New Star-Ell Liquor
Category: Beer, Wine & Spirits [Edit]
Neighborhood: Western Addition/NOPA501 Divisadero Street
(between Fell St & Hayes St)
San Francisco, CA 94117 (415) 567-7900
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
4 reviews
Neighborhood: SOMA
"A friendly and inviting wine shop Very knowledgeable staff, with a huge selection of quality wine and champagne + Free delivery......."
33 Reviews for New Star-Ell Liquor
New Star-Ell has a remarkably good beer selection for a corner store. Tons of excellent Belgian, German, and US craft beers. One time I was hosting a sour beer tasting at my house and I purchased five different Cantillon beers here. Outstanding! I'd rank this as the fourth best beer store in SF (behind City Beer, Healthy Spirits, and Plumpjack). For what appears to be a random liquor store, that's saying a lot!
depends on who's working, i get a discounted price for Nat Sherman MCD's, so if the guy doesn't know, i don't go.
Definitely the best beer selection I have seen for a corner store. It nearly rivals Bev Mo in the beer department. Thank god this place is only two blocks from me. And they have a solid juice selection for all your mixing needs. And now they have Dogfish! sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet.
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Boring background story: DELETED
As I was leaving New Star-Ell Liquor deciding to review it I turned around to find the name of the store and thought to myself: maybe it's Kryptonian. Anywho, as others have pointed out, this place has the best beer selection I have seen in this city. To begin with, they have a pretty decent selection of west coast and more national microbrews in six packs and singles, and your standard cases of mass produced stuff. But that is only the small deli case. On the south wall of the store there is even more fridge space dedicated to mostly singles in various sizes. They have tons of Belgian beers here, tons of 'em, and a good selection of German, English, Czech, beers, a few Russians, a couple of Japanese brews (other than Saporro and Asahi). I was really impressed, it's just about a beer drinkers paradise.
I didn't really look at the rest of their selection, they seem to have a decent amount of wine and spirits (I did notice some absinthe), and of course they supply snacks, milk, juices, sodas, mags, zig-zags, etc... I guess all that you need from a corner store. The cashier seemed pretty friendly, to boot.
The one other thing I like about New Star-Ell is that I can usually find a SF weekly and a Guardian in the magazine racks in their entryway, unlike the empty little dispenser boxes scattered up and down Divis.
This place sucks.
I've been in here about ten times. It's your typical corner store. They've got alcohol, chips, candy, and nudie magazines.
Generally, this place would earn four stars. Except that there was this one time that I needed quarters to do laundry. I was walking by New Star-Ell, and I figured that I could get the guy to give me change because I had just been in there two hours earlier and dropped $20 on this and that. So I walk in and say hello to the guy. He grunts at me. I ask him if I can get four quarters for a dollar bill. He says, "We don't give change." I remind him that I was just in here a little while ago. He says, "We don't give change." I point out to him that I come by here semi-regularly. He says, "We don't give change."
Well, I don't give this place my business anymore.
If you're in the neighborhood and need something, go to Divisadero Farmers Market, which is across and just up the street from this place.
I love the fact that I can walk about fifty yards from my apartment and find almost any beer, wine, snack, or other comfort food at this trusty little establishment. The ATM is also pretty nice, gouging folks a little less in service fees than most liqueries (not a word? I don't care) in the area.
Why four stars, then? Well, for one thing, even though it's a liquor store, I wish it were open a little earlier (say, nineish?) since I find I'm out of milk usually around the time I've filled my bowl with cereal and toiletries the moment I enter the bathroom after waking up, and walking the extra fifty yards to Faletti's is almost unbearable in the morning. Also, the porn quality is a bit sub-par.
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Best Liquor store I've seen so far in the City, hands down.
I know what you're thinking: "Whoa, hey, that's a pretty bold statement there, jerk.."
It is, mainly because New Star-Ell lives up to the hype. If you've read my other crappy reviews, you know I don't like to go for extremes.
