Starting this evening, San Francisco’s Union Square hopes to get a jolt of energy from two Bay Area notables: Michael Mina and Steph Curry.
That’s when the restaurant and bar from the acclaimed chef and the Golden State Warriors star — Bourbon Steak and The Eighth Rule — open to the public at the Hotel St. Francis.
“We want to bring community. We want to bring fun. We want to bring culture. That’s what San Francisco is about,,” Curry told the crowd gathered at a pre-opening celebration Tuesday.
The project represents a return to Union Square for Mina, who opened his eponymous first restaurant inside the St. Francis in 2004. For Curry, it’s his first bar and the family’s second partnership with Mina after wife Ayesha’s International Smoke restaurant pairing.
Bourbon Steak’s inaugural menu reveals an upscale lineup of “butter poached and grilled” steaks and chops sourced from top purveyors, seafood feasts hot and cold, and several caviar appetizers.
Mina’s famous Maine Lobster Pot Pie ($175), with black truffles and brandied lobster cream, is served tableside, as is the Salt-Baked and Bourbon-Flamed 36-ounce Australian Wagyu Tomahawk ($255, with sides). Among the entrees are a Porcini-Roasted Half Chicken ($42) and a Milk-Fed Veal Francese ($65).
Appetizers include a seasonal Fuyu Persimmon “Ravioli” ($32) and Mina’s “playful take on a childhood favorite,” the Crab Cake Pop-Tart with Thai coconut curry ($32).
Upscale touches abound in the shareable steakhouse-style sides, from the Champagne-Battered Onion Rings ($18) to the Black Truffle Macaroni Gratinee ($21).
The menu for Curry’s establishment has not yet been released, but his bourbon brand, Gentleman’s Cut, and rare whiskies will figure prominently in cocktails and tasting menus at the reservations-only bar. The name is a riff on the seven rules of bourbon production. “The Eighth Rule invites guests to define their own ‘rule’ on how and why they gather over a glass,” the Mina Group says.
The group owns restaurants and pubs from the Bay Area to the Middle East. This Bourbon Steak is the 12th; there are 11 others from Orange County to Miami to New York. San Francisco is also home to his Pabu Izakaya, Pabu Chan, Bourbon Pub and the aforementioned International Smoke. Mina also owns Wit & Wisdom in Sonoma, and The Bungalow Kitchen in Tiburon.
For years Mina operated two restaurants in the South Bay, a Bourbon Steak at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara and Arcadia in downtown San Jose. Both are now closed.
Details: Bourbon Steak and The Eighth Rule will be open daily at 335 Powell St., San Francisco. The bar’s hours will be 4 p.m. to midnight. The restaurant will serve from 5 to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, until 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Reservations for both are available at Seven Rooms.