The Pawn Shop

Can't say enough about this place. A hidden gem. From the moment you're waiting outside with the "bouncer" to this amazing experience going inside and meeting the host. The food was really good and inside there was a little show from the bartenders which was amazing. Had a blast and will be back again.

A super cool restaurant starts from the guard, the host Miss V.🤩 and wait staff. Food is well prepared and delicious. The entire setting of the restaurant is very entertaining. The location might be a bit sketchy, but I think it is worth a visit by getting a taxi service to drop off at the door😬

Richard H

Located in the shady part of the Mission neighborhood, this trendy speakeasy looks like a real pawn shop from the outside! Complete with big security guard at the entrance. It is recommended to have a reservation, the security guard will be able to verify with his iPad, but we saw a person add his name to the waitlist. We waited for about 10 minutes, then lead into the small entrance, which was filled with pawned items from previous guests. We were greeted by the host Velvetta, who was both intimidating and humorous. She rejected my box (empty box offered as a pawn), but accepted our offer to tell jokes. My son shared about 6 different jokes, which slowly increased our chances of entry. Finally, she relented and pressed a few secret latches and opened hidden door into the speakeasy! Once inside, we were seated to our table and offered drink and tapas menus. Great assortment of cocktails, beers, and wines, but I selected the Fintiman’s ginger beer, which was so delicious that I had three bottles! The most surprising thing about this place was the exceptional quality of the Spanish Tapas! Pulpo A la Plancha- octopus with vegetables. Soft like chicken, served with vegetables. The Carne, hanger steak was perfectly cooked and one of the best steak dishes at a bar! The cauliflower was another great surprise! Final note: there is a hidden door within the restaurant that leads to the nightclub next door! They do no allow videos or pictures, but maybe worth another trip there!

Karen Morris

Such a fun place! Food was excellent. Even went home with some pawn shop treasures.

Vivian Ly

What a great spot to hit up on a Saturday night, staff were super friendly and made the night enjoyable! There was a live DJ which made the ambience amazing. Can’t go wrong with anything you order, we really loved the octopus and steak!! (Steak was so tender and melts in your melt) You should also try their cocktails, uno and quatro… they were very good! ** PS don’t forget to bring something to trade in !

Tim

Absolutely delighted to have visited and spent the evening here. Great atmosphere, great food and super friendly staff! Especially enjoyed the intrigue of getting a reservation and accessing the secrete code to get in to the club. Not to mention the whole three of a pawn shop as cover and bringing something to pawn as part of the experience was a delight. Very enjoyable! The food was great, and the right portions for us to order a bit of everything so we had lots of variety. The Lemonade was also a stand out for drinks!

Kyla W

What a fun time. Where did you find this wonderful host? It’s like this man was born for this job. Great experience from start to finish. Nice atmosphere, nothing we ordered was short of excellent quality and presentation. Surprise hits were the pickles and corn ribs!!! Wish the cocktail menu would have been a bit more diverse and creative… it’s a speakeasy! Come on! (But, that said, our drinks were great!). Excellent table service also. Thank you for the fun night out!

Chamodhi Polgampola

First getting inside this restaurant is a good experience. Be ready with something to pawn/ a good joke/ fun fact. Then you enter the restaurant through a secret door. It was such a fun experience. Tried couple of dishes from their menu. They were all very flavorful! They have a huge wine menu, cocktails and beer. Try their house made sangria. It’s different (in a good way) to other sangria I’ve tried. Cocktails were phenomenal! This is definitely such a cool experience to try when you’re in SF.

Michael Wu PhD

This is one of the best kept secrets in SF in the most unassuming neighborhood. It used to be a real pawn shop in the front. So if you really want to pawn something, you can trade your trinket with something in the pawn shop, and they do barter. Otherwise your trinket will make the pawn master happy and open the secret door to the magical restaurant/bar behind. There's not a huge selection of food. If you have a few friends, you can literally try everything on the menu. But every tapas is delicious, and they really serve the best of the best. On the contrary, they do have a pretty big selection for drinks, as the pawn shops serve as the perfect disguise for this speakeasy. And if you have a birthday, the whole place will turn into a dance club and the entire restaurant staff will dance while they bring out the birthday dessert for you. This place is totally amazing and you have to try it to really experience it. And trust me you will be surprised, and you would thank me later.