If you ever don't feel like braving Van Ness or the Stanyan St. parking to go to a BevMo, come to this place. They have a ridiculously good selection of 6 packs ranging from your German brands (like Hacker-Pschorr) to U.S. brewed stuff like Deschutes and New Belgium. As if you didn't already spend 15 minutes deciding on a 6-pack, if you turn to your left, they have a huge selection of single 12/22/24oz beers including those beautiful Canadians (Maudite and La Fin Du Monde) and the 24oz Hitachino Nest Beer (i don't think they even have that at BevMo). Need some glassware to drink your beer with? They have some nice beer glasses near the front.
I realize there are so many other assets to a liquor store like selection of hard alcohol, snacks, non-alcoholic beverages, etc but this store just features too much good beer to give it anything less than 5 stars.
Finally, a liquor store that loves beer as much as I do...
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It's 1:15am, your keg just ran out, there are 50 rabid drunks at your house... what do you do?? For the LOVE of GOD, WHAT DO YOU DO!?!?!
...you go to New Star-Ell on the corner and get a new one, that's what.
Wow, that was simple... thanks, guys!
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It's closest to my best friend Mark's home than any other bodega aka deli aka general store. So I've been here a lot. Mostly to buy booze. And chips. And cigarettes. And to use the ATM. Mark says they have a really good booze selection. I especially like the $2.99 a bottle Tisdale.
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Always smells good, sells yogurt and stays open late.
what more could you want from a neighborhood store. How about
random people, fresh bananas and a super friendly staff???
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I came in here tonight to buy the sexy invalid, Maria D., an evian and some zig-zags. For er, writing notes. They are like post-its but worse! I picked up a Duvel and some vegan cookies for myself. You see, I'm thinking of starting a vegan bakery and MUST STUDY THE COMPETITION. Again. And again. And then some more. I'm like a nymphomaniac but with vegan baked goods. Wait, that sounds wrong, I'm not fucking the pastries, I'm just eating a lot of them. For research. That's probably just called a fatassmaniac.
The charming gentleman who rang me up asked if I'm vegan and I told him yes and then he asked for suggestions on other vegan goods for them to carry. Very cool. He also asked me why I needed the zig-zags and I let him know it's because I must consume many drugs to get through the day. He didn't call the cops so I consider the whole transaction a success.
Oh and for you creepy dudes out there, Maria is now on crutches so she is the best of both worlds, mobile (so you don't have to wheel her ass around) and yet, she can't run away. That's what us in the business of rape call a "double threat". PM me for her address.
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When my mom came to visit, she made it a point to catch up with as many of her old friends in the city as possible.
Catching up also meant buying small 'hey, how's life," gifts.
With 10 minutes to spare before meeting up with old family friends, my mom scrambled to find a place to buy something. New Star Ell-Liquor was one of the few stores in walking distance, and open.
She darted to the wine section. She was looking for quality french wine on a low budget. The owner of New Star Ell-Liquor offered to help us, and went through his reasonable priced wines, advising us, and giving us a brief run-down of each one.
He helped us buy a well-recommended french red wine, and even found a nice bag under the counter that we could put it in.
Not your typical liquor-store customer service...
New Star Ell-Liquor is also a superb place to buy kegs and boxed food items.
The owners know the area well and if you're looking for some wine or beer recommendations, they're an excellent resource.
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I miss living around the corner from this place. Yes, I love having a garage, washer and dryer and a yard that comes with living way out in the Outer Richmond, but man I miss New Star-Ell Liquor.
From kegs to breakfast cereal, from wine to toiletries, from coffee to hardcore porn, this place has it all, and the staff is always really helpful. Plus they sell liquor up until the clock strikes two, so after last call at Wazimas you can still grab a six pack on the way home. Sweet.
Best liquor/convenience store in the city? Maybe.
This place makes me feel like I'm doing something illegal.
I walk up to the counter, ask for a few packs of smokes and put my bottle of wine on the counter. The gentleman behind the counter starts making chit chat...so i chit chat back, and for some reason all i can think of is the scene in Dazed and Confused when Mitch walks into the corner store and scores a six pack. All it took was the small talk, and he was able to score beer as a minor. Confidence and chit chat will get you far.
He carded me after he rang everything up, and when he finally did say "you are over 21 right?" I of course replied, "yah..I'm almost 30."
But what i should have said was, "Oh yeah. Just graduated."
Then he would have replied with " Graduated. Congratulations. So are you off to college in the fall?"
