheat, or Belgian Witbier, they barked just wheat. The waitress followed up by saying that ,"Belgium isn't even a real country. It is part of Germany." This offered some much needed comic relief. She was swapped out for the rest of the visit either because she realized she made a mistake or the other staff did not want to offend one of their few customers.
The food was average at best and not memorable. Not much more to say there.
I consider myself a bit of a beer aficionado and am a brewer myself. Below I will categorize some of the beer I tried and my reactions:
Lager: The beer was young and needed more time conditioning. The result was a very sweet lager which tasted closer to raw wort (unfermented beer). This I can accept as a mistake since the brewery was new and the first time I went they had only been open a few weeks. Obviously they hurried the process to have variety.
India Pale Ale: Probably the least hoppy IPA I have ever had. No significant hoppy flavor and no aroma. There was little to no lacing (basically a good clear head that persists and also sticks to the glass as you drink it) to the beer. Even without the taste the IBU (bitterness)was reasonably high but without any flavor. They probably used only a bittering hops and skimped on the flavor and aroma hops. There definitely was no chance it was dry hopped.
Chili Beer: While some seem to like it on the reviews here the beer was overwhelming and completely unbalanced. One sip was enough to deter a beer drinker from trying another after this. It was very difficult to get rid of the taste of this beer to try and taste the food after-wards.
Brown: The only passable beer for the style. Rich and malty with a great rich brown color. I had this twice and it was good. Quality control issues at this brew pub may offer different experiences though.
Atmosphere: This place has potential but has no vibe. This could be due to the lack of customers but also has to do with the subdued atmosphere created by the inattentive staff and the low mumble of the television behind the bar.
If you are looking for a brew pub then I would suggest the following with comments:
21st Amendment: This is a great brew pub. The beers are true to their style and there are some interesting concoctions created by the brewmeister. The food is generally good but greasy (very common to brew pubs). The atmosphere is great. There is energy in the air as customers hastily eat a burger and down a couple pints before they move on to watch the Giants play.
Beach/Park Chalet: Great scenic location with live music. Beer is mediocre but you can't beat a sunny Saturday afternoon in their lawn at the edge of Golden Gate Park. Food is decent too.
Magnolia: Pretty interesting beer that can be hit or miss but mostly hits. Staff can be extremely rude at times and the food is decent. Most of the time this is a very pleasant experience and they have cask conditioned ales to boot.
Rogue Brewery: Great beer. Disappointing food. This is a pass.
Pizza Orgasmica: Mediocre beer and decent pizza which is overpriced for what you get. This is a pass.
There are other brewhouses I have only been to once and I feel I should always give a place at least two or three times before I make judgements.
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Went to get a burger and beer at 8 PM on a Sunday. Sitting at the bar the service was horrible even though there were hardly any other customers. The food menu is sparse and on top of that they were out of four of the items. The only saving grace was the beer, the Brown and the IPA were pretty good.
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Though the food may be good, the beer is GREAT! This place should definitely be on any beer affectionado's map. It is a wonder that Wunder Brewing Company isn't recognized as such within this city of many microbrews. With barleywine on tap year round, tasty brown ale, and a lovely heff, I LOVE their beer.
For a brewery, this place would rate average according to my taste buds. Usually I expect great burgers and food with a tasty beer to top off my meal, so comparing it to other known breweries, I wouldn't say this is the best place ever, but mediocre.
So we checked it out on a Friday night, ...pssst....*whispers* it's a bit too quiet in here for a Friday night. It was a little past 9pm and we walked in, & to our surprise we were told we just to made it in time before the kitchen closed (wow that's early for a brewery).
The bf got a patty melt, and me, the chicken salad with veggies and all that good stuff. $12 for a salad though...I know it's a brewery, but maybe for $12 I can get the whole chicken & lettuce field next time. To my surprise the chicken was pretty tasty, and my cold crispy green beans were fun to munch on. The patty melt was a little onion crazy and the fries were okay, but a little dry and lacked garlic. Beer was okay, not spectacular. Overall not bad, a lil pricey for what you get. I felt like maybe I was just comparing it too much to gordon biersch...
The structure itself was pretty neat. Very industrial and there was a cute upstairs to eat at, which it seemed to take a journey to get to. Overall, the service wasn't bad, and the waitress was nice.
So in the end, it wasn't a bad experience and the food was average. I left wundering if i'll come back though....
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Speaking from the new to the city, new to being single black man's perspective .....
I come for the beer. I stay for the beer. I return for the beer.
The bar is usually perfectly crowded, where you dont have to press to get a pint or to get room at the bar to watch the game.