Ian Zman

Awesome place, excellent food, flavorful cocktails and a great wine menu. Super friendly and very efficient staff. Highly recommended! You should arrive a little before your reservation time to enjoy a cocktail at the bar.

Brian Zuzartee

Can't say enough about this place. A hidden gem. From the moment you're waiting outside with the "bouncer" to this amazing experience going inside and meeting the host. The food was really good and inside there was a little show from the bartenders which was amazing. Had a blast and will be back again.

YiJen Cheng

A super cool restaurant starts from the guard, the host Miss V.🤩 and wait staff. Food is well prepared and delicious. The entire setting of the restaurant is very entertaining. The location might be a bit sketchy, but I think it is worth a visit by getting a taxi service to drop off at the door😬

Krystine L

Very unique speakeasy, had fun pawning my golden egg. They have a solid food menu, serve mostly wine and beer otherwise. A memorable place to go and the staff are great.

Rickie Recon

Be ready to exchange an item of your choice, a joke, or a story to gain access. Once inside, the atmosphere is relaxed and the food is great. The portions are small, so order a few different things. Ramiro is the best at the bar and hands down who you should look for. The fun doesn't stop after there though, the exit itself is also another fun little trip!

Brian Potter

This was one of the places my son absolutely wanted to visit on our trip to the Bay last weekend. We tried to call ahead for reservations ahead of time but couldn't connect. When we showed up at 6 p.m., we were told it didn't look good, but we put our name on the waiting list. We were called within 30 minutes, saying our table was ready, and we rushed back from a nearby bar. The pawn master was amazing, the vibe was over the top, and the tapas (shrimp, pork, octopus, and steak) were beautifully presented and the best food we had all weekend. We shared a pitcher of Sangria that was the perfect pairing with the tapas. This place is an absolute must do!

Donnie MacKay

Wow, what an experience. Come ready to have fun! Great food, friendly service, and a super fun atmosphere. This is a very unique and memorable experience for a small town boy like me. I am really glad we got to eat here. This is a restaurant I will never forget. Be sure to make reservations!

This place was awesome! The vibe there is incredible and the people working there, from the owners, Michael Anthony and Tad were amazing! Food was excellent. If you are looking for a great show, ask about the Atomic bar/Theater.

I arrived with my two girl friends of 20 years. Be on time as you have to enter together. We got there and had something to barter with the pawn shop master at the front. She was amazing! We bartered earrings for earrings, a shell for a stone and I got a mini purse for a thrifted vintage handkerchief. Then with theatrics she opened the magical door. We stepped into the beautiful restaurant. They had many wines and delicious food. We got the pickles-delicious and fresh. Then came the patatas bravas a smaller dish but hearty with aioli and the cauliflower was fried but not dredged. That was delicious with a red pepper sauce underneath. Then we got the steak, this was delicious for me but my friends prefer it more well done-they're bad for not saying anything! Finally we had the cheese board and churros. It was such a fun night with excellent service and we even left through the side secret door and got out into Monarch-the bar and club next door. The whole experience was wonderful! Perfect for date night or girls night out!!

Isabel Yates

I arrived with my two girl friends of 20 years. Be on time as you have to enter together. We got there and had something to barter with the pawn shop master at the front. She was amazing! We bartered earrings for earrings, a shell for a stone and I got a mini purse for a thrifted vintage handkerchief. Then with theatrics she opened the magical door. We stepped into the beautiful restaurant. They had many wines and delicious food. We got the pickles-delicious and fresh. Then came the patatas bravas a smaller dish but hearty with aioli and the cauliflower was fried but not dredged. That was delicious with a red pepper sauce underneath. Then we got the steak, this was delicious for me but my friends prefer it more well done-they're bad for not saying anything! Finally we had the cheese board and churros. It was such a fun night with excellent service and we even left through the side secret door and got out into Monarch-the bar and club next door. The whole experience was wonderful! Perfect for date night or girls night out!!

