Black Sands

We stopped in here for a few beers before hitting Nopalito for dinner. this place is basically a corner bar heavily patronized which caused us to share space at a table with some friendly people. The beers were solid and certainly nothing I had ever tasted in NJ. The SMASH — CITRA — DOUBLE IPA WAS VERY GOOD. Well worth a visit is you are into craft beers. The food offerings looked good as well.

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to review Black Sands! When I found out that a microbrewery and restaurant were planning on filling the space at 701 Haight, I was stoked. What Black Sands has brought to the neighborhood is exactly what we’ve been missing (at least in my opinion!) The food is incredible here– I’ve been twice for dinner and once for brunch. Highlights so far have been: the shrimp tacos, the veggie burger, and the taco salad. Everything is incredible fresh and flavorful, service is quick and friendly, and the space is beautiful. I also had the opportunity to interview Cole, one of the head brewers, for my company’s blog (
) and he was awesome! The brewers at Black Sands are all about helping the home brewing community make delicious beer, as well as serving up unique beers on tap.
If you haven’t made the time to check out Black Sands, I’d recommend you do it ASAP :)

This place is amazing! Such a diamond in the rough. The food is simple offerings but done so well for yummy comfort foods. Faryl our server was great always checking on us at appropriate times and making our experience that much better!
A must to stop in and check out!

Had a lot of fun here last night with some friends. The burger is first rate– one of the best in the city. Great fries, fantastic beer selection. I really like the «seat yourself» style too. I’ll be back.

Fried chicken sandwich, beers and cocktails. All so good. Restaurant and service are quick and friendly. Interior is clean, trendy. Highly recommended.

Delicious beers and the nicest bartenders in town. They have a full bar as well if you enjoy cocktails. I’m excited to try their food — it looked and smelled good! Well done Black Sands.

I went there on Tuesday ⁵⁄₂₆ at 7pm for a happy hour. Three of my friends got there before me and there was one house beer available on tap that they ordered. By the time I got there, the beer was gone and there were zero house beers available (just guest beers and cocktails). For a place that calls themselves a brewery in a city like San Francisco this is completely unacceptable. Was told that they had a busy weekend the prior weekend but what kind of excuse is that?!

Excellent Beer and Excellent food. Always happy to come and check out the latest brew … Constantly impressed with the quality and taste of the food. Excellent cocktails as well.

REALLY! Can’t you at least keep the site updated. PUHLEEZ! it can’t be that difficult to do.
To plan an evening out only to arrive to find the reason to patronize your establishment is beer the beer, and for the beer choices to be not as advertised is DISAPPOINTING..

If you can work this into your weekend afternoon, post-​bunch and before Happy Hour, you’re almost guaranteed a patio spot and a non-​chaotic experience ordering your brews. Every other time I’ve been here has felt rushed and loud, but I gave it another try on Saturday around 2pm and was pleasantly surprised.
The beers on top are always changing, and while they offer a variety of styles, IPAs always seem to be the focus at Black Sands. And for good reason.
We tried a red Belgium and a Black Sands IPA. Both were delicious (as if you needed any reassurance).
There are definitely small bites aplenty here, but nothing to write home about. Stick with the beer and you’ll leave happy.

I was highly skeptical of their menu as each item is so completely foreign and seemingly an artistic take on traditional bar food. I’ve just ordered the Taiwanese Fried Chicken and it is so insanely delicious that I’ve been inspired, after first gobbling them down, to write a review. My sweet and highly knowledgable waitress Kaly is attentive even despite the ever-​growing crowd and she was able to walk me through the beer list til I found a thing I thought she’d like and I do indeed like it. Really nice atmosphere: the lighting is dark and even though it is I’ll I *can* still hear myself think and communicate with those around me without shouting: and the family style seating makes it so accessible. Top notch spot.

The beer (which I have put in my very own mouth and swallowed, firsthand, just to be clear) is, in my opinion, average and overpriced. And the brewing of it results in a bad smell wafting about outside. I follow the owner’s personal recommendation and cross the street to avoid the smell. I’m not sure what they suggest for their outside seating arrangement. Maybe you can ask to move your table snd chairs across the street too…
You can buy a slice of toast here for $ 5, which is the most expensive slice of toast in my neighborhood (surpassing even The Mill, famed for its astonishingly expensive $ 4 slice of toast). In honesty, I haven’t tried the toast because (in my humble opinion) spending $ 5 on a slice of toast would make me a bit of a wanker.
Also, my negative review of Black Sands has been removed twice now, and the business owners have sent me two very condescending messages. Not the best way to get people to like you. Sorta makes me wonder how many other negative reviews they have reported and got removed…

