Beer By BART

(UPDATE: Jan 2012 – We have heard that Walgreens has bought the building and will force them to close within a few months) Walking up Powell Street from BART towards Union Square, you may notice a tantalizing sign hanging slightly above your usual walking line of site, “The Beer Zone – Over 100 World Famous Beers!” As you enter and climb the long staircase you will see the bar straight ahead and an old fashioned diner-themed restaurant to the left.  Walking into the bar, you will notice the great number of taps, some easily recognizable as solid craft beers.  Turns out they have some 60 taps and a similar number of bottles to select from.  The selection is diverse and solid, a nice mixture of local and regional craft brews along with top German, English and Belgian selections. If you are in the downtown area, they are a welcome resource.

The bar is part of a Lori’s Diner, one of a small San Francisco chain of ’50′s-’60′s retro diner-style restaurants.  This is the only one with a craft beer bar.  The beer is priced reasonably, particularly with happy-hour prices from 11am to 7pm, and the servers know the beers.  Food can be ordered at the bar or any beer can be ordered in the dining room. Six flat screen TV’s will satisfy your sports-viewing needs.

This is not a late night spot.  The bar closes at 10pm Sunday through Thursday and at 11pm on Friday and Saturday. Extras: It’s on the Hyde/Powell Cable Car line, which could take you to La Trappe in North Beach as part of an entertaining two-stop beer trek.

Map to The Beer Zone.

Exit BART at the 5th Street/Powell Street exit to the north side of Market Street. Walk north up the west (left) side of Powell Street.  Cross Ellis Street and look for The Beer Zone sign at Lori’s Diner.

Official Powell Station Info