This place is a quality conversation room with fantastic beer at really good prices.
Wunder Brewing Company.....My 1st West Coast home.
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Worst Service EVER!
We went here last night for a bit of food and beer. Wow. We were seated and then ignored. We waited for over 15 minutes for anyone to come over to take our order. This never happened. The people at the table next to us had to get up to get their own check as no one would bring it to them. Finally, my husband got up to tell the maitre de that were were leaving since no one had come by to take any order. This was his opportunity to make things right. Instead, his response was "ok." OK????? They obviously don't care about serving customers. It must be nice when business is so great that you can not serve and be rude to customers. I guess that means that they don't need my money. We live right down the street and I can guarantee that we won't be back.
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Sunday 4pm. My friend and I are wandering around the IS (Inner Sunset) looking for a strong drink. She suggests Eldo's now known as Wunder Brewing Company. We belly up to the bar and order two mojitos. That's right--we order fruity girly drinks in the brew pub along with some sweet potato fries. a great combination, by the way.
surprise surprise, those mojitos were pretty damn good! even better than some $10 cocktails I've had at ritzier bars! who would have guessed........
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The food is subpar, the beer is thin and lacks depth. This was a problem with all the other brewpubs that held court there. Golden Gate Park Brewery, Reccow Park Brewery, Eldo's and now Wunder Brewery. Good God! Make it stop, I'm a big fan of brewpubs but we don't need another bad one.
Maybe it's time for this location to stop brewing beer and step up to challenge the Toronado as a great beer bar. It's a gorgeous location being wasted on one failed brewery after another.
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This place is awesome. The onion rings, battered with their own beer, are phenomenal. Our waitress was very pleasant and accommodating even though she was running around doing more than she could handle. The day we went in for lunch just so happened to be the day after their chef and one of the waitresses left - they did not quit, per say but they had moved away apparently. So they were understaffed and out of a lot of things - including regular vodka (which is why, sadly, I can not give them 5 stars). But I would definitely recommend the place. The staff is really friendly, there is really good food and hell, they have a microbrewery!
We came after work on a Friday, fed up with all the yuppie-packed bars downtown selling expensive beer. This place had what we wanted: decent pub food, pitchers, space for all 10 of us to sit, and a volume level letting us talk.
The pilsner and the IPA were good. Other people in our party liked the brown ale, but the wheat wasn't too popular. The nachos were really good, apparently. I had the fish and chips, and having lived in Scotland for three years, I am quite a snob when it comes to my fish and chips. The fish was nice and moist, the sauces were decent, and the chips were good. But here's the thing: the fish, or perhaps the batter, had a weird earthy taste to it that I didn't like. One of my friends likened it to "drinking from the boot" (it's a rugby thing). Besides the weird hint of dirt, it was all really good.
Basically, this place is what you would expect: a good brew pub. It's a little more upscale than, say triple-rock in berkeley, but it's still laid back. There's only one thing bothering me... Why is this place not called Wunderbar instead?
WUNDER BEER IN WUNDERFUL!!
Well - to be honest - I just like it cause they let my friends and I shoot our Independent film here. Being on a raw food fast made it impossible for me to try any of the beer or food, but I licked the side of a glass and smelled it, and it seems WUNDERFUL. The owners are lovely, and finding parking on a weekday afternoon was a piece of cake. Just watch out for the speeding MUNI buses that roll through the streets with reckless abandon.
NOT: Cafe Gratitude is right next door, a raw and living foods spot that truly is DANK-ness incarnate. got the "I am Terrific", Pad Thai, and am still eating it 2 days later. And stinking like garlic and zucchini pasta :)
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Stopped in for a drink last night around 6:30 pm with a friend. Empty. Three two-tops seated at tables. Two guys, not together, sitting at the bar.
My friend and I sat down at the bar and made eye contact with the two bartenders, young girl, older tubby guy.
Got a twenty dollar bill on the counter. Young girl bartender, with 80's haircut, walked right by us and takes an order from a couple that just walked in and sat down after us.
My friend and I look at each other, not believing this just happened. Oh well, we'll still have a drink.
Girl bartender walks by us again, no word of "be right with you" or anything.
Other bartender, older guy, sees us still sitting with no drink.
Long story short, eventually, he takes our order but we still sit around and don't get our drinks.
Horrible customer service. This place will not last. No WUNDER it's empty.