Food: 4 stars
Service: okay
Came in here for brunch on a rainy Sunday. We opted for a pumpkin spice french toast ($ 10ish) and a baked polenta with slow cooked eggs and broccolini dish ($ 13ish).
The french toast was soo delicious. You just can’t make this kind of delicacy at home. I loved the mascarpone pairing, the sprinkled pomegranate, the crunch and softness. Thumbs up for this dish.
The polenta was good too, really hit the spot for a rainy day, but was somewhat bland after a few bites. I liked the broccolini a lot, but they gave only a couple of strands, so it quickly ran out. Could’ve been executed really well if they portioned each ingredient a little differently.
The menu was really simple; there isn’t a lot to choose from at brunch. Besides their usual seasonal fruit and granola, french toast, there was maybe 5 other things to choose from. So it’s kind of hard to visit often.
They’re also a microbrewery and offer brewing classes for $ 60 once a month (the whole experience, it’ll last almost a whole day, with tasting and stuff too). Would make an awesome gift to anyone who likes beer! (They also sell at-​home brew kits)

Went to brunch here on a Sunday and was I blown outta the water. I mean yes! Finally this neighborhood has something good to offer. The California Rice Porridge was good as f!!! It was exactly what I needed. I never even know how much I needed it until that fateful Sunday. I wanted to order another one but too self conscious, guess I can come back next weeeeeeek!!! Everything and everyone looks gorgeous, btw.
Order the unexpected, like us, we are awesome, be more like us.
The biscuit and gravy, yummy! I will return, soon, bleary eyed and dying from a megasaurus hangover. You complete me Black Sands, you complete me.

Literally the best burger I have had in SF.
Keep in mind I have just moved from Brooklyn, where burgers and meat in general hold a higher place in food.
The thing is, if you love thick, raw, fancy restaurant burgers with artesian cheese, go home. If you want an amazing burger that is reminiscent of fast food, but with a higher quality, this is your place. Two this slices of beef with cheese on each and lettuce and sauce and that’s all. Thanks. I don’t want tomatoes anyway. The beer is good too!

Black Sands is such a cool concept — they are an modern, chic restaurant, brewery, café, and winery. I was quite unimpressed by the food/​coffee (quantity, taste, choice). The salad was ok, but kind of small for $ 11. The matcha cappuccino was alright — needed more matcha flavor, and they don’t serve almond milk (only soy).
They’re known for their breakfast torta (looks kinda small) and their croque madame (also looked kinda small). I would recommend skipping brunch and going straight for a beer and lunch or dinner.

or how ’bout in the haight with Black Sands
eat up yo plate then call me the brunch man
Torta top or just gimme the Croque Madame
the sat to the ur to the day to the weekends
i wanna, eateateateat food from breky to dinner
n i wanna, mooove from the app to the entrée to dessert
then i wanna, nomnom you cook it so good i don’t wanna leave
but i gotta, let let me know wh what’s yo or ordering!

great addition to the Lower Haight. I tried all of their beers that they make in house and they’re all pretty tasty! Even their carrucha (tequila) cocktail was really good. The food is also pretty good for a brewery!

The décor of Black Sands is superb. White marble accented with light colored wood gives the restaurant an elegant air while hearkening back to an old world atmosphere. The space feels open and airy, a great place to spend a late summer afternoon.
The food, and especially the beer, were quite good. The pickled vegetables were delicious, and the chicken wings were a pleasant surprise of flavors. The burger was unmemorable. There was a house saison on the menu that was really fantastic, would highly recommend it to someone that enjoys Belgium style beers. Only complaint in the food department was that there were only three chicken wings in the order. Typically chicken wings means sharing in a group setting, but it is a little tough to share three. Also $ 16 for three wings is a bit outrageous.
They still have a lot of kinks to work out, mainly in the service. It was unorganized and a bit chaotic. We were seated at the chef’s bar, but our waiter didn’t show up for quite sometime, leaving us to wonder if we were supposed to be ordering somewhere else. Beers took an abnormally long time to materialize, waiters were unsure where to make room to put plates down, a split burger to share came out on one small plate.
Overall I would give this place six months to mature, master their logistics, and then come back and try the food again. In the meantime, I would definitely pop in for another one of the saison’s.

Super excited for them to begin their dinner menu next Saturday. They’re going to have cocktails (by the person who made the Lazy Bear cocktail program)… but actually I might still spring for trying even more beers because the beers were delicious.
Also the food!
Went for brunch and it was full, but still had enough seats available to get seated at the chef’s counter (bonus — it’s an open kitchen and you get to watch the chefs cook).
Brunch items we tried:
— Coconut jam toast: Get it. It has a perfectly balanced coconut cream sauce (not too sweet) spread on a thick piece of toast. Yum.
— Baked egg: I’m not a vegetarian by any means and this definitely had a lot of healthy veggies in it (squash, chickpeas, and lentils) but it tasted EXCELLENT. Usually the problem with such healthy options is that they TASTE healthy. The spices in it made it taste light but delicious. I ended up spooning down every drop of sauce at the end.
— DFT breakfast torta: Thick, slightly crunchy exterior with spicy chorizo, cheese, avocado, and scrambled eggs in it. Also fantastic.
The menu is a bit small, but everything on there is great and as a result of a smaller menu, service is fast.
Oh yeah… and the beers!
I especially liked the sour, but also the Shochu (aged in sake barrels) was unique.