I'm not familiar with pawn shop culture and commenting from a layperson's perspective. I was sitting at the bar at a busy night. The food and service were average but the atmosphere was absolutely fantastic

This place is a good spot, but I strongly recommend getting transportation to and from there since the surrounding area is sketchy, especially at night. Great atmosphere and the pawn master was very funny. I didn't know you should bring something to pawn when I made the reservation, but they won't turn you away if you have nothing. It doesn't have a full bar, but the food was delicious, especially the octopus. I felt the service could have been a bit more attentive. It almost seemed like no one stopped at the table asking how we were doing or if we would like to order anything else.

Megan L

I'm not familiar with pawn shop culture and commenting from a layperson's perspective. I was sitting at the bar at a busy night. The food and service were average but the atmosphere was absolutely fantastic

Michael Hunter

This place is a good spot, but I strongly recommend getting transportation to and from there since the surrounding area is sketchy, especially at night. Great atmosphere and the pawn master was very funny. I didn't know you should bring something to pawn when I made the reservation, but they won't turn you away if you have nothing. It doesn't have a full bar, but the food was delicious, especially the octopus. I felt the service could have been a bit more attentive. It almost seemed like no one stopped at the table asking how we were doing or if we would like to order anything else.

Definitely in a sketchy area, so definitely do ride share. The inside is very beautiful, clean and good drinks (wine based cocktails) they have only beer and wine. I wouldn’t go out of my way to stop here. We did not get food.

Gabbie l

Definitely in a sketchy area, so definitely do ride share. The inside is very beautiful, clean and good drinks (wine based cocktails) they have only beer and wine. I wouldn’t go out of my way to stop here. We did not get food.

This was an interesting experience. Pros: random conga line that formed somewhere. Real fun. -Pawn shop attendant was very on character. Really enjoyed our interaction with her. -The food was good, but not great. I would say Spanish inspired but not at all authentic Spanish tapas. Cons: terrible neighborhood. It wouldn’t be such a problem if they didn’t make you wait outside. -server was not friendly at all. Gave such an attitude when we asked for a coke and was just overall rude. -the real menu looks very different from what shows on google. If you don’t eat seafood you will have only a couple of options. Overall not a bad experience but would not be coming back. Interesting experience though.

Mary M

This was an interesting experience. Pros: random conga line that formed somewhere. Real fun. -Pawn shop attendant was very on character. Really enjoyed our interaction with her. -The food was good, but not great. I would say Spanish inspired but not at all authentic Spanish tapas. Cons: terrible neighborhood. It wouldn’t be such a problem if they didn’t make you wait outside. -server was not friendly at all. Gave such an attitude when we asked for a coke and was just overall rude. -the real menu looks very different from what shows on google. If you don’t eat seafood you will have only a couple of options. Overall not a bad experience but would not be coming back. Interesting experience though.

The hosts who welcomed us to the “store” were delightful—we enjoyed the theatrics and surprises. The food itself, however, was not to our liking. The crispy cauliflower was not even slightly crispy; they kindly replaced the dish with shrimp and removed it from the check. On the other hand, the churros were a little too crispy. The pan con tomate was overly oily—which, had the oil been of better quality, might have made it more enjoyable. The Spanish omelette was cold; had it been warm, it could have been an outstanding dish. Unfortunately, we couldn’t even finish it because it seemed cold, grey, and old. I did enjoy my Clara Rioja, which was bittersweet and refreshing. All in all, the highlight of the experience was the theatrics of entering the space. I would choose to eat elsewhere.

The best part of the experience was the entrance. Very creative and fun. The food was ok, some items better than others. For a speakeasy type of place I was surprised they didn’t have a liquor license. Would have preferred smaller bites/portions, real signature speakeasy drinks and maybe some light music in background.

K W

The best part of the experience was the entrance. Very creative and fun. The food was ok, some items better than others. For a speakeasy type of place I was surprised they didn’t have a liquor license. Would have preferred smaller bites/portions, real signature speakeasy drinks and maybe some light music in background.