There are a number of intriguing options when looking for a libation or a quick bite to eat when walking around San Francisco's Hayes Valley neighborhood, which is a trendy area near both City Hall and the city's theatre, but Birba is a true standout. It definitely has that unique feeling of being a secret watering hole that only locals seem to visit as their storefront is completely unassuming as it resembles more of a European wine bar than more of a traditional wine bar. Apparently all of the fun is happening in their lively backdoor patio or on their makeshift outdoor patio that occupies the front entrance to their bar on Grove Street, which is the street that a friend and I walked down from the Orpheum Theatre after a weekday matinee show ended. After looking at my trusty Yelp app for nearby places to the Orpheum that actually opened earlier than the normal dinner hours, Birba was one of the few places to actually be open. When we arrived after taking a hearty walk down Grove Street to get to their location, their associate instructed us to leave a credit card with their front counter so we could open a tab, and then walk through their narrow bar and bottle shop and head towards their heated back patio which served as an expansive urban oasis shrouded with trees and crisscrossed with hanging lights, away from all of the nearby traffic.
The food menu at Birba is compact and broken up into sections such as Dips & Veggies, Meat & Cheese, Tinned Fish and Antipasti Bar. But it is their wine menu that sets Birba apart from their competitors, as it is a multi-page affair, full of classic and natural wines in most every style imaginable. Almost fifty wines are available by the glass, and many more by the bottle, which understandably can be easily overwhelming for any wine novice or veteran quite frankly as there are so many options to choose from. But we opted to share a bottle of 2021 Damien Martin Saint-Veran Chardonnay, which had strong flavors of citrus and an aroma of stone fruit and verbena, and gave our overall meal nice richness with every sip. We chose three menu items to dine on including their Deviled Eggs, which were topped with Calabrian chili oil and pickled jalapeños; their Smoked Salmon Dip, which was served with creme fraiche, dill and slices of endive and sesame seeded crackers; and from their Tinned Fish section of their menu we chose their Marinated Mussels, which were served with marinated lima beans and a side of crackers and lemon. Our chilled bottle arrived in due time and once opened and poured it was lovely to catch up with my friend on their back patio with the heated lamps overhead. When our dishes arrived the highlight for me was their tinned fish as both the mussels and the beans were covered in a marinade that had me craving for more and both seafood dishes, the mussels and the salmon dip, paired so lovely with our Chardonnay as it brought out the fruit flavor with every sip.
To end our meal, we wanted something sweet so my friend headed back into their wine shop to see what sweets were available and saw that they were selling chocolate bars sourced from Ritual Chocolate. So she selected two handcrafted bars including one Dark Mocha and one Honeycomb Toffee both of which paired nicely with our sweet Chardonnay. Birba has a fun energy to it that resembles something out of a narrow alleyway in Europe, with its wide array of wines to select from and their uniquely crafted menu of small plates that branches beyond the predictable meat-and-cheese boards that can give any wine lovers' taste buds a considerable jolt. If there seems like too much to select from on their massive wine menu, I suggest that one simply asks their staff of experts who seem to know information about every bottle of wine they sell here. Our total bill before tip was over $130 but much of that bill can be attributed to our bottle of wine as well as the two bars of chocolate, as the food is more decently priced considering the amount you receive. I plan on returning to Birba for many more visits as the atmosphere and wine selection make it one of the best wine bars in not just the neighborhood but the entire city. read more