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Categories: Hotels, Lounges, American (Traditional) [Edit]
Neighborhood: SOMA
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Beautiful bar. Nice wine selection. Lots of travelers. Incredible service.
This is the kind of place where you go after a long day of meetings and sit at the bar in your sexiest workwear and get picked up by a man traveling on business who will happily buy you a house in Marin and a condo in Paris in exchange for you sharing your conversation that evening.
No? Well, it's the kind of bar that makes you fantasize. :)
The wine is uber pricey. Know that going in, and limit yourself until that expense account shows up.
I love the ambiance! Dark wood, dim lighting with furniture that add to this mysterious yet charming vibe. Imagine a setting with men in business suits, narrow ties and tilted hats accompanied by cocktail-sipping women, circa 1960s: a scene stolen from Mad Men. (I have quite the imagination!)
But don't let that fool you, it's a mix crowd! Suit not required!!
Unfortunately I've been here on nonalcoholic occasions (aka business meetings). Luckily it's not on my personal dollar, it's a little pricey. The food is pretty good, I usually stick to the salads. Food arrives quickly and nicely presented. The service is great, servers keep an eye on our table and check in without interrupting.
I have yet to go during happy hour, I'll be sure to wear a fancy hat to fulfill my imagination (or I'll just pretend it's there).
So I don't go to the Palace Hotel to sleep..I only come here to drink. It's kind of hidden, but I prefer to rest my head not in an actual hotel room -- but a bar -- that's cozily hidden in the hotel.
There are doors at the Market Street entrance. Walk in, walk pass the mirror and down the hall a little bit and it'll be to your right.
It's grandiose. And dark. And sexy.
It is where attorneys bring their secretaries to discuss "post - work" matters.
It is where stockbrokers gather to talk about trading -- and we ain't talking about trading cards.
It is where the struttin' girls are tastefully admired by men sitting at the bar.
It is where class meets high class .. meets .. some ass.
It is where you can score a fabulous lychee martini. And great bar snack food like pretzels and peanuts and those green wasabi bad boy balls.
My mistake for not looking at a wine list (we were not offered one, either), but from where I come from, when you order a glass of a house red or white, it's typically coming in at under ten bucks, and that's a stretch.
My colleague and I were here the other day for lunch, order a glass each -- our server didn't think to ask us if we were fine paying $16 and $17 respectively, which is what she just assumed we wanted when we asked for a "glass of the pinot and one sauvignon blanc." I've been to Maxfield's at happy hour and purchased an entire bottle for under $45, so this did come as a shock.
I realize that sometimes the buyer should beware and all, but that's just a ridiculous mark-up. Am I right, or am I right? I mean the St. Regis and Four Seasons have wines that are less than that by glass. I've been lured by the pied piper for too long!
This is the quintessential old boys expense account lunch spot. Or it should be. Or maybe it once… Read more »
Here is the deal.
This must have been the place where the classic gin martini was concocted.
Atmosphere:
You don't need a suit and tie to enjoy these libations although you would not be out of place if you had one on. It's come one, come all at this bar. This seems like a place Hemingway would like to sip a mojito. This place is perfect for after dinner drinks with company or without.
Price:
Not bad considering what you get. The drinks are amazingly mixed and the food is not your typical bar menu. You can get a great gourmet burger with a cocktail for around $25.
Parking:
Muni and Bart stops right out front. There is also street parking and garages all around this part of the city.
WHO KNEW, and WHO CARES, right?
I'm the second reviewer for one reason only: NO local would think to be buried inside the Palace Hotel.
Well, my friend from out of town happened to be staying there. The plan was to watch the Lakers Game at Dada. But we had to bounce: too crowded. too stinky.
So we ended up in no-man's land at Pied Piper....
Totally low-key.
Hotel / older crowd.
They have a bar menu.
They have TVs! LAKERS AND THE YANKEES at the same time!, omg.
A decent place to chill while the crazy happy hour dies down everywhere else.
Two last bits of commentary...
I swear I spotted John Voight.
BOOOOO on the Lakers!
