The Monk's Kettle
Categories: Bars, Restaurants [Edit]
Neighborhood: Mission3141 16th St
(between Albion St & Valencia St)
San Francisco, CA 94103 (415) 865-9523
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 12:00 p.m.-2:00 a.m.
Sat-Sun 11:30 a.m.-2:00 a.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner, Late Night
- Best Nights: Tue, Wed, Thu
- Happy Hour: Yes
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
- Smoking: No
- Coat Check: No
173 reviews
Neighborhood: Mission
"This is one of my favorite restaurants in the city...I've been going here for years and every time I am more and more pleased with it. It's…" read more »
302 Reviews for The Monk's Kettle
I hate you and your overpriced beer and your uncomfy seats and the people at the table next to me who won't stop staring, and the waitress who apparently forgot that I exist. Just thought you might want to know...
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I came here with a friend upon another friend's suggestion. Our dates for the evening were quite enthusiastic about the beer selection and I had the opportunity to try some of the different kinds offered. I'm not a beer fanatic, and they all tasted the same to me. Hm.
After moseying our way down from a saloon up the street, we were lucky enough to get a table. Service seemed to be a bit slow, but it was decently busy there. I ordered the filet mignon, which was one of their specials for the day. They cooked my steak bloody rare like I requested, and the actual meat was delicious. I think the server mentioned that it was local organic. I ate every little morsel on my plate, yum yum.
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I've been to this place three times. The last time was just a couple weeks ago - a friend was taking me out for a belated b-day dinner.
First off - great beer selection - but that goes without saying. Friendly staff - good job there - always willing to chat about the beers and I've always gotten good service.
I can't remember what I got the very first time I went Monks Kettle - must have partook of the beer a bit too much. But the second and last time I was there I got a pulled pork sandwich.
The previous time, the sandwich was very tasty with jicama slaw on the side. I didn't want to take any chances so I ordered the same thing a couple weeks ago - wow - I think someone must have been smoking bowls in the kitchen because it was a completely different sandwich - runny, drippy, BBQ pork - almost like sloppy-joe. When I took a bit of the sandwich the filling oozed out the sides - messy-ass meal indeed.
Also disappointing was the bread pudding. It was very dry. Probably been sitting in the fridge for a few days. I had to gulp about 4 cups of coffee to get half of it down. I left the rest of it for the dishwasher.
Lastly, the place is a bit cramped and I had the chair side of a duece which was adjacent to the aisle. I got bumped in the head repeatedly by people going by.
If you go there, be sure to score the window seat, don't order the bread pudding, and hopefully the cooks in the kitchen wait until after their shift to smoke the fatties....
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I ordered the mac n cheese which turned out to be very bland. The toasted bread crumbs added a nice touch...now if only I could have tasted the cheese.
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I'm giving 5 stars for the food, beer selection and knowledgeable staff. If I could give a seperate rating for crowd and crowd control, I'd give a 1. The chef here knows his stuff and the beer pairings are spot on. The fact that there is a "Grandpa's suds" section is a bit off putting. A cathedral to beer should not pay homage watered down piss beer. I feel it draws away attention to what this place truly is; that is a mecca for well crafted cuisine paired with artisanal beers. Pabst Hipster Ribbon and the like add nothing to the experience of rack of lamb. But I digress. This place is tip top if you can get in before the clueless crowds stand over you as if to ask if you are finished yet.
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Finally! 16th and Albion has a restaurant it can hang on to. The beer menu here is certainly impressive. Unfortunately I thought I was ordering a $4.50 glass of lambic, but it turned out that 4.5 was the alcohol percentage and not the price. Thus I got a rude awakening when my lambic cost more than my meal, a whopping 17 dollars. Not to mention my hamburger was extremely dry, so all in all, I wasn't that stoked when we got the bill for 71 bucks (two beers, two hamburgers, and lambic, which apparently is worth it's weight in gold) Although the ambiance is quite pleasant and the friendly wait staff will bring you samples of beer they think you'll like, you better be prepared to spend a fair amount for what you get. Maybe just don't try to have a nice cheap date there on a Tuesday. You might end up chanting 'credit and forget it!' as you walk out the door as we were last night. 4 stars because I have a feeling I'll try it again and love it. It's all about ordering smart. (read: no lambic, hamburger medium rare)
Beer connoisseur? The Monk's Kettle is your ticket to get out of Mission's same-face bar scene, and opt for a little culture with delicious beers from around the world complete with beer-friendly pairing of food with of course, an SF uppity twist. I want to hate this place but I absolutely loved the atmosphere, decor, wait staff, food and... did I mention the beer? Will be back, absolutely; be warned, this places by nature requests more buck for your bang given its intention for beer enjoyment and appreciation versus beer suck-facing and drowning, but I think it is totally worth it and great when you have out-of-towners looking for a chill place to talk, eat tid-bits and drink.
