Happy Holidays 🎅
By James Salazar | Examiner staff writer |
1 hr ago
Sam’s Grill is plenty busy during the regular Monday through Friday lunch rush.
But come the holiday season, the venerable 157–year-old Financial District establishment really gets hopping, says owner Peter Quartaroli.
“The thing about this place on the holidays, more than anything, is the vibe,” Quartaroli told The Examiner. “It gets packed. It’s this whole thing where everybody’s just firing away.”
The restaurant, which serves lunch and dinner weekdays but is closed weekends, has its annual traditions. Its bar serves martinis in glasses, whose rims are coated in crushed-candy cane pieces, and also caffè corretto, an espresso drink spiked with grappa, an Italian alcoholic beverage. Quarataroli decorates the dining room’s wood-paneled walls with magnolia wreaths he and his aunt get from the San Francisco Flower Market.
Diners, who come to chow down on cioppino or stuff themselves with Dungeness crab, have their own traditions. Many strive to get a table in one of the restaurant's coveted private booths, which are in a room separate from the main dining room. One family of 30 ranchers each year takes over that entire room for a night. Sam’s staff takes down the collapsible walls between the booths, turning the space into one long private dining room.
“This place is a tradition. We’ve got families that have been coming for years,“ Quartaroli said.
Quartaroli got his first experience with Sam’s crowds about 30 years ago when he worked at the restaurant as a waiter. Ten years ago, when the restaurant was at risk of shutting down, he teamed up with a group of investors to purchase the eatery. He’s since expanded the operation, adding a tavern next door, a glass patio with a retractable roof and sliding doors, and a private dining room on Belden Place that seats up to eight guests.
For much of the year, lunch is the busiest time for Sam’s. The restaurant has two seatings — one at 11:30 a.m. and the other at 1:30 p.m.
During the lunch rush on Mondays through Thursdays, guests in the main dining room can often catch a glimpse of former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who has a table reserved in the corner for him. It features a padded dining chair with a brass plaque on its back that was given to Brown as a gift on his 90th birthday.
Despite being located in the Financial District, Sam’s sees a range of customers, said Dino Keres, a bartender at the restaurant.
“We have regulars, business people, tourists,” Keres said. “Now we’re seeing younger people coming back.”
San Francisco’s venerable Sam’s Grill really gets hopping during the holidays
Greg