The Pied Piper Bar is my favorite hotel bar in the city. While I reviewed "The Palace" as a hotel- there are few more comfortable spots to have a generous, well made cocktail than here.
I enjoy meeting people, and what place better than a nice hotel bar? The bartenders are friendly, yet professional. Very muted lighting which I find appealing, and a mixed crowd which is a refreshing change from the club scene. Being a "wine ho", I especially liked the fact that they have a decent list, as I sat sipping "Sofia Blanc de Blanc" by the glass. The bar menu of appetizers was a surprise- one better than the next.
Next time I'll get a whole bottle. Or two.
I hereby dub myself the Dive Bar Ambassador to the Hotel Bar Circuit crowd.
This also starts out with the following epiphany...apparently, whenever I am within four blocks of 2nd and Market, during daylight, I become a raging alcoholic.
But I digress...within four blocks of the epicenter of my weekday-drinking-while-the-sun-is-still-out-univer se there are a bevy of places to get your drink on. Some rougher around the edges* as well as some that are the exact opposite...meaning the Hotel Bars. Normally, due to ill formed preconceived notions of the patrons of both, the denizens of one do not usually cross-over to the other side, i.e. the groups and bars are normally mutually exclusive. I think this is a shame because both are really missing out so...this is where I come in. I feel at home in both worlds and so I believe I can help both the Dive Bar Dweller person ("DBD") and the Hotel Bar Haughty person ("HBH") by putting forth reviews like the following for Maxfield's. Call me something of social silly putty that wants to bring people together!
At Maxfield's:
The HBH crowd is just as self absorbed in their own groups or their drinks as any party or patron of any DBD's bar. Meaning they have the same interest to take a load off from their day off meetings or work and are just happy to have a good drink with some friendly peeps. So what that most are dressed in suits and cashmere...many are not too. Often I found some of the wealthiest people I know are the most casually dressed...therefore...anybody actually fits in and doesn't feel ostracized.
The décor is straight up what you'd expect a top notch hotel bar. Great wood. Comfortable seats. A strikingly beautiful bar with the signature painting overhead. There are both small tables and plenty of bar space. The area can hold a lot of people! Essentially thing a very well designed tall roofed rectangle. Just beautiful.
The drinks...well..I always get Grey Goose or Belvedere rocks..so impossible to mess up. For $10 I get a very large drink. I'll take this any day over the Sutter Station $8 for same that is half the size! So you'll get a generous drink...now I've been with people who got house cocktails and they were neither impressed nor disappointed. So I'd say hit or miss there.
The intangibles: nice to see only two small TVs...I'm here to chat w/ my peeps or to have a nice drink out with a good friend ...not to watch TV. The service is spot on. It is always easy to get someone's attention and they are crazy courteous. You may need to schmooze a little to get a table if it is busy...but whatever. Lastly, I love the snacks. Three choices of munchies that are definitely worlds better than popcorn!
So, all in all, the only real differences for the DBD visiting the Hotel Bar, and specifically Maxfield's, is that it is brighter, cleaner, and has better munchies. The people are essentially the same but just in different outfits. Diversity in any environment is the most desirable quality. So I encourage the Dave's, Sutter Station, Louie's, Dada crowd to mix it up a bit and grab a drink here...you'll get the crème de la crème of the classic Hotel Bar that SF has to offer.
* Please see my Yelp review of Sutter Station at http://www.yelp.com/bi...
THE go-to place for a sophisticated, yet relaxing cocktail experience. The atmosphere is pure old-school San Francisco, dark, woody, old-world classic.
Joel is my favorite bartender. He has a really good sense of pace and knows when to leave people alone and when to ask if you want a replenishment. His martinis are perfectly done!
This is the best bar in the City to meet friends or business associates for a well-made cocktail.
Bonus: food is excellent. The burger is one of the best in the City!!
