Smokestack at Magnolia Brewing

Reviews 7

JE

Jeff Fisher

Ive literally been waiting for years for this place to open. I wish I could rate it higher, but there were more then a few issues with my visit. A little back story first. Im a big fan of Magnolia in Upper Haight. It was the very first restaurant I visited when I moved here over 3 years ago. I can remember seeing information there about investing in Magnolia to build an expanded brewery in the Dogpatch. Ive been following the progress of this ever since. I was more then a little excited to FINALLY check it out one Sunday late afternoon. The space is beautiful! Its a little confusing at first since theres no signage outside and the windows have old timey newspapers covering them up. It looks cool but you feel like youre crashing a party when you open up the big front doors. Its got an industrial warehouse feel which makes sense since it is an old warehouse, but it matches nicely with Magnolia. You order food from one side at a counter and drinks on the other side at the bar. They have a limited selection of beer taps on the food side. This makes it rather inconvenient to get your drinks and food all at one time and try and find seats at one of the large communal tables in the middle. The staff on the food side was super helpful and friendly. I ordered a "sampler" of a couple meats, beef brisket and pork loin, and one side, a spicy slaw. The brisket was really good. Maybe a little fatty for some, but I like it that way. It was melt in your mouth good! The pork was just okay and the slaw was WAY too spicy for a side. It ended up overpowering everything else I had. Theres really no sauces of note which is disappointing for a BBQ place. The biggest downside was the cost. HOLY COW its expensive. My "sampler" came to $25. It was no where near a full meal. On the bar side, theres exactly what you would expect from Magnolia. Their full complement of delicious beers along with some guest taps. Different then Magnolia is the full bar. The menu has a nice list of craft cocktails if thats what youre into. The bar side was really crowded and only two bartenders working, so it took awhile to get drinks. Youd think that if you are at a brewery it shouldnt take long to get a pour of beer but I was waiting for at least 10 minutes. Again, cost is an issue here with beers starting at $7. I know were in San Francisco, but youd think a beer direct from the brewer would have something slightly more affordable. All and all, some of these issues Im sure will be worked out. The biggest thing that might keep me from coming back, especially for food, is the cost. 2 beers, a snack and tip came to over $45. You pay fancy prices for a non fancy experience.

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JO

Johnny Wang

Man, Im SO bummed out this didnt live up to my hyped expectations *end elitist comment* I dropped by a few weeks ago, excited for a new local restaurant, and one that offered BBQ, at that! We ended up ordering their: * Beef Brisket - This was probably the best of the bunch: tender, with okay flavors, but still a bit lacking. * Thai Sausage - While the flavors werent bad, the texture of the sausage was mealy, and a bit unappetizing. * Pork Spare Ribs - How did these come out so dry? :( * Mac n Cheese - Better than the one across the street at Hard Knox (what can I say, theirs is way too cheddary), but nothing to write home about. * Coleslaw - Pretty solid, as far as coleslaw goes anyway. Food aside (which was pretty pricy at $40+), the place is horrendously crowded, making finding a place to sit down and eat fairly difficult. In fact, its so crowded that even getting around is difficult, especially for those of us in wheelchairs. ***Accessibility Info*** Venue - As noted just now, given how crowded the place is, its pretty hard to get through the hordes of fellow patrons. Majority of the seating is benched, if I recall correctly, but there is a lower area at the bar that they cleared for us to use. Bathroom - Didnt check them out.

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JO

Jon Marques, ATC

Awesome looking place that smells amazing (thank you bbq). Got the one meat combo with pastrami (incredibly tender), Mac & cheese (one of the best Ive had), and burnt end beans (the burnt ends and sauce was delicious; more below). Also...i love the bathroom. Non-gender specific, one big public area for washing hands, all stalls with floor to ceiling doors with real locks. I hope more places convert to this. Negatives: -2 hours before closing and the only meats they had left was sausage, pastrami, and ribs (which couldnt come with the Meat Combo) -Burnt End Beans were definitely undercooked. Crunchy. Ill give it another whirl next time Im around. Maybe just a bad batch? -Seltzer water on tap isnt labeled. And I hate seltzer water -think its a $3-5 more than it really ought to be. But then again, idk what kind of overhead they must have.

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ST

Stu Fisher

Ive been here twice now and have sampled most of the meats and sides. My assessment: the food is generally under seasoned across the board and the meats are over smoked. It feels like the meats would be much more palatable if a more nuanced hand were at the smoker. Note to the kitchen: salt goes a long way towards enhancing flavor. Even the sauces are fairly bland and nondescript. As a result, I dont feel they add much to the flavor of the food. And a suggestion: good old fashioned straight up tomato based BBQ sauce should be on hand. Im sure hipsters will flock to this place as they do, mainly for the expansive drink menu with lots of whiskeys. And because its new. What will sustain this place in the long run is better food. Its also quite expensive for what it is - a cafeteria style BBQ joint with no waitstaff. I give it a solid meh...

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MI

Miyamoto Lena

Its an awesome space on Third street and was totally abuzz on a Friday night. Im glad I came here with just one friend, because its hard to find a table. They have good beer on tap and friendly staff. Its a little confusing with the cafeteria style food ordering system there. I had to go backwards in line to order some of the creamy kale/collards soup thing they had since they have the hot and cold food sides (the cold food didnt look appetizing at all) separated and the gigantic menu is hard to read once youre progressing through the line. The veggie dish was delish but the beef rib was just ok and pretty pricey for $20 per pound. A bit more hype than food quality. I would come here again for the beer.

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ER

Eric Ellis

Third time visiting this place and certainly the last. First visit: 37.00 for pastrami, potato salad, coleslaw. Ouch! Second visit: I was drunk so dont remember. Third visit: 42.00 for brisket, potato salad and coleslaw.. And a cold dinner role. What?!? This place is a pretentious version of BBQ. The food is over priced. You have to wait in line to get food and then find a table, which is a hassle. Save your money and walk across the street to Hard Knox or drive a few miles further south to Bayview to get real BBQ.

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JU

Julia Zasyatkina

Its hard to write how good this place is as a vegetarian and admit that I ate the pulled pork and brisket, but it was smoked, tender and so delicious. The sauces for the meats are ridiculously good as well as are the biscuits. Cant go wrong with the food here. They have a vintage, hipster vibe with a great bar and amazing old school smokers in the open kitchen you can see. Aside from the tables in the main area, they have a large space for parties you can reserve. Really cool bathrooms as well!

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