Last month, we broke the news on new Mission bar-restaurant Evil Eye, and on Thursday, it will make its debut in the Mission's former Coco Frio space (2937 Mission St.) Tonight and tomorrow, husband-and-wife owners Matt and Piper Norris will be hosting two soft opening nights, beginning at 4pm.
When they decided to open a bar, the Norrises always had the Mission in mind: they love to eat and drink there themselves, and they felt it was a good fit, they said.
After looking at a few other spots in the city that didn't pan out, they stumbled on this one while dining out in the neighborhood. "We got lucky on this one," said Matt. "We were down the street eating tacos at La Taqueria and saw the listing. We weren't sure about it, but then we walked in and said, 'This is it.' It has good bones—it just needed a coat of paint and some love."
Matt, formerly the bar manager and partner at Soluna Cafe & Lounge, is also an artist. He created Evil Eye's logo and some of the abstracts on the walls, including an eye-themed mural he painted with his sister at the front of the bar.
Matt chose the name because he likes the concept of the evil eye. "In some cultures, it serves as protection against bad luck or against other people's jealousy or spite," he said. "For me, my lucky number is 13. That's my birthday. I am kind of a believer of things that are supposed to be malevolent or unlucky, but are actually lucky."
Evil Eye is a bar that serves "good bites," Matt said. The cocktail menu features some old-school drinks, like a rye old-fashioned and a sherry cobbler, and some original creations that he describes as "more inventive and adventurous."
They include the Sweet Petunia, with vanilla-infused vodka, nectarine-ginger shrub, campari, lemon, and orgeat; the Drunken Sailor, with coconut-infused bourbon, white rum, grapefruit, falemum, cinnamon syrup, and lemon; and the Horse Race, with bourbon, amaro, basil, vanilla syrup, and bitters. Matt makes his own tonics, shrubs and mixers, so the ingredients for some of the drinks may change with the seasons.
In addition to cocktails, the bar offers red, white, and sparkling wines by the glass, as well as a few beers on tap: Magnolia Kolsch, Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA, Almanac Valencia Gold, and Speakeasy Payback Porter (all $7). Pabst Blue Ribbon, Anchor Steam, and Drake's are available by the can or bottle.
To create the bar's food menu, the Norrises brought on Francis Hogan, also from Soluna, as a consultant. "He can be really esoteric with ingredients and techniques, but his flavors are really approachable and very solid," said Matt. "We approached him and told him that we'll be doing all these great cocktails, and we'd like to do a menu that meets that."
"He knows our taste well, so it's a great collaboration," said Piper. "He knows what's in our heart and what we like to eat and want to see. He helped bring that to life."
Sous chef Carlos Lopez, formerly of Bluestem Brasserie and Hard Water, will be running day-to-day operations in the kitchen. "He's our Zen kitchen manager," said Piper. "He's like the calmest person you've ever met. In the last week, we've been running around like crazy, and he's just our Zen master back there. He just has a nice, calm vibe, and pumps out really good food."
Most of the menu items are under or around $10, with dishes like pimenton fries with harissa ketchup and roasted garlic aioli; pork belly toast with rock shrimp and kimchi; and Vietnamese savory caramel chicken wings with cilantro, lime, and peanuts. There are also some vegetarian options, like fried green tomatoes with burrata, confit cherry tomatoes, balsamic, and basil, and chickpea sliders with pea shoots, bell pepper-almond relish and harissa yogurt.
The kitchen also offers cheese and charcuterie curated by Mission Cheese, as well as ice cream from Humphry Slocombe, which is featured in a signature "boozy shake" with bourbon and peach.
The couple told us that they purchased a lot of the bar's '70s-style decor at Valencia Street's Stuff, while almost all the rugs are from flea markets around the city. Secondhand leather couches adorn cozy nooks in the front and back of the bar. "We wanted to stay within a '70s rock-and-roll vibe, so all the pieces are mostly from that period," said Piper.
The couple revamped the entire bar in two months, renovating and repairing the original back bar and adding a fresh coat of paint, two pinball machines, and a pool table.
The couple said that locals in the area have been very receptive to a new bar coming in. "[This block] is a little quiet. It was a bit of a dead zone for a while, but new businesses are suddenly opening up and giving the block some life," said Matt. "Neighbors have been coming in, telling us they're excited to have us on the block."
While Matt has worked in the restaurant and bar industry for some time, Evil Eye is his first project with Piper, and she refers to it as their "baby."
"We both moved here, and we want to keep what's special about San Francisco," she said. "We love this city—people come here from all over the world. There is a sense of community here and we want to keep that. We don't want to gentrify it ... We want to have a certain neighborhood vibe where anyone can feel welcome to come in, and feel comfortable here."
Evil Eye debuts Thursday, June 2nd. Initial hours are Tuesday-Thursday, 3:30-10pm; Friday, 3:30pm-midnight, and Saturday-Sunday, 3pm-midnight.