So here's another reason to stay at the palace hotel....They've got one of the coolest little hotel bars around. With its dark red wood paneled bar and dim lighting, this place has class and character. It's a stark contrast from the bar at the W, where we stopped by earlier in the night. As a metaphor, think.... sophisticated old man in a suit quietly sipping his scotch while contemplating all the years that have passed by vs. 25-30 year olds in designer jeans and striped shirts sipping fruity cocktails while talking about expensive vacation plans and investing tips.
We were there for about 40 minutes on a Thursday night late last summer, right before closing time. There were only a couple other guys at the bar, so it was fairly quiet and a perfect setting for intimate conversation and winding down.
I came here with 3 coworkers on a Friday afternoon. Lunch time doesn't seem to be packed like most places. Unfortunately I had an earlier lunch so I only tried the Califlower soup. It was pretty yummy though--Plenty of thyme, rosemary, sage and other herbs tossed in. However, I think they should switch to a low-sodium stock because it was very salty--and I usually enjoy my foods saltier than most people. I had a bite of my coworker's sea bass and from what I could tell it was delicious.
The service is friendly and thoughtful--my co-worker made it on their "regulars" list and was offered drink refills throughout lunch--how nice! The food seems par with the beautiful swanky setting. I was surprised how convienent it was! a HopSkipand Jump away from my work. I love working in the fidi :)
1 Star Rating only because Maxfields is STILL CLOSED for the entire month of May! When are they going to reopen???? I've been waiting since March to eat here again!
Maxfileds Restaurant is closed right now for the month of March. However, you can still dine in the… Read more »
Did I just have my first power lunch?
A co-worker and I met with some consultants to discuss a project we're working on and someone suggested going to Maxfield's. It was kind of like stepping back in time, and I wish I had had the gumption to order a martini or three, but since I was the low man on the totem pole, I followed the lead of my lunching companions.
Thus following the lead, I had the kobe beef burger (one of three at the table) and was impressed with the choice. Very juicy and tasty and I rather enjoyed the fries (truffle oil?).
It was cool to see through the glass doors into the kitchen and I loved that all the waitresses chirped at each other in Chinese!
I haven't found a bar downtown that I really love. This place was expensive, for sure, but the drinks were delicious. The waitstaff was really gracious, but I thought it was funny that our server asked us where we were visiting from. When I said, Oakland, he genuinely seemed surprised. Oh well.
Featuring a magnificent painting by Maxfield Parrish of the same name, the Pied Piper Bar is the perfect place for a quiet late night drink with someone special...a place of quiet, subtle sophistication where you can get away from the madness of it all.
The painting itself is rather impressive and the sheer magnitude of the piece combined with the long redwood bar conspire to give this establishment a powerful, yet understated elegance not commonly found in the bars in San Francisco.
Maxfield's would not be my choice during a first date as it's a little too dead and quiet, but would be a nice stop at some point in the evening if you desire somewhere calm to talk and get to know one another. Just be sure to avoid the after work crowd.
The Pied Piper Bar is also one of my favorite places to take business associates in the daytime when you need a nice, quiet, and impressive place to talk business over cocktails. The inspiring environment empowers you to talk and make that deal in an atmosphere that positively reeks of success.
Excellent well-prepared appetizers and impressive wine list with some unusual selections that you don't ordinarily see. I prefer their bottle selections to those offered by the glass. Prices are on the high side, but about what you'd expect for a place of this caliber.
As an added plus, the bar at the Four Seasons (another of my favorites) is within easy walking distance.
If you're looking for a hot, fun crowd with "a see and be seen" attitude, this is not the place. For that, you need to go to XYZ at the W Hotel or equivalent.
The painting alone is worth the trip...highly recommended.
Definitely a sweet little spot to pop in after work for a martooni :)
I've only been here when it was packed, so seating isn't always there, but every time I've gone, I've found that people are more than happy to let you share their table with them, which is nice. One time, a businessman thought I was a high level call girl, which honestly, I will just take as a compliment and go with it :) Either that or i need to stop wearing red lipstick and talking about how much I charge by the hour.
Other than that, the crowd seems mostly after work businessy, but hey, it's the FiDi, so what do you expect. Definitely worth checking out and occasionally they have live jazz music which is pretty damn cool.
