Woodbury — Restaurant in San Francisco

It's Thursday night 8 PM, and my boyfriend is grabbing drinks with his DoorDash coworkers. I am a very recent SF transplant from NY, and after settling into our apt and having a very busy work week, I was so ready to dress up, go out, and grab some drinks on a Thursday night. My boyfriend was concerned and questioned if I really wanted to go out in SF by myself, and I very confidently told him, I am a New Yorker and an extrovert, I am good. And more importantly, I can very skillfully navigate my way around a bar, and even more importantly a wine menu. I got ready in under 10 minutes and my boyfriend dropped me off at Woodbury bar. I walked in and was graciously greeted by the bouncer, and told I could sit where-ever I liked. I walked over to a table, plopped down and set up camp-I had my macbook and Adam Grant's book "Think Again" with me. Anthony, the very new bartender at this bar, walked over to me and with a very friendly and welcoming demeanor, he recommended a fantastic dry rosé to me. I ordered the truffle parm fries and I was already on my way to the best Thursday night. About half way through my first rosé, I noticed how on point the music was at this place-old school hip, like early 2000s. I was immediately sent to my happy place-I mean a great glass of rosé, truffle parm fries, and early 2000s hip hop?! This New Yorker could not lose. Anthony even told me if I am a Street Fighter fan, I could go and play-they had 3 different systems with several controllers. I instantly was 7 years old again, and the nostalgia of my 90s youth hit me-the Sega Genesis, and Street Fighter battles with my cousins (Go Chun-li), and the countless amount of times I must have blown "dust" from the video game cartridge. I was stoked they had this at their bar. After having several chats and pleasant exchanges with Anthony throughout the night, I left that bar not only feeling like I had my new go-to bar in SF, but I also had a new friend in SF. Anthony is a fantastic bartender and is totally that neighborhood bartender who is not only well cultured and knowledgable when it comes to drinks but also super relatable and so chill/down to earth. I resonated with his music taste and his very cool fitted hat spoke to my NY fashion roots-I felt like I was home, at a bar in Brooklyn. He's the guy you want to grab a drink with any day of the week. Run, don't walk and tell Anthony I sent you. Special shout out to Rah, one of the servers...

Been meaning to check out the new kid on the block for a while, especially since I roll past them every day to and from work. Finally dropped in a few weeks ago for a friend's friend's birthday party, and got to check out the space.

Turns out that this is actually run by the same people who run The Alchemist upstairs, which I'm a fan of. And while I didn't try much of the food (took some nibbles from the fries and tots, which were solid), and sort of cheated with the drink (one of the guys I know from the Alchemist made me an off-menu cocktail, since they mostly focus on beer and straight liquor here), I thought Woodbury was a pretty solid space overall, if not a bit on the loud side - whether or not this was because we came in on a game night, I can't say.

A solid three stars, only because I'm a fan of fancy cocktails and places that are a bit more conducive to non-shouting conversations, and Woodbury doesn't cater to that really. If you like something a bit more pub-y though, definitely come check it out.

Accessibility Info

Venue - Plenty of space to maneuver about, until it gets crowded anyway. Unfortunately, from what I recall, all the seating is bar counter height.

Bathroom - Didn't...

I entered the Woodbury which was close to my hotel and looked to have a good menu to see a sign that said please wait to be seated. After being approached by no one, the bartender signaled to me with a smile as I then asked if I could choose any seat to which she cheerily said yes! As I approached a 2 top as I was dining alone, I was shouted at and chased by the bouncer who appeared out of nowhere and asked if I read the sign that I had to wait to be seated. I responded that I had been invited to chose a seat by the bartender and then continued to be treated rudely by said bouncer who then encouraged me to have an amazing time after I presented my id. The waitress was super friendly and I order a medium steak frites which was presented to me not once, but twice as medium rare. Overall- very disappointing. I would not return nor recommend despite the...