If the chilly winter temperatures have you craving a trip to Mexico, take heart. Now you can sample fresh tastes from south of the border right in Cow Hollow. Stop by brand-new Sabrosa on the corner of Fillmore and Greenwich, and cure your winter doldrums with a signature cocktail or Margarita and something unique and spicy from the kitchen. This light-filled bar and restaurant designed by husband-and-wife team Clinton Miller and Parisa O’Connell is sure to become a Triangle fixture.
Sabrosa, which opened in mid-November, is decorated in warm gray accented in teal and gold tones, with one dark walnut wall, and another fashioned from old subway tiles. The floors are traditional tile, and the deep, backlit onyx bar and plenty of tables, communal and otherwise, are welcoming. Come spring, you’ll want to sit at one of the patio tables that will line the restaurant along both Greenwich and Fillmore.
Jose Ramos, former opening chef at Nopalito, helped conceive the menu at Sabrosa, which spotlights sustainable, home-style Mexican cuisine featuring ingredients and recipes inspired by his mother and grandmother.
Just a few of the items on the menu include seared Mayan spice-rubbed rib eye with mashed plantain, Brussels sprouts and escabeche rojo (red sauce); ceviche with lime-cured fish, persimmon, pineapple, pomegranate, picked onions, and chilies; Dungeness crab served with chayote squash, carrot, radish, and chips and guacamole; and a salad of kale, beets, avocado, watermelon, radish, walnuts, shallots, Meyer lemon, and chilies. All of these dishes resound with bright flavors and an intriguing mix of heat and spice. Rather than serving chips with salsa and guacamole, Sabrosa offers up crispy strips of fried tortillas with guacamole and mole sauce; a welcome twist on the old standby.
In addition to international and locally made wine and beer, Matt Stanton, owner of El Dorado Cocktail Lounge in San Diego, has created a bar program featuring ample selections of tequilas and mezcals and seasonal cocktails that include the Pepino Diablo with Blanco tequila, Serrano chili, cucumber, fresh lime, and cracked salt; and the Eterno Llama with jalapeno-infused Blanco tequila, strawberry, orange liqueur, fresh lime, and ginger beer — tart, tangy, and refreshing.
Serving dinner nightly, Sabrosa has plans to offer weekday lunch and weekend brunch soon. Stop in for a cocktail and stay for dinner. It’s a surefire way to get into the holiday spirit.
Sabrosa: 3200 Fillmore Street (at Greenwich), 415-638-6500, www.sabrosasf.com; dinner nightly 5 p.m.–2 a.m. through December; to come: lunch and dinner Monday–Friday 11 a.m.–2 a.m.; brunch weekends 10 a.m.–2 a.m.
