The Little Shamrock: San Francisco
I'm finally feel like I'm back in the swing of things after a much needed vacation to the West Coast. Ryan and I started our trip in San Francisco visiting some old friends we hadn't seen in years. It went by way too fast, as good trips always do, but we had a blast just catching up and checking out some of their favorite bars and restaurants. We're notorious procrastinators so it wasn't too surprising to anyone that we barely slept before our 5am flight because we were up all night packing and getting things ready for our gracious dog sitter. We landed in the early afternoon we headed straight to Arezmendi for a few slices of their daily pizza, then to their apartment for a quick nap. BTW - If you've never been to this employee owned bakery in the Inner Sunset - you must go! It is out of this world.
Still groggy from the trip we decided to explore Golden Gate Park and spent the afternoon meandering around the Botanical Gardens. Everything in the park closed around 5pm so we made our way to a neighborhood bar for a few beers and waited for our friends. Walking out of the park I saw signs for the Little Shamrock, a pub with a sign saying it was 120 years old... We had to go in.
Prior to the trip I'd seen numerous Instagram posts from the National Trust for Historic Preservation about Prop J and legacy businesses and remembered The Little Shamrock was one of them. This prop was designed to create a list of legacy businesses, 30 years or older, that make San Francisco unique and to help these businesses combat the exorbitant rents that have hit this city due to the tech boom. Click here to read more about Prop J. Being a preservationist and small business supporter, this legislation was really exciting.
The Little Shamrock was in fact little but full of charm. The place was a classic dive packed with regulars, but we managed to squeeze in at the beautiful bar that we were told is original to the space. The bar keep seemed to know everyone except us so he went out of his way to make us feel at home. There were backgammon tables, sofas, card tables, and a dart room, BYO darts though or Ryan and I would've been there all night. To my shock beers were also only $3 (cash only). It's hard to find that kind of price anywhere let alone SF. We had a couple of rounds, chatted up some locals about the neighborhood, and then hit the road.
Our friends asked us what we did all afternoon and we let them know we found The Little Shamrock. They were proud we found it; it's their fav neighborhood watering hole as well. I can see why.
So far I've hit The Little Shamrock and the Tonga Room (post coming soon) on the Legacy Bar and Restaurant List created by SF Heritage. If you're in the bay area you should check out the full list and eat, drink, and shop local.
I'm excited to report that Prop J did in fact pass on November 3. Hopefully San Francisco's iconic businesses will be able to be around a while longer.
