The Causwells team is pivoting their second space, which opened last year as the low-ABV cocktail and snack bar Lilah, and opening a new Jewish deli-inspired concept with high-ABV drinks.
Reubens made with house-cured and smoked pastrami, matzah ball soup, latkes, and house-made bagels and lox are just a few things you can expect when Super Mensch opens in the space that since last fall has been home to Lilah — just to the right of the entrance of the Presidio Movie Theater at 2336 Chestnut Street.
The team behind Causwells, including chef Adam Rosenblum and beverage director Elmer Mejicanos, has decided to forgo the low-ABV concept — maybe because, despite the creativity of Mejicanos's cocktail menu, it wasn't commanding the kind of business that the Marina's multiple regular-ABV bars tend to do, and that Causwells does, two doors down.
Also, they got the opportunity to buy a full liquor license for the second space.
"Creating a space around low-ABV cocktails was an incredible creative challenge," says Mejicanos. "We’re proud of what we built with Lilah, but when the chance to get a full liquor license presented itself, we couldn’t pass it up. We’ve dreamed of doing a Jewish-American concept and now feels like the right time."
The cocktail menu will pivot along with the food, away from the seasonal and tropical-inspired drinks at Lilah to concoctions more appropriate to the new food menu.
"Imagine if Katz’s Deli was a cocktail bar inspired by the nostalgic flavors of NYC deli culture," says a rep for the restaurant, Lisa Nourse. We're told we can expect cocktails with flavors like egg cream, celery soda, and black and white cookies.
And Mejicanos's penchant for creating whimsical, rice-paper-printed illustrations for the tops of foamy drinks will probably come into play here as well.
Lilah's last day of service will be next week, on May 4 — so get some of those excellent peanuts, wings, and a kakagori (shaved ice) drink while you can.
A remodel is in store, and Super Mensch is aiming for a July opening.
