When Rick’s Aloha closed, many in the Outer Sunset mourned a bit more fiercely than another neighborhood may have. There just aren’t that many places to duck out of the cold way out there on Taraval, and Rick provided an important respite from the fog. Fortunately, Larry Doyle, the chef/owner of the new Parkside Tavern, has a similar neighborhood-oriented philosophy. “Unlike most other parts of SF, I felt that this part of the sunset could use some kind of a heartbeat,” he said. After moving to the neighborhood some four years ago, the Johnny Foley’s executive chef with Stars and Postrio on his resume made an occasional habit out of stopping by Rick’s for a beer on his way home from work. “Rick and I got to talking one night and he said he wanted to retire. I put two and two together and figured I could do something with this beautiful space… It has great bones.” So Doyle bought the operation.
The resulting bar and restaurant will serve booze from 3 p.m. to midnight and Doyle’s “San Francisco pub food” from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., with brunch service at 11 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. This wouldn’t be a new San Francisco restaurant if there wasn’t some element of farm-to-table virtuousness. Fortunately, Doyle’s got that covered: “We want to go to the farmers’ markets and meet the farmers and buy the produce. We want to meet the people that are providing the produce we want to work with. In a pub environment that’s a new thing.” Check out a pdf of the opening menu right here and here.