And if I was Mitch I would have said " Ah you know I'm still not sure. I'm working right now, for the city. I'm thinking of holding on to the job for a while. It's like, you know money in my pocket."
To which he would have replied, " I hear that. Here's some more money for your pocket. You have a nice night tonight."
But that's not how it went down...cuz i am pushing 30, and if he had asked to see it, there obviously would have been nothing illegal about the transaction. But those moments...reliving my youth, and remembering a cinematic classic....awesome.
Oh, and if you ever need a keg super late...they got em.
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One of the only places in the city that I know regularly carries Abita Turbo Dog!
For those of us that are living this dirty, marriage-less, child-less, mortgage-less, home depot-less urban lifestyle, there is presious few that is more important than your corner store. The corner store is your everything: coming home after a long night and you know you're going to wake up super late and not have time to swing by your local coffee shop for some caffeine and a bagel? Corner store is there for you with a starbucks double shot and a clif bar. Tired of drinking lukewarm tap water? There is your corner store, with cold refreshing Fiji and Vosse. Had a super long day because your dumb ass decided to go to Bed Bath and Beyond for a garment rack after spending hours staring at spreadsheets, only to take the wrong bus and take over an hour to get home? There is the corner store, beckoning you in with a special on Carlsberg and a bevy of cookies to make you feel better.
This place is a god amongst corner stores. A SUPER FANTASTIC selection of beer (heavyweights here, people! Delerium Tremens, Racer 5, Fin Du Monde, Leffe, and a entire wall of Belgian ales!), a big giant selection of regular booze (including baby bottles of fernet for after you eat that giant little star dinner), Alternative Baking Company cookies (they are vegan and therefore extremely healthy!), Amy's frozen pizzas and all the other usual stuff you find in a corner store. The guys are super friendly and I predict they are going to get to know me, or at least my money, very very well. They are also the owners of Ziryab across the street.
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I ducked in here to grab a post-libation meal, seeing that, in typical SF fashion, no nearby restaurants were open at such a late hour.
I'm not one to patronize liquor stores often, but I do know that they are stocked with the requisite chips, soda, and booze (among other things)--they've very high on the junk food content. Imagine my surprise to see this place actually carry healthy, organic food like those from Amy's Kitchen. The prices may be jacked up to convenience store prices, but being out a few extra bills is nothing compared to going to bed hungry...and hungover.
I found the cashier to be on the authoritarian side, but I could only fathom what he must have to put up with when a rush of people from surrounding bars suddenly fill his shop after last call. While they're not open 24 hours, being open till 2 a.m. is still a huge bonus in this early closing city.
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D: What are you eating over there?
Me (on the couch after a night of wine and hookah at Ziryab and shoveling my face with chocolate): Nothing, GOD!
All I know is that I woke up a few hours later covered in no less than four varieties of half-eaten Ritter Sport and a vague recollection of Mimi sailing into New Star declaring, "I need water!" and emerging with not only water, but thin tortilla chips and eggs(?). I also remember really friendly people at New Star, though I suspected that they knew that I was on the tipsy side. Perhaps it was the massive amounts of chocolate that I was buying.
In any case, not only is the selection in general above and beyond your average neighborhood store, they have more Swiss chocolate than you can shake a stick at. Five stars.
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Yay! I bought beer and gum here before heading to a barbeque nearby. To top it off, the man at the counter carded me! And I am nowhere near looking like a 21-year-old. I'm totes old!
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I feel shameful that I never wrote a review of new Star Ell when I was actually living several blocks away from it.
Great selection of everything a liquor store should stock--beer, wine, the hard stuff, snacks, sake...
Plus the staff is friendly and the prices for kegs and things are very reasonable.
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Need a keg refilled at 1:55am? EY...NO PRAHBLEM, GUY.
New Star Ell has got you covered, slick. And you can roll back to your own house as a hero among mere mortals, & arrive to an army of applauding partygoers.
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i live a block and a half away from new star-ell...
so where do i go for my american spirits?
new star-ell
and for my cheaply priced wine/beer that isn't horribly disgusting?
new star-ell
what about some haagen daz chocolate peanut butter ice cream?
new star-ell
and those cute mini bottles of fernet?
new star-ell
and lastly, where can i go to get some tasty optimos?