Not so much. Its overpriced for what you get. The salad was a bowl of dressing with a slice of lettuce and 4 small tomatoes. The cheese plate was minimal. They have a huge selection of beers and should just stick with that.
Mediocre, overpriced food. But the tap and bottle list is very, very good. Much better ambiance than Toronado. Great place to get a couple of quality beers with a friend who appreciates good ales (or lagers, for that matter).
What an awesome beer list! Drinks are 5-star, Food and service are 4-star and crazy-loud-acoustics is 3-star.
Before I get started I'm going to admit this right now: I'm from Philadelphia where I am blessed to have dined many times at Monk's Cafe which is rated one of the best Belgian restaurants in the country and one of the best bars for beer selection in the world. When I see a restaurant with Monk's in the name I immediately assume that I will experience something similar to my beloved hometown joint, but unfortunately that isn't always true.
I consider myself a beer enthusiast and when I learned of Monk's Kettle I knew I had to check it out. At first glance of the food menu I was surprised that one of the most important items on a Belgian menu was missing - mussels. Disappointment aside, I picked up the beer list to get a footing on their selection. I was thoroughly impressed by the draft selection.. around 20 beers including a lot of locals and several Belgians. I ordered a double-IPA and went back to figuring out what to eat. For it's location I found MK's menu to be extremely overpriced. A burger will set you back $11 without toppings with an outrageous $2 for mushrooms, $1 for caramelized onions and more for cheese, etc. My date's burger came out to about $14 with toppings. I opted for the pulled-pork sandwich.
The food arrived rather quickly which was impressive considering the place was full. The burger was presented on an incredibly nice looking sesame seed bun, but we were unimpressed with how small the patty was; extremely thin, a quarter-pound, maybe. The burger itself with mushrooms, onions and blue cheese was incredibly delicious though, great seasoning and cooked to the correct temperature. My pulled-pork came on an extremely soft (almost too hard to pickup) foccacia roll but the sauce was delicious. We were a little upset about the fries, they weren't so much frites and didn't taste like they were handcut.
With a decent food experience you might ask why I gave the 3-star score. The real reason is price. $14 for a burger of that size is unheard of, especially in that area of the Mission. On top of that I was very disturbed by the pricing on the beer list. Our waiter who was very helpful in the beer department suggested I try Russian River's Pliny the Elder double-IPA so we ordered a 500ml bottle with two glasses for $11.50. The beer was delicious but here's the problem. Last night I was in both Whole Foods and Healthy Spirits and found a 500ml bottle of Pliny the Elder for $3.79. Never in my life have I seen a restaurant mark up a single bottle of beer that much. Other beers on the menu reflected the same extremely marked up pricing scheme. I know I'm going to catch flak from fellow Yelpers who will tell me that these beer stores buy much larger quantities of the beer, etc., etc. but with Pliny the Elder which is brewed in very small batches that simply is not true.
I called the restaurant to express my concern about their pricing and the manager assured me that "that's just the restaurant business man, all alcohol gets a 300% markup". He went on to tell me how Pliny the Elder is a very limited beer and the owners of Monk's Kettle price it high to try to keep it in the bar as long as possible. I found this to be funny considering Russian River explicitly has copy all over the bottle urging you to drink the beer as close to the bottling date as possible because double-IPAs don't age well.
My anal kvetching aside, if you don't mind spending some money and have an interest in trying beers from around the world, check out Monk's Kettle. Me? I'm going to stick to buying my beers from the amazing selection at Healthy Spirits on Castro for 300% less. Ha!
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i can't believe the selection of beer at this place!! the beer menu is about 10 pages long and nicely organized by categories: draft, bottled, belgian, lambic, IPAs, etc, etc. the staff is knowledgable and can suggest beers for you if you know what type you like. they will also give you a taste, which comes in a mini-stein. i told the bartender that i liked hooegarden, which they have bottled, but i wanted to try something similar on tap. she gave me a taste of a white beer from maine, which was really good, so i got a glass of that. for food, i got the salmon sandwich, which came w/ a side of fries. for dessert, the four of us shared the choc hazelnut bread pudding, which was not overly sweet and came piping hot. food was typical, but you really come for the beer, and my friends and i were not disappointed.
