If you’re the sort who generally fails to book restaurants ahead of time, like I am, getting a table at the Progress on San Francisco’s Fillmore District can be as impossible as buying an air conditioner in Manhattan during a heatwave. But on a recent trip out West, after being denied a reservation I learned that the bar area is substantial enough, and that it serves diners on a first-come-first-serve basis.
This felt more or less what bar dining is all about, and I decided to go for it. The Progress was a place I very much wanted to try, its having been brought to my attention first when two of my friends in the Passant app ranked it as their number one spot in San Francisco (full disclosure: I do consulting work for Passant). Later, I discovered that nearly every relevant food publication has included the restaurant on its best-of lists, which sealed it.
The followup to the popular State Bird Provisions next door, the Progress opened in 2015 as a restaurant offering a shared-plates set menu, but has since revised its menu—sharing still makes a lot of sense here, but it’s all a la carte now.
The Progress’ Bar Dining Basics
Number of stools: 10.
Ease of Access: Did we get lucky, or is it always this easy to score three consecutive seats at the bar at 7pm on a Thursday?
Spacing: The bar top was deep and the stools well-spaced–plenty of room to dig into five shared plates at once.
Bar Stool Comfort: They look good, but they weren’t necessarily built for comfort. Wood seats, no backs.
Hooks Under Bar? Yes.
Bartender: He was great, friendly, helpful with both the cocktails and the food menu.
I got there with a college friend I hadn’t seen in years just before 7pm on a Thursday evening, with another one on the way from across the bridge in Marin County. We sat first at an open two-seater table in the bar area, then managed to snag the corner seats at the bar just moments before friend #3 arrived. We were well situated now for what would turn out to be one of the best meals I’ve had in recent memory. As usual, I found myself glad to be sitting at the bar instead of at a table—the bartender was fun to watch at work, and he was friendly as could be, which only added to the greater sense of conviviality you get when seated on a stool instead of a dining chair.
The space itself is warm and interesting, but not distractingly so. The tables are many, but not too close together. One blond wooden lath wall faces another one constructed with wide, white planks. I remember the space as all curves—I’m sure there was a hard corner or two in the place, but those stake no claim on the aesthetic. The textures, though contrasting, are always blending, and lend themselves to a cohesive whole. One never feels like the Progress trying too hard or like it cares a lot about Instagram. Despite a similar general vibe, the front bar area feels distinctly separate from the dining room and, behind that, the alluringly open kitchen.
The three of us ordered drinks first, including the most beautiful negroni I’ve ever seen, with its flowering thyme garnish. I tried the Remedy, a smooth mescal-based cocktail, and the Bad Neighbors, made with rye and cynar—it was good, but less remarkable than the other two.
Then, onto the food menu. The Progress, in addition to being a great spot to dine at the bar, is a fabulous place for a vegetarian to eat. We ordered five dishes to share between us, ranging from $14 to $20 each, one of them good, four of them exquisite: charred summer beans (pictured), ricotta, leek & spring onion ravioli, stewed artichokes, peas & favas (the one that was merely good), quail egg roti (worth traveling across the country for), and a bowl of coal-roasted mushrooms. Everything tasted fresh and unique and delicious, with the roti providing a satisfying infusion of starch. Even a vegetarian can’t just eat vegetables, after all.
The corner of that bar hosted a reunion between old friends, and it did so perfectly. We left with full bellies, and full of promises to not let another six years go by. Still, I can imagine not getting back to San Francisco for a while. I can’t imagine going back, though, and foregoing another trip to the Progress. It was that good.
THE PROGRESS | 1525 Fillmore Street | Fillmore District | San Francisco