NOT new star-ell! (only bad thing... no blunts)
oh, i fucking adore new star-ell... it's my go-to place when i know falleti's isn't open and/or doesn't have the product that i'm looking for. seriously, probably the best liquor store around the city. oh i'm happy i have stumbled upon this little haven!
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They sell Lambic.
Which a fruity girl like me sometimes contemplates selling her body for.
Ah, a place open until 2am that will deal with me coming in several times a month wasted and looking for post-bar pizza and beer for the house. Extensive beer collection - a little too extensive if you're browsing with a beer fan. star off for having to check expiration dates, but such is the life of a corner store customer.
I've lived in the hood for over 4 years, and of all the corner stores in the area, this one is by far the best - not only is their selection of adult beverages second to none, the staff is friendly and awesome!
{edited}
I ordered a keg for a company event- the price was right, they were super friendly, as always, and assured me they'd be open at 9:30am the morning I needed the beer. Nope. 10am. Nope. 10:15am? Nope. I was forced to rush to BevMo and pay a significantly higher price in order to get to the event on time. Very sad.
When I called, at 11am, to find out what happened, they were very apologetic, but that didn't really make me feel much better.
The best selection of Belgian Ales (and other high alcohol content beers) I've ever seen in a corner store. Its seriously impressive. They also happened to have a couple magnums left of Anchor Steam's 2006 Christmas Ale (which seems to be dwindling city-wide).
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New (5) Star-Ell Liquor
The place to buy beer, especially Belgian. This has the best combination price and selection of higher end European beer of any store I have encountered. Plus it is 3 blocks from my house.
Added note: This is also the place to pick up your 2nd keg during Bay to Breakers as it is along the route at a good middle point.
Not only is this a neighborhood staple because of its location, awesomeness of the proprietorship, and late hours, but it's also one of the best beer & wine selections in the '117, and it's the best place to pick up a Voss and a Violet Crumble (because yep, that's how I do at midnight when I'm walking home from Waziema.)
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Sometimes really friendly, sometimes not, but who cares, the beer selection is one of the best I've seen. The wine is decent, too, although I've gotten a bottle of chianti there that was just vinegar (I'm chalking it up to chance but would love to hear if this has happened to anyone else there).
This was my old regular corner store until I moved away several months ago. The "Divisadero Farmer's Market" (laugh at irony of the name) was closer to me, but New Star Ell was much more favored.
I've gotten a keg here before and it was cheap and the process professionally handled.
Oh where, oh where, has my Stella keg gone? Oh where, oh where can it be?
5 days pre- party: Phone conversation with New Star-Ell arranging delivery of keg details for Friday's party. Noticing an obvious language barrier between myself and the person on the other end, I repeat time and drop off location and ask for verification by read back.
4 days pre- party: Promoting and getting really excited for my own MN style Kegger! Can you say Jello-shots?
One hour pre-party: Staring at phone waiting for it to ring thus manifesting delivery of Keg.
30 minutes pre-party: Call New Star-Ell to find that the night guy knows nothing about my Keg delivery request. He says he will check on it and call me back.
10 minutes pre-party: Call Chad P. to help me pick up keg. Chad P., in his sweet laugh, says he can't because he took BART in; however he would be willing to roll it down the hill for me... it would be fun, he says.
Party time: Thankful that all of my friends like to be fashionably late, I pace in front of my window.
Party time:30: Keg is delivered as promised by New Star-Ell. Delivery includes Keg, bucket for keg (huge bonus), and tap. Owner very gruff and no apologies made. Asked me where I wanted Keg. I pointed to my 4th floor window. Owner states they can't go into the building. His employee helps me take keg and supplies to the entrance and then in true gentleman fashion makes an excuse to help me to my apt with the Keg.
Unfortunately the keg had to sit for an hour and then people still had to suffer from foam attacks on their lips and nose.
I had to give them 3 stars for the stress caused by waiting for the delivery. Luckily I had enough beer to calm me down.
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The 3 brothers who own this place are the best. Friendly, helpful, upbeat. I couldn't ask for a better corner store.
They're also opening up a Middle Eastern restaurant across the street. Can't wait.
Great selection of Belgian ales and local micro-brews.
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