The lamb will no longer be silenced! Because my big mouth is about to blab!
I know it's wrong to love…
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My friend took me here for a pre-birthday lunch. I've been to The Palace Hotel many times as a child - singing in the school choir for patrons in the Garden Court. This was my first time to Maxfield's.
The decor was very warm and inviting. Lots of wood paneling, comfy booth/chair combo tables, and just an overall cozy feeling.
We were served with our water, bread and butter right away. We even ordered fairly quickly after that. Our food took about 20 minutes to get to the table. Why? I don't know.
I had the chicken club sandwich. Thick slices of seasoned chicken breast, apple wood bacon, cheese, and a red pepper aiole. Add some seasoned fries to the mix - delicious. But we had to ask two different servers before we got some ketchup...
My friend had their special, beef tenderloin. It was fabulous, but my friend had ordered it well done. There were still some pretty red spots that she was not comfortable with. Luckily, her trusty friend, "moi" doesn't mind meat a little rare, so I stepped up. Hey, what's a friend supposed to do? I gave her some of my sandwich. ;)
Overall, I think the food was delicious - but I don't know what caused such a long delay. One could say it's because the steak needed more time, but I've cooked beef tenderloin at home before - it doesn't take 20 minutes. And certainly, for that amount of time it wouldn't have been as rare as it was. Fine for me - but my friend was disappointed.
Although I think the Pied Piper master piece is so out of place here; I love the old world charm of this bar. It's a sophisticated quiet place when you're trying to get know someone or spending time with someone special.
Pss : Be careful! The chicken sandwich is actually a chicken BLT. If you're with a Jew, and can't finish the sandwich don't feed it to them!!
Sorry Zohan ;)
The bar is 4.5 stars and the restaurant is 3.5 stars.
The bar has the legendary Maxfield Parish painting and is a pretty good meeting place, if not quite an awesome 5-star hang. It's a nice spot for ordering a cocktail. Well worth the time and effort... A little crowded after work, but an excellent place to rendezvous. Service is mixed, but the halfway decent the by-the-glass wine list is generally easy to get your hands on. Bar snacks add a nice little touch, though not a lot. But here's the kicker that puts it over the top, I've never been sorry to meet up with someone here. The setting adds a little joie de vivre.
The restaurant is a decent location for white table cloth business. Nearby enough for downtowners, consistent enough - as in always pretty-to-very good...with a notable exception in the mountainous kobe beef burger, AKA the stack o' beauty. Otherwise, good soups, salads, pastas and entrees. Crab salad is a good call. As well as most of the specials. Dining service is consistently great. But why no refills for my Arnold Palmers?
P.S. This may not apply by time you read this, but June is asparagus month. Woo-hoo...
Splurge
The food is great but not for the price. However, you would expect it to be expensive because it IS inside a gorgeous hotel. I had the lamb which was cooked to perfection. I chose mac and cheese and mushrooms as my sides. My girlfriend had a caesar salad (12 bucks by the way....) which was good but nothing special. I'd arrived late and my friend had already ate. They didn't look all that happy with their food. They said the steaks were sub par and actually sent 1 back. The bill for 8 people was about 500 dollars.
I don't think I would ever go back. There is a lot better food I could splurge on with 500 dollars.
I've been a semi-regular at Maxfield's Pied Piper Bar since I worked downtown in the 1980's. Drinks and food are good, although the food selection is a little limited and some of the wines by the glass are expensive. I love the room though; it's dependable and a comfortable place to hang out. It has a great history, and I could stare at the Maxfield Parrish over the bar for hours. Since the original Redwood Room is gone, this is one of the remaining classic hotel bars downtown.
Stayed at the Palace Hotel for CHEAP (thank you Hotwire!) over the weekend so we were able to be a little spendy at the hotel's famous bar (Esquire named the Pied Piper one of the top 7 bars in the world!).
