ANINA — Restaurant in San Francisco

TL;dr - yes it's worth it. Great for groups

I walked into Anina and was bracing myself for over priced snooty young folk. Alas I was surprised to find that the feminine and fun decor was window dressing for the awesome bar.

I sit at the bar and was promptly greeted by Sam and given a specials menu. Sam is awesome. Let me tell you why Anina and Sam are awesome. I scan the menu, cool names but I'm focusing in on what is in the drinks. I settle on (I think it's called the Cuban lite...I don't remember!) and thank goodness he clarifies I want a punch bowl. I dont.

Oh by the way, this place has legit 70s punch bowls of beverage. I need more friends because that is happening in my life at some point.-

Moving on. So he gives me a recommendation for a different but also slightly savory option called the fairway. He was smart enough to make sure that savory and cilantro was something I was down for it; I never turn down a bartenders recommendation but I do as, but I saw they had St. George (awesome distillery out of Alameda) so I asked. Not only was his selection pretty rad for me, but we had a good conversation about St George (I won't bore you but I'm pretty into them so this was booze geeky for me) and he also pour me a taste of their green chili vodka.

I feel like Anina, St Georges green chili vodka may come off as a pandering hipster trend, but in fact, it as amazing as it is trying to be.

Definitely on a list a places to revisit.

PS. if you are there when they have Japanese hot dogs...do it. it's terrible. and wonderful. ...

This place is a complete joke. They take themselves way too seriously for what it actually is—an overpriced, overrated spot trying desperately to feel exclusive. Everything is ridiculously marked up: $10 for a basic beer? $78 for a punch bowl that tastes like watered-down juice? You’d expect top-tier service and atmosphere for those prices, but instead, you get pretentious vibes and staff who act like they’re doing you a favor by even acknowledging your presence.

And let’s talk about the so-called “vibe.” There’s a guy who looks like a washed-up surfer—clearly trying to hold onto some long-lost youth—who was beyond rude. He hovered around us all night trying to make us feel like we didn’t belong, despite the fact that we had already dropped a decent amount of money on drinks. His passive-aggressive attitude and weird energy were not only unprofessional but downright pathetic. It’s almost like he gets off on making people feel uncomfortable so he can play gatekeeper at a place that, frankly, isn’t worth guarding.

Save your money and go somewhere that actually appreciates its customers and knows how to run a business without the ego trip. This spot is all hype, no heart, and an overpriced waste of...

Incredibly rude bartender/ manager Lauren who profiled me immediately when I walked in and took a seat, demanding that she see my ID if I wanted to be in the restaurant at all. When I calmly expressed a desire to wait for my friend as I was just getting settled and would show her my ID in a bit, as I had not even looked at the drink menu or expressed an intention to order yet, she demanded that I leave. I expressed discomfort with the way she approached me. And she rolled her eyes, turned her back towards me and walked away. An entire group of individuals walked in at the same time as me, and not a single one was demanded to show their ID within the first minute that they walked in. Of note, non of these individuals were people of color. I am. Would not recommend this establishment, there are several other nicer bars with bartenders in the area who display basic decency and do not profile their customers, moreover in such a rude manner.

If you’re going to demand IDs for customers to even be in the restaurant, do it at the door and expect that from everyone to eliminate bias and overt...