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Whew! I am breathing a sigh of relief. After a disappointing visit to Eldo's I was worried that this location was cursed. Not the case, my friends. The beer here is excellent. In fact, I had a tasting tray and didn't find a single beer that I DIDN'T like. Even the novelty beer - chili is good. Also, the concept is great as it is a nod to an old SF brewery. Wunderful!
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Gotta say I wasn't very impressed with Wunder Brewing Company. I was starving and wanted a burger so the odds were stacked up in their favor because I probably would have loved anything they put in front of me. What they did put in front of me was a mediocre at best burger. It came on a focaccia bun, which is something I would normally like, but theirs was dry.
It was Taco Tuesday on the day I was there and my dining companion opted for the tacos. Since they couldn't finish their last taco I gave it a try and it was pretty bad.
I did enjoy their wheat beer. I don't normally drink beer but for some reason it sounded like a good companion to my burger.
The service also wasn't that great.
I did notice a "we're liked on Yelp" sticker on the way in... well, not by me. I don't think I'll be back again.
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Terrible tasting beer, mediocre food and poor service. The service was only bad because one person was working on a Friday night! Magnolia brewery has much better tasting beer and food. The service sucks there too though.
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Wunder Brewing has certainly declined lately. I chatted with the waitress (yes there was only one) and she told me they were cutting back on staff to save money. The menu is now down to just a couple items.
Sadly, I can no longer recommend Wunder, and I don't think it will last more than a few more months. Certainly that location has seen a lot of churn over the years.
Wunder Beer was fun while it lasted. Cheers!
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We hit this place up last night and spent a good amount of time there. The service was excellent and we really enjoyed the bar tender - Amber, I think was her name - she's low-key and approachable. The ambiance was nice, too - on the quiet side, which I appreciate, with nice decor, but not so nice that you can't go in there with jeans and feel right at home. Plus, I'm a sucker for breweries.
The reason it loses a star is because of the blind commitment to hops. I tried the amber and then had a pint of the stout. Neither should have much hops, but both were *quite* hoppy. Now don't get me wrong, I dig hops - but in the right beers. These beers just weren't consistent with their respective styles, and to me, that's not inventive, it's just missing the target.
But I like this place a lot and imagine it'll become a consistent choice.
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What a disappointment. We made plans to have dinner at Wunder Brewing after the De Young Museum when our group suddenly swelled from 6 to 13 people. We called ahead and they said to come on down and they would do their best to accommodate us. When we showed up our table wasn't ready yet so the manager (owner?) bought us a round of beer. That was the last thing that went right.
Once we were seated (13 people squeezed into an area meant for 10) we were all starving and ordered. 30 minutes later the waiter came by to tell us that they were out of pulled pork. Why did it take 30 minutes to figure that out? So the pulled pork people ordered new items. 15 minutes later the waiter comes back to tell us they only had 5 veggie burgers and we had ordered 6. At this point it was comical so one of the veggie burgers became tofu curry. Once the food finally came out we were still short a veggie burger. One of the veggie burger people (a former pulled pork person) gave up and didn't eat at all.
Our waiter was really nice the whole time (wouldn't you be?) and said he'd comp the burger we never got. Wow, too kind. Then the bill came and of course it was still on there. Eventually it was taken off the bill but that was it, no other food comp'd. Two stars because the food was decent but I don't plan on returning since the kitchen definitely seems out of sorts.
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wunder is for sale! hahahaha die you piece of crap! die! muhahahahahaahahaha
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/30/2007
For the first time since my first review in April of 2006 I seriously wish I could give this place… Read more »
The beer beer is really good but the tacos on taco Tuesday is hit or miss. Came here a couple times already and the first time our tacos we literally falling apart. I asked for extra tortillas and that helped. The 2nd time we came her for Taco Tuesday the tortillas we hard as heck. I had asked for double tortillas cuz of the previous experience but wtf?!?! Anyway the wings here are sub par but the sweet potato fries are friggin awesome. We didn't have any problems w/ our service and the place was fairly empty both times we came.
Good beer. Happy hour $2.50 pints of.....yes. indeed, GOOD beer. Tuesdays, $2 tacos all night $2.50 pints. Its chill and close by. I really like it. nice servers, movie night tuesdays, rad movies. Also very nice atmosphere.
Awesome sweet potato fries!! MMMMMMHM.
My new happy hour hang out!
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Oh Wunder Brew, how do i love thee? You satisfy my thirst with your wonderful Brown and your seasonal Pumpkin and I can't forget the IPA, which is quite delectable as well.
The atmosphere here is great! Whether you are sitting downstairs in the booth or upstairs at the smaller tables the space has a pleasant vibe to it. The service is very good and is always helpful with recommendations on the menu. I highly recommend the Sweet Potato Fries and Mac n' Cheese. Good snack food with a nice pint of brew.