We sat at the amazing giant redwood bar and ordered girly drinks. I started with either a white cosmo or french cosmo(?)- can't remember. Do remember that it was amazing! A mixture of mandarine vodka, a splash of cranberry, fresh squeezed lime, and some type of dried berries at the bottom of my martini glass. I could have drank 10. But I moved on to the Anjou pear martini which BF had started with and was prepared with pear infused vodka, a dash of vermouth, organic pear juice and had a slice of fresh anjou pear floating in it. It was light, refreshing, not too sweet but not too vodka-y and basically the perfect martini.
BF got overly chatty with the bartender and we learned that the famous Pied Piper painting was recently appraised at around 5 million. Geez! Needless to say BF was super impressed and happily accepted a postcard of the painting from the bartender. It was at this point I could tell the martini's were beginning to take some serious hold on us- be warned, they are big guys! (And better be at $12 a pop.) And we still had to get through dinner with BF's mom at a nearby fancy pants restaurant, so I dragged us out of there while we were still on the up & up.
If in the neighborhood I would most certainly return to this classy joint for drinks and snacks. It would also be a great place to bring the folks visiting from out of town. A peek at the bar menu revealed raspberry brie wontons with devonshire creme as well as an heirloom tomato salad w/burratta cheese, sea salt and saba vinaigrette. YUM!!!
I'm a sucker for a server who doesn't do one of the following when I order my usual...The ever-classic Shirley Temple, with extra cherries, please.
1) Laugh
2) Ask for I.D.
3) Snicker
4) Roll Eyes
5) Yell to the bartender, "WE'VE GOT ANOTHER WINNER OVAH HERE!"
Our nice server didn't do any of the above, AND he brought me three extra cherries skewered on a tiny, plastic pirate sword...RAD!
...I am so not cool.
Nice bar. Great place to take clients, parents, that special someone you want to impress. Good drinks, a relaxed yet classy atmosphere. You know how you wouldn't wear a suit and tie to Zeitgeist? This would be the place where you might not feel entirely comfortable in a Mohawk. They have good free snacks, and they also have a good appetizer menu.
Here's the thing (leaning in closer, yeah I've been drinking gin. Huh? Tanquerey or Sapphire, maybe both. What? I think I had one of each. Stop changing the subject!)
Anyway, here's the thing: Directly across the hall from Maxfield's (It's just off the lobby inside the Palace Hotel) is the BEST bathroom in the Financial District. It's very nice, it has marble, great stalls, always clean, the works.
I don't share this secret often. People always go into the McDonald's down the street and find out that no, there is no bathroom. If they only knew what they were missing.
Each night when we got back to our hotel we went to Pied Piper for a drink before heading up the room.
The bar was a comfortable space and drinks were pretty strong and good. I had a lemondrop martini and it was good....but it was $16. Seriously?
It's just went with the rest of the hotel it expensive.
I like the atmosphere, very old San Francisco. But the $30 Kobe burger was not the best burger I have ever had. I asked for it well done, and it came back a tad bloody! barf!!!...So I had to wait another 30 minutes for another burger...So we ended up being there for awhile!
I gave it 4 stars, just because I liked the way it looked! ha ha ...
Maxfield's is a nice place for lunch with Old San Francisco charm nestled in the Palace Hotel. Reservations are not necessary but highly advisable.
The waitstaff is very attentive and the Crab Salad, and Panini are highly recommended. The Kobe Beef Burger is good - a bit over-rated garlic fries YUMMY!
The combination of hardwood paneling, stained glass ceiling and the nearly hundred year-old mosaic floor give Maxfield's an old-time sort of feel. When a colleague invited me to Maxfield's for lunch recently I felt like I walked into another century. This is not the sort of establishment you patronize if you're looking for a quick and dirty lunch. This is a restaurant where you ought to take your time.
If you enjoy a deftly prepared Caesar salad, this is the spot to get it. Whole leaf romaine coalesces with a richly superior dressing and is accompanied by white anchovy, shaved grana padano cheese and a focaccia crouton that runs the length of the rather large plate. It is available with chicken, an addition I happily accepted. And by chicken I do not mean a few cubes of dry breast. Instead you'll receive a succulent portion of cooked to perfection chicken - a wonderful complement to the well-prepared salad.