I like beer the way most Californians like wine and the Monk's Kettle has the best beer selection in town. The staff is extremely friendly and knowledgeable and the food (mostly organic and free-range) is excellent. I particularly like coming in late at night on a week night when it isn't too crowded. And yes, it's a bit pricey, but it's completely worth it.
The beer list alone is what warrants a 4 star rating from me. The food is pretty good, but there are plenty of places with comparable eats (though the giant pretzel rocks!) Aside from Toronado, this place takes the cake for beer selections in the city. I see lots of reviews about crowding there. Fortunately I've never had an issue. The crowd is pretty diverse, but can get a little too yuppie for my taste...
Finally a decent pub in the WHOLE BAY AREA! Since moving here from Boston (a REAL beer connoisseurs paradise), I've yet to discover a nice pub to eat at with good pub food and a challenging tap list!
I spoke with the owners of this place when they first opened and I guess they lived in Boston for a while themselves and are familiar with the benchmark for quality pub food and a SERIOUS tap list, the Sunset Grill and Tap in Allston (110 taps, 400 bottles).
I'm glad they have come out to the bay area to provide a bit of pub/beer education to this city and to show an area inundated with wine bars another path of flavors in the varieties and complexities of quality tap beer. Good stuff guys. Keep up the tap rotation and the great menu!
monday, 8/18 at approximately 12:30pm. we enter monk's kettle. the bartender greets us and invites us to sit anywhere we please. two other patrons at the bar. martha stewart televised on the flat screen. whaat? i decide to stay despite the ex-con/homemaker. love the booths and the wood carved bar.
i had a bottle of la fin du monde, wedge of iceberg slathered with chunky blue cheese dressing and sprinkles of smokey bacon. i don't use the word slathered much, which tells me it was good. i also had the soup of the day...chilled avocado with tomato relish. it was so fuckin good, linda blair would've kept this in her system. we shared an order of fries...fries were crispy thin. their homemade ketchup would make heinz cry.
i had a pint (two?) of oaky bastard which was on their long list of drafts.
leave me in this kettle and let me stew.
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Monk's Kettle is a cleaner, friendlier, quieter version of the Toronado. Somehow that's totally shocking given the location - it's not exactly an area of town known for upscale neighborhood pubs with good grub.
Wonderful selection of beers. Great service. Tasty food. Not too crowded.
Just pretty awesome all around.
The Monk's Kettle, where their slogan is "The Most Crowded Place on Earth, but since we have all kinds of booze that we know you REALLY REALLY want, you have to deal with it. So, don't be a little baby."
Come early. Try the Gnarly Wine by Lagunitas Brewing Company.
Although I thought it was a bit pricey, it actually was pretty much worth it.
Beers - sooooooooo many! And yummers!
The food - Onion soup needed some flavor, mac and cheese was tasty if a bit too runny for my taste, and the wedge salad was amazing and surprisingly filling with quite the portion of blue cheese dressing...
Order less than you think you'll need, the food fills you up FAST and then you almost, ALMOST don't have room for your tasty beer.
Overall loved it though, comfortable surroundings, and you can watch the neverending amusement that is foot traffic on 16th street go by if you get a window seat:-)
This place is comforting on a cold summer day in SF.
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One word captures this place: impressive.
The beer menu is extensive. When I say extensive I mean HUNDREDS of beers. Prices range from your typical $4-$6 beer to a $60 bottle of beer for the elite beer pallet (and wallet). Tons of imported beer populate the list, and the waiters are very helpful if you tell them what type you're looking for.
The food is gastro-pub style. Lots of traditional American style dishes. My favorite menu item is the BBQ pulled pork sandwich. If you're just nibbling get one of the cheese platters; they go surprisingly well with the beer.
Through and through this is a great addition to the neighborhood. Sit for a drink, eat your yummy food, or spend long hours doing both, and I'm sure you will find this place welcoming and succulent!
A+ beer, A - burgers. Limited menu, nothing creative, but if you want highbrow beer, this place is better than most.
Unfortunately, I've never found a seat other than the rickety stools in the back, even pretty late on a weeknight. It's not the comfortable place that it seems like it should be.
