One-Michelin-Star Bar Crenn Just Rolled Out the First Cocktail Menu in Its 5-Year History

The changes just keep on coming for chef Dominique Crenn and her portfolio of San Francisco restaurants. On the heels of the unveiling of her newly redesigned restaurant three-Michelin-star Atelier Crenn last month, Crenn now has news for the luxurious bar and restaurant just next door.

According to a press release, Bar Crenn introduced a new food menu to go alongside the bar’s first-ever cocktail list. The cocktail menu comes as the bar has secured a new license that allows for the sale of liquor; fans may remember that when Crenn announced plans for Bar Crenn way back in 2016, she did so by posting a photo of an application for a liquor license that included beer and wine. As such, for the past five years, the bar has focused on wine, beer, and low-alcohol-by-volume cocktails that could be mixed using aperitifs and other non-spirit-based beverages.

John Troxell

John Troxell

Now, almost exactly five years after the bar and restaurant’s opening in 2018, Bar Crenn is rolling out a new menu. The Bar Crenn Snack Menu ($125) includes “five luxurious and playful small bites, both savory and sweet,” all of which are designed to pair with wine, spirits, and cocktails. The bar’s cocktail list comes from Bay Area-based beverage writer and consultant Virginia Miller, longtime San Francisco bartender Christopher Longoria, and the Bar Crenn team. Per the release, the cocktails reflect Crenn’s reputation for “unparalleled presentation and innovative flavor profiles.” As with the food, the drinks will also use ingredients from Bleu Belle Farm in Sonoma, which will be “expressed in housemade juices, teas, fermentations, and distillations.”

The Bar Crenn space also underwent a dramatic redesign thanks to production designer Ethan Tobman, who Crenn met while she was consulting on the darkly humorous satire The Menu. The bar’s new look draws inspiration from Japanese-style listening bars, which are having a renaissance in the Bay Area thanks to similarly designed new bars including Harlan Records, Le Fantastique in Hayes Valley, and the upcoming Yokai from the Gozu team. These days the Bar Crenn space glows under a textured gold ceiling, with warm light woods curving up from behind the back bar. There are only five tables, but there’s also a record player and a wall of shelves stuffed with vinyl records.

In addition to the Bar Crenn Snack Menu, the team will also continue to offer the Le Comptoir Crenn ($300), a splurge-worthy experience during which staff cook a daily-changing menu live in front of six guests at a time. Reservations for both menus can be made on SevenTables.

John Troxell

John Troxell

Jason Bowman

Jason Bowman