The Crafty Fox Ale House — Restaurant in San Francisco

The Crafty fox is a tidy, cozy and lovely pub owned by a few friendly Irish guys. This used to be my favorite neighborhood bar back when I lived in the Mission - unfortunately it's a bit of a distance for me now, but I still stop be for old times sake.

The beer selection is one of the BEST in the city. There are around 34+ beers on tap with a focus on the local craft beer scene - special emphasis on Almanac and Fieldwork. Crafty also has flights according to taste, but I would defer to getting a pint of the knowledgable bartenders recommendations as the flights seem a little over priced.

Craft ambiance is clean, whimsical (a little old world) with a long copper bar top, wooden interior and naked Edison lightbump fixtures. I love the casual, low-key vibe, that can make any patron feel comfortable - especially after a couple of their beers. Pedro, the head chef, used to buy fresh flowers from the farmers market every week - which were a beautiful, bright addition to the bar.

The food is SF pricing but solid all around. You can spend a pretty penny on food if you try to do a full dinner. I always default to the kennebec fries (because few snacks go better with a beer than fries) which are reasonably priced at $6 for their size but I typically chose to eat elsewhere for my entree. Food options in the mission...

This place is usually half empty, so I thought I might use it to read / write since I live across the street.

The bartender was immediately rude and unwelcoming when I walked in, but I continued to be polite throughout our interactions and he eventually relaxed. He also demanded my card before he would accept my order, which I assumed was their policy. Apparently it isn't the case though, because when I walked back to the counter to close out my bill, there was a different guy there and he was confused about why they had my card. I responded "maybe the other guy didn't trust me" and he just made an awkward face but said nothing.

To get to the actual food/drinks, they no longer have mac and cheese (unfortunately). I settled for their French onion soup, an IPA flight, and bread with bone marrow butter just to test the waters. Their soup was sour to the taste and unpleasant going down. Their bone marrow butter was just butter, but the bread was good. I greatly enjoyed one of the IPA's I sampled, but the other 3 just weren't my taste (I imagine others might enjoy them though).

Idk if me being a POC explains the card confusion or the rudeness I experienced, but I wouldn't come back here (mainly because the food was bad, but the rudeness didn't...

While it's sad when a local institution like Woodward Garderns closes its doors after 22 years, it's cool to see a fresh new pub spring up and revitalize this otherwise desolate stretch of the Mission. Grabbed lunch here this past week with a friend and we both enjoyed our meals. He had the fish and chips and said they were solid, recommended if you like that dish. I went with their pastrami sandwich. It was solid as well, though would have liked the pastrami to be grilled or warm; it was served cold on rye. Only real drawback during our meal was that we sat opposite the kitchen and the large party in the next room had apparently ordered everything with bacon added in, so we went home smelling like bacon grease! Not that bad actually.. Their beer selection is tremendous, with some unique options and priced way better than the bastion of pretension that is the Kettle a few blocks away. Recommend checking it out, service was nice and friendly...