The Bar at Osso Steakhouse
KounterIntelligence ~ The bar at Osso Steakhouse, San Francisco
Tucked away behind the porte-cochère / courtyard of Gramercy Tower condo building perched atop Nob Hill in San Francisco is Osso Steakhouse. This location seemed cursed, for many. The renowned Vanessi’s, originally on Broadway in North Beach moved here and they did okay for 10+ years until they inexplicably shut down suddenly overnight. Le Bistrot, a very popular ‘it place’ closed after the death of the well liked owner. Watergate suffered a similar path as the co-owner / chef died only 2 years in this location after moving from their original Mission district location. Other incarnations like Sparrow, Californian Bar and Restaurant and Gramercy Grill, didn’t fare well, missing the high notes, some closing within a year. You’d think, located next to a concert venue would be a plus although it didn’t seem to help the above mentioned restaurants. A large dining room seating 100+, in a quiet residential neighborhood, tucked in the back of a condo building IS a tough sell…and then came Osso.
Before I continue, full disclosure: I have never been in the restaurant. I enter and continue on into the Art Deco-ish bar, don’t even give the restaurant a glance. This is KounterIntelligence after all, don’t forget, it’s about the experience and the goings on around the counter. I have been to the bar area many times. It’s humming but never overly packed and it doesn’t have music BLARING which means that you can talk to your friends without shouting and no spittle landing in your face. In the bar you can order everything off the restaurant menu. That is why we stay and aren’t even tempted go to the dining room. Surrounding the 2 sided bar and counter, there are some tables, padded banquette bench and chairs which allows you to configure your seating to your liking and be there alone, a cozy tête-à-tête, or with several friends. (there’s no counter seating at present - COVID rules).
It’s a fun spot to people watch and on several occasions, we have run into the hat-sporting ex-mayor, “Willie”. And once we did see him with the current mayor, which, at the time, looked to us like a serious political pow-wow, security detail and all.
So you know, the cocktails aren’t extra fancy, although the blood orange margarita is good and all the great standard cocktails are well made. Think, old school vs trendy. Their wine list is solid but not super extensive like some restaurants where you lose yourself in pages and pages…You may think that I’m not selling it but the experience here isn’t about the latest trendy cocktail or some obscure wine that you may or may not have heard of. It’s about the ease and comfort, which brings us back again and again. We quickly came to feel like regulars, though we really weren’t. When I asked my partner in crime about what he thought about the place, his response was as follows: “Lounge Ghosts”, “HideAway”, “I always feel like we’re extras in The Shining there” - the feedback from him are all positive impressions of the bar area at Osso. He’s right you know, about the vibe.
Jay our fave bartender has been fantastic, low key, attentive and friendly but I’m not sure if he will be back. Osso was completely closed during the 2020 COVID pandemic, and they opened recently. We have been once since it’s re-opening and they were running on skeletal staff, I was happily surprised to see that the dining room was actually busy. That said, we were also the only ones in the bar. I do hope that they will be back on full scale soon.
On many occasions (pre-COVID) we have met some interesting people there. Besides the colorful regulars, there are residents from the Gramercy Tower above that pop in to have a drink and or dinner. Doesn’t that sound like a little piece of heaven to you? Walk out of your condo unit, get in elevator and then walk into a nice restaurant. I want that life. One elderly resident couple we’ve come across and talked to several times lives right upstairs (he turned 101 in 2020!). They usually dine early, always in the bar. Turns out that he was a doctor and he had published a book about his experience as a war medic during WWII. Jay told us that he ordered a copy and had started reading it but I haven’t had a chance to ask him about it - thank you COVID. If you’re looking to catch up with a friend, quietly discuss business (close a deal perhaps?) or hang out and people watch give Osso Steakhouse bar a go.
