Che Fico’s chef David Nayfeld and business partner Matthew Brewer continue their roll of new San Francisco establishments. Their latest, a nostalgia-tinged spot called Golden Rule, marks the partners’ first foray into the bar business.
Golden Rule, led by bar director Danielle Peters-Clossey, debuts on Saturday, May 23, across from the steakhouse Miller & Lux at Thrive City, the food and retail complex outside the Warriors’ home base at Chase Center. It’s the Back Home Hospitality team’s third expansion into the Mission Rock-Mission Bay area, and this new bar is their second business at Thrive City, joining Che Fico Pizzeria.
Peters-Clossey’s beverage menu captures familiar childhood flavors. The MIP (Most Improved Player) drink pairs gin with
smoky mezcal, mixing it with musk melon, bitter aperitif, and vermouth, topped with a mist made of watermelon Hubba Bubba bubblegum. The Capri-Sun-coded cocktail, Halftime Snacks, is made with vodka, guava eau de vie, bitter aperitivo, pomegranate honey, and lime. “If you were born in, like, the ’70s, ’80s, or ’90s, this bar is meant to be like a little hug for your soul,” Nayfeld told the San Francisco Standard, which first reported the opening.
In an effort to be cost-minded for customers, the Little Treats portion of the menu offers trendy miniature cocktails. There are six drinks to choose from, including the Mini ’Tini, a take on the dirty martini that pairs gin and dry vermouth with Castelvetrano olive brine and shio koji, and the Snaquiri, made with rum, chile picante Inca corn, and lime. Peters-Clossey also leans into banana flavors with two of her drinks, including the 50/50 Bananagrams on the Little Treats menu, made with equal parts Fernet Branca and banana liqueur, plus the Bi-Coastal drink off the main cocktail menu, made with rum, cold brew, espresso liqueur, and banana cold foam, per the Standard. There’s also a selection of nonalcoholic drinks crafted by Peters-Clossey, plus beer and wine.
Given that Golden Rule is a Back Home Hospitality joint (Che Fico, Che Fico Pizzeria, Via Aurelia, and Bubbelah), there is still some food in the picture, in the form of snacks: think Peri Peri-spiced nut mix, a rotating selection of pizza rolls, and potato chips tossed in chile and lime. The space is designed with frequent collaborator Jon de la Cruz, who’s worked on all of Back Home Hospitality’s restaurant ventures.
Golden Rule (720 Terry Francois Boulevard, San Francisco) debuts on Saturday, May 23, and is open 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and on Chase Center event days.
