Fine dining is a pleasure, but for some, dressing up and spending a pretty penny on a restaurant meal may not be affordable or even appealing. This may explain the rising popularity of “gastropubs” or urban taverns – casual spots where you can grab a drink and a bite, with an emphasis on eclectic cocktails and high quality, few-frills food.

The Brixton on Union Street fits the bill. This bustling bistro-cum-pub is named for the Brixton locale in London, a multi-ethnic community with a musical history and known for being the unofficial capital of the English African-Caribbean community. San Francisco’s Brixton features flat screen televisions, vintage music posters, and a high volume, rock ’n’ roll soundtrack. This is not the place for an intimate meal, and the service can be slow at times, but for bar snacks or an informal lunch, brunch, or dinner, the Brixton has lots to offer.

The lunch and dinner menus share several salads. Among the standouts are the roasted Bosc pear salad with mixed baby greens, candied walnuts, and blue cheese crumbles, tossed with walnut-Champagne vinaigrette; and for a meal of a salad, the cornmeal-fried chicken salad with skinless seasoned fried chicken thigh atop chopped romaine, green beans, cherry tomatoes, and sliced watermelon radish, all tossed with a jalapeno-bacon buttermilk dressing. Lunchtime sandwiches include an open-faced tuna melt, a classic French dip, and a shredded barbequed pork sandwich topped with house-made coleslaw – all come with a green salad or fries. Sides include not only garlic or sweet potato fries, but also a “mash-up” of both.

“Mains” for dinner feature a half chicken with chicken-sausage stuffing, pork confit, steelhead salmon, skirt steak, and ricotta gnocchi. And of course, the Brixton Burger (also served at lunch): grass-fed beef on an Acme pain de mie bun with balsamic red onions, lettuce, tomato, and cheddar cheese.

Desserts are rich and homey, like the warm gingerbread served with a poached pear, sea salt caramel, and crème fraîche ice cream; a chocolate brownie sundae; apple pie with housemade bourbon-gingersnap ice cream; and a local Humphry Slocombe ice cream or sorbet.

Those who drop by between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. can choose from the Brixton’s late-night menu featuring appetizers such as “demoned” eggs topped with fresh Dungeness crab, bacon, aioli, shallots, celery, parsley, and chives; warm French onion dip; a black tiger prawn cocktail; grilled flatbread pizza; and tacos. Several salads and main course are available as well.

For brunch, the Brixton sticks to mainstays ranging from house-made granola and yogurt, Irish steel-cut oatmeal, cinnamon raisin French toast, and buckwheat pancakes, to steak and eggs and the Brixton Benedict (with slow-roasted pork shoulder in place of ham) served with hollandaise, salsa verde and home fries. Salads and sandwiches are also on the menu.

Naturally, the Brixton also features a decent wine and beer selection and plenty of custom cocktails. Try a gin-basil rickey with Hendricks gin, muddled basil, lime juice, and soda water; or the Brixton Manhattan with Bulleit bourbon, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, and a splash of Fernet Branca.

The Brixton is open seven days a week and is also available for special parties or corporate events.

The Brixton: 2140 Union Street (between Fillmore and Webster); daily 11 a.m.–1 a.m., Saturday–Sunday brunch 11 a.m.–3 p.m.; 415-409-1114, www.brixtonsf.com