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lamb burger = tasty
temperature of lamb = well done ( i asked for med rare ) wtf
taste = good
fries = thumbs up
ketchup = mucho good
beer selection = mucho mucho good (i had the alaskan summer ale )
bartender = very knowledgeable and you may ask about what and i say beer bitch!
service = efficient and non-intrusive
stars = 3.785482
don't understand why temperatures get asked when it comes out well done any way? by the way its 3am right now and i can't sleep because i had some of that strong ass but tasty good coffee they serve.
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The beer list is extensive and good. However, the beer prices are outrageous. You must either be susceptible to peer pressure, drunk, or ignorant of beer purveyors in SF to come here. I'm a big fan of Westmalle but why would I pay $14 for a glass here when the same thing in bottle form can be purchased for $6? (and no, I will not divulge where).
The food is okay. Tasty and filling but nothing special to be worth coming here to eat for.
Place was surprisingly small. So get here early.
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After a briefing with the group, a unanimous thumbs up and we all decided this place deserves 5.5 stars for:
-The friendly waiter who offered our group the seating in the back corner, and on top of that, he did not neglect us even though we were tucked away from everyone else.
-Extensive beer selection. I gravitated towards the pale beer and had the Tripel Karmeliet, which had a spicy and sweet finish; and the blueberry wheat fruit beer- which the waiter described it to taste like the Fruity Pebble cereal. It was very fruity smelling, but I'm not so sure if it truly tasted like cereal.
-The chalk board in the back where we doodled as the night went on.
The space was somewhat small, with a narrow walkway bypassing the bar, leading to the back. Probably not best for groups larger than 5+, but you'll definitely have fun here!
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Went there with a group of four people this past weekend for a late lunch.
Was very impressed with their beer selections (go to their website to check them out). Our group tried the Petrus Old Bruin, Ellie's Brown Ale by Avery and Stone 12th Anniversary Ale. All were on tap. Their bottled selections were also superb.
This is definitely more of a lunch/small dinner atmosphere than a bar setting, but they did have a small bar as well. They had beer pairings with each menu item as well which was quite handy. The server seemed to be busy, but was very attentive and responsive. Service the entire time was very fast.
Food was actually really tasty. I had the skirt steak which was very flavorful and tender. My buddy had the chicken pot pie which was one of the best I've tried. Price was reasonable.
Highly recommended if you are in the Mission District of San Francisco!
It's a good option for the next time I have people who are into beer visiting town. I thought the food was good, and you get a good view of the grill from the bar. Early on this summer evening, it had the right level of spaciousness and activity to feel comfortable despite the slightly uncomfortable bar stools. I didn't think the place was pretentious like some have said, although clearly the bartenders know and care about their brews. It felt effortlessly neighborhoody not hipster.
Good choice of wines - love the Sauvignon Blanc.! Also, good spinach salad. I was craving one that day and it really hit the spot!
My veggie burger was pretty damned good, but not worth 11 dollars. ELEVEN dollars! Is the dollar really doing that bad?
I even asked for a $1.50 slice of cheese on my burger. I couldn't help it.
Oh yeah, the beer. It was good, but places with this many beers always stink of pretension.
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I'm kind of torn on this place so I'll split the difference with three stars.
About five years ago after I first heard about Sam Adams utopias I jokingly told my friends "Beer is the new wine". Monks kettle proves me right but not in a good way.
A group of people decided to meet up there so I looked at the menu online and read the yelp reviews. I was so ready to hate this place.
There is no getting around the fact that this place is pretentious. The door man shows you where to stand; you can't even get on the waiting list for a table until your entire party arrives. They don't seem to know if they want to be a high end beer bar or a high end Bistro.
I started with the cheapest Belgian they had, it was supposed to be an eight ounce portion that was served in a red wine glass. It was a decent beer served way too cold and I got at best six ounces.
The only two positive things I can say about this place is that the servers are extremely friendly and there is actually a decent beer selections if over priced.
If they offered the Belgians at the right temperature and had used hand pumps at least they'd be what they pretend to be.
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D list Celebrity citing... Ryan from Top Chef Season 4! Even cuter in person was there with his mum and what looked to be a chef buddy (but could potentially been his bf?) All and all, yum. A friend and I spend a good part of Sunday late afternoon/evening here at the bar. The bartenders were friendly, knowledgeable and kind. We also had the pretzel which was delicious and the lamb burger - good but not great, a little heavy on the mint. This was my second visit and both were very good.
