STOA

Everything about STOA is amazing!!The food is insanely delicious and well thought out. Each ingredient comes together to make pure magic. Perfect for sharing, which is great because it is impossible to just pick a few things. Cocktails are refined perfection. The staff are all so sweet. Location is beautiful. We always sit outside in their also beautiful (and heated!) parklet for a more mellow vibe and prime dog watching! STOA is a gem and will leave your belly and heart full and happy!

My girlfriends and I came here for an early dinner and drinks, and we had a great time! Food was amazing, every dish was delicious. Needless to say, we had no leftovers. We had the chips, popcorn, lemongrass pork, chicken and waffles (with persimmon slices!), salmon ceviche, lamb tacos (2x), Korean rice cakes. The drinks were great too! I recommend getting here early (when they open at 4pm is ideal!) if you want a table inside. But their dining area outside was nice too, there are heaters to keep you warm.Would love to come back and try other dishes!

5/5 stars! This bar crafts amazing drinks but the food was the highlight of my evening! Every single dish and drink were delicious . My favorites were the salmon ceviche, pork fried rice, Korean rice cakes, and lamb tacos. The popcorn and potato chips had a unique savory flavor which I appreciated too. Shout-out to the executive chef, every item was chefs kiss . I am a gin girlie so the Summit cocktail was perfect: light, refreshing, fruity, not too sweet. This place is a self service bar so you have to grab your own table, utensils, and order at the bar. However, it did not take away from my experience. The staff is fast, friendly and my girls and I had an amazing time. Ps the patio outside is nice, I loved the heated lamps and fresh air. Would def come back again!!!

Really expensive for what it is, especially because the drinks are nowhere near blow-you-away status. Usually when I look at a cocktail menu, I find something in there that excites me, but even with all the options from lower ABV to more "stern" and stiff drinks, I didn't see anything that stuck out. And these are cocktails that range $16-$18. I got the Mad Artist, which smelled really nice and was quite strong, but went down smooth. For food, we did the potato chips ($8), grilled mochi ($16), and tacos ($18). I got some sticker shock looking at the food prices, since for bar food it's quite expensive. There's stuff in there that's $20-$25, but maybe the portion sizes are good.The mochi was unexpected but good. I think the lamb belly taco is a must get. There's a lot going on in textures, and if you're a fan of lamb like I am, the flavor comes through really well along with the freshness of the citrus and herbs. The ordering system is a bit odd. You line up to order at either end of the counter, then they take note of where you're sitting and give you a number so they can deliver your food. But there also isn't one person always on deck taking orders, so sometimes the line can grow kind of long. The food did come fast, and they didn't have trouble finding where we were sitting. At 6, the place was packed. There's a long bar and more space in the back with limited stools. Even the outdoor seating was full. I spotted a couple families, so I guess it's family friendly despite being a bar. A good place if you're looking for a quick drink, but if you want somewhere to sit and hang out for a while, come early.

10/10!! Food - incredible. The rice porridge hit the spot! The mushrooms were well-cooked and the fancy kind, the eggs were perfectly soft-boiled like the kind in Japanese ramen, the chicken was full of flavor, and the rice porridge is cooked in chicken stock so it was also really jam-packed with savory goodness. But the peanuts & popcorn were just aight. Drinks - Every single drink we got was well-balanced, you could taste the ingredients listed in the cocktail, and we were really impressed with the mock tails too. Service- we sat at the bar, and our bartender was so amazing. She was attentive to every detail, always refilling our water, not pressuring us to order more but just checking in, even noticing that my napkin was dirty and replacing it with a clean one. She made the experience so smooth and we felt so taken care of. Heads up, No matter where you sit, you do have to go up to the bar to order. So no waiters come to you, even if you seat yourself at a booth. Ambiance- casual, lively, social, local vibes New fave local bar with bomb food and bomb drinks

Very interesting spot. My friends and I planned to have dinner at another spot but stupid us.... No one checked if they were open or not.This place did not disappoint us though. You ordered at the bar both drink and food. Drinks were kinda not the usual drink but for somehow interesting. Food was nice. Service was not bad.

I've been to Stoa a couple times now and love that I've found a cocktail bar that also doesn't compromise on its food menu. It's rare to be able to get a full, well thought out, sit down dinner at a bar so I'm glad I stumbled upon this place!I love how creative and unique each of its dishes are (and was even more surprised to find that everything is gluten free despite not advertising itself as such). Everything we tried had such unique texture and flavor components to it and you can really tell how thoughtfully planned out each dish was! Some of the dishes were a little more hit or miss, but what surprised me the most was that some of the most unassuming dishes (like the long beans or the little gem salad) were the most impressive and packed with flavor! Others (like the wings or the grilled mochi or the mochi donuts) were a little less impressive, although still interesting and tasty. Of everything we tried over multiple visits, my stand out favorites were the potato chips & dip, the cumin lamb belly tacos, and the tempura squash blossom. My partner loved the rice porridge and the lemongrass bbq pork collar. Overall I loved how creative the menu was here! Lots of experimental dishes you wouldn't be able to find elsewhere, and a very cool cocktail menu as well.

My wife and I have been coming to STOA since they opened and everything is fantastic. The drinks, the food, the staff! Everything feels crafted with intention and thoughtfulness. We always sit outside in their cozy parklettes and have always felt well protected from the street and weather. It's definitely worth a try, I'm confident it'll become your new favorite too. Come hungry and open minded for delicious innovative takes on food and drinks.

STOA has phenomenal drinks! Always good vibes. I heard their food is amazing too, would love to try sometime

More of 3.5 star for food, but still a great bar option for Lower Haight.Food here is elevated bar food, so don't expect it to be light. Potato chips and the miso onion dip was excellent. The chicken wings I thought were mediocre, chicken inside was a bit dry. Lamb fat potatoes were a miss for us, we didn't like the flavor the lamb fat seemed to have imparted to the potato, and I personally didn't love the texture of the potatoes (smashed small potatoes that were crispy on the outside, but because they were small, sometimes that just meant the whole potato was crispy). Also turns out I don't like gochujang ketchup. The cumin lamb belly tacos were my favorite, rich delicious lamb belly with cumin flavor (don't get this if you don't like cumin). Masa fried chicken and waffle was solid, the fried chicken was pretty tender. Sadly they no longer offer the chocolate black sesame cake!