Richmond Republic Draught House — Restaurant in San Francisco

Meh.

The place is fairly bare bones, the service isn't great, the food is mediocre, the beer might be the only redeeming factor.

Ambiance - 2 stars. While I love a good, charming dive bar, this isn't that. This is a single room minimally painted and minimally decorated that doesn't communicate any true character.

Service - 3 stars. Not great, not the worst ever. Our server was slow and didn't check in on us, only stopped by to get our order and if we called her back. When she wasn't interacting with customers she was seated in the back drinking a glass of wine and reading, and while I appreciate making the most of down time, a little more attention would have gone a long way. Things were also forgotten... jalapeños on our nachos, bacon on our poutine, etc. Not our server's fault but not great for the service score.

Nachos - 2 stars. One of the more boring plates of nachos I've had. A pile of chips topped with cheese sauce, ground beef, black olives, sour cream, and guacamole. I was disappointed that the toppings were only placed on top of the chips, not layered between them, such that only the top chips had anything on them and the rest were plain. I was also disappointed that the ingredients were dumped in a single location instead of spread across the top. All of the olives were on one side, the guac next to it, the sour cream next to that, and the ground meat on the other side. It meant that each chip either had a TON of one ingredient, or nothing on it. I missed some kind of salsa and I wished the cheese was real, gooey, stringy cheese instead of thin, fake cheese sauce. I did appreciate how crunchy the chips were and they held up to the ingredients, at least, those with ingredients did. Overall, not a satisfying plate of nachos. I definitely wouldn't order them again.

Poutine - 3 stars. I really liked the fries themselves here, almost more so alone than with the toppings. They had that awesome texture on the outside that I don't know how to describe but that I really enjoy. The fries were pretty amply topped with gravy and cheese curds plus scallion, and unlike the nachos, there seemed to be attention paid to spreading ingredients evenly across all the fries. I expected a darker gravy, this one was much lighter in color, but overall, I found this dish fine. A perfectly solid and acceptable offering. I might order it again, depending on my mood.

Wings - 3 stars. As with most wings in SF, the sauce just wasn't right. Far too watery, it puddled on the plate instead of sticking to the wings. The wings were also quite thickly breaded, as if with panko. On the bright side, the portion size was plentiful and the wings themselves were on the larger side with plenty of meat. Additionally, the wings were properly served with both carrots and celery, as well as blue cheese. I probably wouldn't order them again, but they momentarily satisfied my craving.

Local tip: beer and wine only here, and based on selection,...

Living in union square its hard to make it outside of your familiar bubble. Really wherever you are from in SF its hard to leave that area for much of anything. But thanks to yelp and a free spirit I decided to explore the inner Richmond and it turned out to be a great decision. Republic is a great little bar located on Clement. This are some great establishments like Internos and Burma Superstar and some of the best crepes you will ever eat so you should give those a shot as well. Once inside Republic you are greeted with a main bar and a ton of beer glasses and wine glasses. The theme is very much beer here but if you want to take a shot at the wine there is a small list if you ask for it. The atmosphere was really great. The place was packed but you could still get a table if you had a good eye and patience. The lighting was something I also remember as being fun and decently bright. You don't have to feel like you are going into a dungeon to have a good time and I like that about this place. Once you go past the bar there is more seating and tvs to watch any game your heart desires. There are some stairs that lead up to another drinking area. This part can be rented out so there was a group celebrating up top. Really this set up is similar to a ton of different places in SF. Think Tunnel Top, HopWater, or Era Art Bar. The drinks were great, the people inside were fun and seemed to be having a good time. The music set a pleasant background. More than anything it didn't feel busy. Some places just make you feel like you are doing too much to grab a drink. This place was just relaxing enough to actual sit down and enjoy a drink. Sometimes you don't need the glitz and glitter to have fun time drinking. Checkout this place if you are ever in the...

My friends and I were hungry after attending NightLife at the California Academy of Sciences. After debating where we could go, we decided on trying out the Draught House.

I ordered the grilled chicken sandwich with a side salad and a glass of red. My roommate's boyfriend, who thoroughly enjoyed the cocktails at NightLife, ordered the poutine with steak. My roommate ordered the mac and cheese. I really enjoyed the chicken sandwich. The chicken wasn't dry at all, and went well with the pesto mayonnaise. I wish the menu stated there was mayo, especially pesto mayo because I tend to be allergic to pine nuts, but I'm glad I got it anyway. My roommate's boyfriend still raves about the poutine so I'm going to have to come back and try it!

And service was fast and friendly. We got there closer to 10pm and we weren't rushed out.

Like many of the new places in the city, the decor is industrial with wood and iron. It's a bit hipster, but I can see that it will feel like a neighborhood bar as it ages. The televisions had several games on, so it's a great place to watch a game with friends while you...