Swankissimo! The food was okay but the martini was very dry and I could have bathed in it, size-wise. Although using the word "wise" after having two of them is questionable. The menu was restricted but my food was quite good, except for the Mrs. Pepperidge-esque dessert at the end. At those prices, they should be spinning caramel threads from the derrieres of a chorus of angels.
The room is lovely; although glass ceilings give me that Dario Argento horror movie deja-vu feeling. At any moment a beautiful designer-clad Italian B-movie actress could come crashing through...and then the dessert wouldn't matter much, would it?
This review centers around the Valentine's Day experience, so it may not apply to regular Friday nights.
Typically, when I write down my thoughts on a place, I think of the experience and then the cost, and decide if it was worth the time and the money. This place has a great experience, but the price is a left hook to the jaw.
My wife and I came here on Valentine's Day, which is also her birthday, and also our 'Engagement Anniversary.' So I don't mind coming to a place that is pricey because I'm fitting two dinners into one. And I'm also usually comfortable with a fixed price menu on Valentine's, although I like to know the cost before I start (preferably when I make the reservations).
We arrive to a wonderful ambience (the Palace hotel is a palace), get seated, wait, wait a litle longer, and then a little more before our waiter returns from his smoke break, hands us the menus that were $90 per head, with a glass of champagne and port included. We got a half bottle of wine to supplement the meal.
We split a half bottle of wine and made our selections. The appetizers were a little above average, the entree was excellent, I had the Kobe beef, but there was only one dessert to split. They did bring it with a candle, but to be honest the entire time it seemed like the waiter was waiting to do something else.
All in all, the food was excellent and the environment definitely has you 'putting on the ritz,' but I can't say that I whole-heartedly recommend a regular visit here...the bill was way too high and the service too average for the cost. Perhaps it would be different on another day with a different waiter.
The first time i went here was for emergency booze before a wedding. It was one of those ceremonies where i absolutely had to be intoxicated to survive (read: bride and groom's little brothers would be performing acapella and barber shop). Thank GOD for Maxfield's downstairs. I would have had to go kill myself otherwise.
Little did i know, they have a fantastic lunch as well. pan-seared salmon over risotto with truffled oil was well done and not overpriced in the least; the chicken sandwich with fresh fruit and fries also looked so good that i was about to steal food from a pregnant woman!
overall, the ambiance is that of old-school pub... and it is still every bit as luxurious as it was meant to be! Service was impeccable and just right. Not to forget is the beautiful painting of the Pied Piper which hangs over the bar and sets the scene.
Swanky place for a fancy cocktail. Our server was friendly and efficient and immediately brought us bar snacks. They also serve a special kind of Anchor Steam brew, made exclusively for the Palace, but the sheer swankiness of the place lured me into having some sort of fancy Cosmo that cost $12. Good strong pour, as it better be for that price. I would have liked to have stayed longer with my companions, but I had a wedding reception to attend, so I staggered outside where I hailed a cab and walked into the reception pre-buzzed.
Went here after Kaboom... ask my way? I have NO idea. I was following my friends parents.
This is a lovely bar. I could see people entertaining clients, having a first date, and there was a wedding going on in the next room.
Loses two stars for a very valid reason. For a place that's supposed to be classy, sophisticated, etc. Why or why were my feet STUCK to the floor? I literally could not move my feet because the floor was so sticky.
Gained a star for the cutie server with the adorable accent. I am a sucker for an accent.
Ok, so i went here with my crew based on the positive impression i got from the yelp page. It seemed like an alright place, clean, not too loud, not super crowded.
So a friend of my is ordering stoly and tonic, and the waiter says, hey, you know we have a featured vodka thats about the same price as stoly and tastes much cleaner... Now, I'm a man who can appreciate a good vodka, so 3 of us tried the 'featured' vodka and then i think i had another one after that was through. So we're there long enough for me to have 4 drinks (not drinking very fast) so they bring us the check (for about 6-7 people) and its $300! Turns out beers there at $6 even for the bottled ones! those "featured vodkas"... $12. I mean, this is not a nightclub by any means. Anyway.... not a great place to go with a group of friends. The price was simply not justified.