So next time your in the sunset stop by Wunder Brew for a delectable pint of brew.
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It was fun watching the Giants vs Packers game. One star!
Wunder BBQ Wings - big-fat-fucking-EH. Over cooked and they went crazy with the sugar in the glaze.
Reuben Sandwich - Burnt Rye Bread and too much fatty-white-fat in the corned beef.
Sweet Potato Fries - WOW! I was very impressed. So tasty, great texture... worth trying out if you're a fan of sweet potatoes.
Daily Happy Hour from 4:30-6:30.
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First off they make amazing beer and has so much potential! I hope that the management will step it up and create a fun place to hang out. There is no music which seems makes this place sterile and the service is terrible! We ordered food and ended up getting served 50 minutes later and the food was not good. I really do think this place can be a hangout for people in the neighborhood once they get it together.
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On a Saturday afternoon, they had 2 people working the entire restaurant. And, AND the NFL playoffs were on... As a good manager/owner, wouldnt you staff additional help at a BREWERY of all places for a football game... HOLY S***!
Good food. I tried the sausage platter and it was very tasty and i had leftovers for the following day. Kind of expensive, but manageable...
After a full day of apartment hunting with my boyfriend I just needed a drink and an appetizer. We were already in the neighborhood so we stumbled upon the Wunder Brewing Co. which was cool since it wasn't packed with Sunday NFL fans like many of the other options around.
All in all we had a good time sitting at a table by the window, drinking wine and having tasty, spicy wings, and hot pretzels at Happy Hour prices.
After our first drink delivery, our original server vanished from our lives, and never came back to check to see if we wanted anything. Another server finally appeared with our wings and we realized later that he was taking over the table, as the first guy was cut and doing his side work.
As a suggestion/complaint: Waiter #1 should have told us he was leaving, and Waiter #2 should have introduced himself as our new server.
It must be difficult to be the only server who is waiting on tables upstairs and downstairs. Well- our waiter, Mike, ended up turning out to be quite funny and nice.
So, yea- although I think the service could improve a bit, I would totally go back here.
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OMG... proper bar food. PROPER... like Welsh Rarebit. No kidding.
Everything I have had so far is GREAT... seriously. This is not some mind blowing epicurean experience... this is a brewpub that has figured out a way to have cheese on almost every single entree.... this means.. yes.. you have snapped into deliciousness.
Aside from that, they have a bizarrely cheap beer flight... something like 9 different 6-8oz tastes of beer for $9. That will change soon... to $11, but the intro pricing is ridiculous....
In the end, this is a brew pub. A brililant re-imagining of a stale old brew pub that seemed to suck... since they re-opened, the branding, the iconography, the culture, the staff, the vibe.... everything about this joint is perfect, for me. It reminds me of the culture and spirit behind a lot of my experiences in Boulder CO.... these cats at Wunder even have GROWLERS... a joyous part of any day. They also are talking about a mug club, and in the end there is this:
I don't go out to eat in my inner sunset too much. I order in almost every night.. the restaurants are fantastic, but none of them seem to bolster, unite, or create community.... but I think this place might have the capacity to create a union and culture around it... unlike the other horrid bars on our strip. Fireside gets props for allowing dogs, but since Canvas closed down there hasn't been a unifying gathering spot like this.
I have a feeling Wunder Beer is at the front end of a redfinition of the Sunset, as well as getting a foothold in SF culture for years to come.
BEER: I like the Pale Ale, possibly better than Sierra Nevada as a drinking beer. The Scotch Brew is fantastic.. a zinger for a cold night. A thick, powerful beer.
And The habanero? What can I say... blew my mind three seperate times. I have had pepper/hot beers before... most are not drinkable. This one is subtle, with a great finish. GREAT for steaks, or spicy foods.. Thai, Mexican.. etc.
ENJOY!!!!!
(wow I sound like a shill.... I have no affilliation other than respect... I have worked in F&B for years, and as far as I can see... this is a slam dunk. Well done guys)
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After a long hard week at work me and the hubby like to venture out for a little drink or two but we never have the energy to get all dressed up and go very far. Thankfully there is a quaint little brewery in our very neighborhood that serves good bar food and has a cozy atmosphere. I think it's a great addition to the 9TH Avenue scene.
