October 17, 2008

Taverna on the Scene

Taverna Aventine Opens

A weekend quiz.

Taverna Aventine is:
a) A new bar named for a neighborhood in Rome.
b) A former opium den.
c) A private club.

Answer:
d) All of the above.

Moored on the city’s 19th-century Barbary Coast in a 150-year-old building, the new boite by Vintage 415 and Gian-Paolo Veronese combines nautical swank with a speakeasy vibe.

Antique furniture, vintage maritime tchotchkes, and an exposed historic seawall fill the two-level space. The casual lunch and seasonal p.m. bar menus include calamari, gourmet sandies, and Prince Edward Island mussels. Sip an Aventine Fog (absinthe and amaretto sour on the rocks) at the bar hewn from the building’s original timbers or savor Italian vino in a club chair.

Aventine members get private booze lockers, monthly open bar parties, and access to the downstairs parlor from 3 until 7 p.m. weekdays.

Consider it your new den of iniquity.

Taverna Aventine, 582 Washington Street, at Montgomery Street (415-981-1500 or aventinesf.com). Open for drinks today; food service begins Monday.