When roaming the city with friends for a Happy Hour and a knosh one of the guys suggested “The Olive” on Larkin near O’Farrell. On first look from the street there was this fear of something less than desirable, but once inside there was contemporary greatness.
Although the outside suggests shabby, the inside is chic and modern with a great contemporary feel that pays honor to the history of the building itself as it must have been around a very long time. Unfortunately I did not ask about the lineage of the place while there and their web site give virtually nothing about the place except to celebrate the same happy hour that we enjoyed.
The interior was smart and stoic, with bits of art that were interesting and brought just the right amount of color. For some reason, while sitting here writing this, I seem to have the memory of a light projected around us that was something like the beaded light of a disco ball. My companions enjoyed their featured cocktails (seen here) while to had a draft beer. It was an Amber of unknown origin but it was delicious.
Another thing I have neglected altogether in this story is the menu is the menu. It had some nice treats on it but it was a little disconnected from the identity of the place and offered a few strange things that sounded absolutely uninteresting. But, the things that were went right along with their Happy Hour beat. We ordered snacky food. Item number one was fried calamari that was good and nothing to make special note of, but the chipotle aole that came with it was a nice touch. Item two was french fries and they were something to note! It was a mixture of very fresh cut potatoes fried perfectly and a Japanese sweet potato also server with the same chipotle aole.
The empty plates and empty glasses should say it all. The Olive was a treasure on Larkin. Apparently a lot of other people agree on Yelp which is nice to see. There is no way to go wrong with happy hour at The Olive.