I went here with a couple of friends a few nights ago, and while the drinks (beer and cocktails) were good and the appetizers were mediocre (irish nachos, chicken tacos, buffalo wings & sauteed green beans), the staff was abysmal. One friend got there first, and when I arrived there with the other friend, the bartender told us to sit wherever we liked. Not one minute later, the manager/host swooped in and started chastising us for sitting at a table rather than waiting to be seated. And when I say he chastised us, I mean he chastised us. Tones in his voice and out and out RUDE.
Then there was the waitress... totally crazy. Tried to remember our order without writing it down, had to ask us to repeat it two or three times, and started apologizing... "this is my second job, I'm really tired..." and the apology was almost a minute long.
Wunder Brewing Co. is anything but wunder-ful.
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San Francisco is a city of roughly 800,000 people. Sure, that's nowhere near the likes of huge cities like New York, but it is still a pretty big city. Right? Sure, until you start having sex with people. Then the city gets real small, real fast. Especially when you hook up with friends of friends, or worse, people on Yelp. Suddenly little links into your sex life are swarming around you like cockroaches, infesting every visit to a coffee shop or Walgreen's with a potentially awkward run in with an ex or hook up, or someone who knows them and knows you and knows that you were seeing them... you know.
So, the fries were really good at Wunder Beerlandia. We ordered a pitcher or four of the IPA that they brew there and it was damn yummy stuff, but our server was an odd one for sure, walking up to our table of about 10 people to see if we needed anything else, and when we said no would just continue to stand there and watch us... and then back away slowly... very odd indeed. It did seem like a disturbingly long amount of time for him to get us shots of whiskey at one point, but the bartender was friendly. Very friendly. I think he wanted to be better acquainted with my boobs. VERY friendly.
However, what was super strange was having my friend at my old job tell me that the new waitress who I barely met is friends with this dude who I tried to cheer up one boozy night when he broke up with his girlfriend (ahem, http://www.yelp.com/bi...), and he told her that I was all "on his dick." The nerve! I totally was, but it's more complicated than that. Anyway, we walk into Wunder Brewmeister to wish my friend a bon voyage and the damn dude is there (friend of a friend, it'll get you every time)! I am SO GLAD he doesn't Yelp. (After some reflection, I edited that last paragraph. There is such thing as too much information.)
Mmmm, get the blue cheese dip for the fries! Yummy!
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Home after 14 months away.
I'm in charge of finding a pre-lunch rendez-vous point as an old friend is running a tad behind.
It's 2 pm and I find myself in the Inner Sunset, wandering around 9th & Irving.
I instinctually veer away from Starbucks and eye the Mucky Duck, scene of many delirious late Christmas nights, or the Beanery, scene of many half-hearted attempts at studying from Barron's books.
"Come on in!" says some man.
"Huh?" say I.
I look at where he's motioning to.
Wunderbeer
I scratch my head. What is this place? How long has it been here? Why haven't I heard of it before? I look across to Arizmendi to get my bearings right and twist my brain into a knot trying to figure out what stood here before. Eldo's.
Interesting. I walk in and sit at the bar.
Jimmy and I start conversing immediately about the venue's history and what it's like to move away from the City. I describe Phoenix to the best of my ability and he asks me if I want to try chili-infused beer. Spicy beer? Are you kidding me? Is this Shangri-La? Hell yeah.
Alas, spicy beer was a lot mellower than expected. A slight bite in the aftertaste versus anything resembling liquid heat. I try the pumpkin brew next - decent, but not something I'd be pining for. Jimmy calls it their novelty brew and mentions that they're working on a steam beer upstairs as we speak. My friend then arrives and we try a few more brews while talking to Jimmy about all things San Francisco and how things used to be decades ago and where things are now. I then get a pint of the porter, my friend an IPA.
The porter? Excellent. I could sit here and have many more, but I haven't had lunch, I've barely slept, and I'm starting to not make sense while it's still light outside on this late autumn day. I ask for my bill. $5. That's right. 5 buckaroos for two pints and 4 taster glasses. I think I've found a new go-to place the next time I'm home.
Well, one after lunch, anyway. Time and time again Jimmy turned folks who were eager to sit down for lunch and beers away since the kitchen wasn't open until 4. Management's going to need to work this out - because I just saw stacks of $20 bills just walk back out onto 9th Ave.
But in the meantime, I've got more brews to try. Damn me having to fly away when I just got here. Again.
4 stars.
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This is for BEER. GREAT BEER. As someone else said, even the chile beer is damn good. I liked every beer we tried, about 4 I think. But the food was pretty disappointing. We had salads with salmon - maybe our mistake was not going for something more "brewery-like". Anyhoo, I'd still go back for the awesome house-made brews.