4 stars for the beer - and the helpful bartenders who encourage you to taste their weird beers and find ones you really like. They listen to examples of what you like and make real recommendations, not just "such-and-such is very trendy." Open for lunch, which is a good option if you are prepared to drink beer in the afternoon. Crowded to madness with day-trippers on weekend nights. The food is clearly lower priority than the beer, but its a solid californian effort, not greasy, and not too heavy (save more room for the beer). Snacks are good, the lamb burger is nice and fresh, and the salads, well, are fine. Good place to take your folks for lunch on a friday, or get an early drink.
I think I've had the best service from a bartender in a long time (from Brad). Great guy, loves beer ;) Excellent ambience - small place overall (think 1 unisex restroom). But they will not admit ppl into the bar if it starts to get full. A great PLUS! I ate the pretzel with homemade cheddar ale sauce and stone ground mustard. It came out piping out (like burn my fingers hot!!) YUM! Great IPAs.
Minus 1 star for no liquor!
d-List Celebrity Sighting #2 - Dale from Top Chef season 4. Apparently that season's cast is into this place.
i'm pretty sure i've reviewed the monk's kettle before, but as it is the business i most frequently.... frequent... in this city, i'll tell you again.
the beer is great, and the draft selection changes every time i go in.
the food is epic. i recently discovered the lamb burger. jesus christ.
and the bartenders are sometimes extremely attractive, and always extremely attentive.
a pluses all around.
I'm finding myself here a lot lately. Uncomfortably small but unexpectedly classy in the heart of dirty hipster Mission. The impressive four-page beer menu intimidates me into ordering the same few beers every time. Food and drinks are pricey but you usually get what you pay for. I approve.
It took me a while to find this place. It's across the little side-road from Delirium.
Although we were there on a Thursday evening, it was pretty full. We had to ask the guy at the door to add us to the waiting list for a table, and we sat at the bar for about 20 minutes before a table was available.
All the beers there are obscure ones. I asked the bartender for "something like Stella", and she brought me a couple of candidates in tiny beer glasses to try. Nice.
The beer was good. The food was pretty good. The service was good. I'd go again.
Good beer selection and a clean joint, however a bit small. Nonetheless, a nice change from the grungy run of the mill in the Mission.
Great beer selection and good food - menu is small, but interesting. Minus one star for the prices which are on the high side. And mInus a star for the spotty service - I've been here several times and sometimes they don't have enough waitstaff - the bartender is working overtime to do it all, but they need to get more help. Plus one star for bringing a nice, relaxed restaurant to 16th street. Overall 4 stars.
Don't be foolish enough to eat the beer food at wine prices here. If you want a $12 burger, you're better off at a place that have a menu full of burgers instead of beer. Come here after you've gorged on the cornucopia of cheap eateries around the Mission and spend the rest of your money on quality beers.
Something about the psuedo-wine bar layout with its cupped candles and IKEA looking furnishings greatly annoys me. If not for the inherited cramped quarters of a hole-in-the-wall lineage, the Kettle rings more true for the Marina than the Mission. But after a good belgian beer your scrutinizing, unflinching vigilance for neighborhood purity will dull and take on a bypartisan stance. Have you ever had a beer that reminds you of tea? How about a beer that tastes like vinegar and you actually enjoy this acquired taste? All the nonsense with the cutesy decor aside, the kettle brims with unique beers you'd be hard pressed to find under one roof anywhere else.
Pretentious? Yes, this place is pretentious as far as its appearance goes. The beers are of their own rite and remain unmolested by the misguided notions of the head monk. Judge the beers by the contents of their bottles and not by the house in which they are served. After all, we are beer drinkers, we don't mess around with cuteness, we are about taste, and for a good taste, we're willing to put up with bad taste.
P.S. if anybody out there knows the owner/abbot, can you please tell him or her to give us what we all expect, a monastery. Cold wet stones and mildewy wood beams. Abbot if you make it happen, I'll come worship more often. Promise.
came here for the second time a couple of weeks ago with a buddy. ordered some wine (it was good - but i forget the name). we also ordered the special - mac & cheese w/ lobster bits in it. really it was just a chuck of lobster meet in the center. sure it was good, but it was $22. i need to come back again. it's a cool little place.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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05/13/2008
would like to come here more often for after work pints and a bite to eat with the guys, but it's… Read more »
One of the better beer venues I've been to, with very intelligent and knowledgeable staff. I was looking for something "interesting," not smoke-beer interesting, but something you wouldn't expect out of a beer. Our waiter recommended a Flanders Belgian Brown Ale which uses a wild yeast and tastes something like a used sock mixed with sourdough. Surprisingly delicious, and well above my interesting mark. He recommended 4 beers, all unknown winners.
I will be going back for sure.
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