What to Order at Bar Iris in San Francisco

Bar Iris is a brilliant partnership between Michelin-starred chef David Yoshimura of Nisei, a California-Japanese restaurant located next door, the late Ilya Romanov and Timofei Osipenko, who now manages this elegant space and makes sure guests have a joyful time. He explains, “We take our cocktails very seriously and often look for inspiration in Japanese culture and history, but we do get a little lighthearted sometimes, as with our newest cocktail, Not a Martini. We wanted to have a cocktail that looked exactly like a martini but tasted nothing like it.” And indeed, the crystalline Not a Martini is not made with gin or vodka, nor is it garnished with olives, onions or a lemon twist. Instead, it is prepared with sake lees (the healthy, high-amino-acid sake by-product), a slew of Mexican potions (including Los Siete Misterios mezcal, sotol and raicilla), Japanese Mukade nigori sake and Jougo, and European mastic, Lu Mare and Kapriol dell’Alpe, which provides a taste of juniper berry. Another standout is the violet-pink Linda Linda, a clarified milk and yogurt cocktail, featuring violets, hojicha tea, gin, citrus and pineapple.

Alongside its uniquely crafted cocktails, Bar Iris features a large collection of eclectic spirits, heavily focusing on Japanese alcohols such as rare sake, umeshu, whisky and shochu. As Bar Iris is inspired by the flavors found at Nisei next door, the snacks here can transform a night of drinking into a night of dining. I suggest relying on the chef, ordering an omakase and letting it all roll out. I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before Iris lands on The World’s 50 Best Bars list.
bar-iris.com