I agree with Nish's comment regarding the ambiance or food quality so I just wanted to add:
For September, they are serving special luncheon (separate from the regular menu). The entire menu consists of CORN. Corn soup, appetizer, main course, and desert!
The lobster corn soup was the best I've ever had! Everything else was pretty good (lobster pasta, Thai prawn salad, and salmon sandwich), but the lobster corn soup, yum!
My friends actually ordered the soup after mine was served and decided that they all have to order one (since I was too stingy to share with them).
The soup is only available in September so it is limited time offer (or you will have to wait until next year :))
WASABI PEAS TO NIBBLE ON! just for that, i'd go back again and again!
oh yah, and like half nelson w. said, nice bathrooms...
We came here after a business meeting with some out of towners. It was great. Yes, it's pricey, but its in a nice hotel, has an awesome mural, and has great Bartenders.
We only got beer, so I don't know how the mixed drinks were but they looked like they were being made on the fairly strong side.
Drop in for a quick beer to see what an expensive painting looks like, then move on to something more affordable unless you can expense it.
Old SF charm. Its what I imagine bars would be like in the roaring 20's.
Except I'd have to come here in a rickshaw, and I wouldn't be the passenger, and I doubt I would have been let in.
Well dressed locals and visitors made up most of the patrons, so picture it as I walk in with sandals, jeans, and a ratty sweatshirt at 9pm looking like I just got off my dishwashing shift in Chinatown. Kinda outta place.
Good thing I was here with a fine Southern gentleman, so I guess I was deemed OK and allowed to stay.
Oh, and it was expensive here too, so my returns will be limited. That and my rickshaw's in the shop.
As a painter, this is a dream come true to have a cocktail in front of Maxfield Parrish painting. As if in those cafes in Bohemian period, the atmosphere is awesome. Good lightnings around the painting and music.
it is a Classic.
During the course of the adventure that was last evening, Mike and I were strolling down Polk street and happened to pass by the Russian Hill Bookstore. A Maxfield Parrish book in the window caught my eye, and I mentioned that he was my favorite all-time artist.
Mike: Well then you must be at Maxfield's all the time! I think it's even close to where you work.
Me: What's Maxfield's??
Mike: OK, let's go...
We hailed a cab and made our way to the Palace Hotel. He didn't laugh at me (much) along the way, but admonished me gently for not knowing about this gem. He also shared some of the hotel's history with me as we made our way back to the bar.
When we got to the door, I was actually afraid to go in. We must've stood in the doorway for at least 10 minutes, admiring and analyzing the miracle that is Maxfied Parrish's work from afar. Mike finally convinced me it was OK to go in, and we grabbed a table toward the end of the bar so that we could sit and stare some more.
The server came and took our order, and brought our drinks pretty quickly. He was a bit of a smart ass, but he was hot and had a sexy accent, plus...I WAS SITTING NEXT TO A MAXFIELD PARRISH PAINTING!! Even having football on the tv couldn't diminish my joy at finding this place.
Now I'll admit, I'm no art buff - but I happen to love Parrish for his treatment of light: the way he used color and light made his subjects seem to glow, and I've always been drawn to his work. The Pied Piper is by no means my favorite of his works; he created so many other wonderful pieces that touch me: Ecstasy, Daybreak, Aquamarine, Morning, Reveries, Enchantment...the list goes on. But this is the only one I've seen in person, and damn...it's exquisite.
Oh, but I think the drinks are expensive. To know for sure, you'd have to ask Mike.
$3 Pints and Appetizers
Neighborhood: Mission
Free Valet Parking Promotion
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Neighborhood: Civic Center/Tenderloin
Category: Performing Arts
Neighborhood: SOMA
Category: Hotels
Neighborhood: Hayes Valley
Category: American (New)
Neighborhood: SOMA
Category: Bars
Neighborhood: Civic Center/Tenderloin
Category: American (Traditional)
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