A new restaurant serving bistro and comfort-food classics, done up with a Californian attention to freshness and seasonality, along with a side of live DJs takes over the former Universal Cafe space as of this week.

It's called Side A, so that should be the first clue. Using the tagline "Food. Wine. Vinyl." on its under-construction website, and providing a Spotify link next to its Instagram, the restaurant opening on Thursday (May 1) is clearly going to lean into its soundtrack as a defining feature.

We first heard about it in December, and it's the vision of husband and wife Parker and Caroline Brown, who are bringing both a love of music and a love of Midwestern hospitality and humble, satisfying food to their first restaurant. Caroline Brown, who hails originally from Chicago, has a background in both music production and DJing, and she plans to DJ most weeknights at the restaurant to set the vibe.

Parker Brown, who grew up in Milwaukee, was most recently chef de cuisine at the now closed, Michelin-starred Aphotic, so he'll be bringing some serious culinary skills to the table. The menu, at least what we know of it now, is a mashup of twists on traditional bistro and pub fare with a California sensibility, featuring things like a fried chicken cutlet topped with a vibrant herb salad and served over chicories and honey mustard sauce; a version of gnocchi Parisienne inspired by the flavors of an Italian beef sandwich; and cheese fries topped with caramelized onions, smoked trout roe, and caviar.

There will also be a cheeseburger served aside a hearty smoked marrow bone, meant to be used a condiment. And a vegetarian entree of roasted eggplant will be served with French lentils and pickled summer squash. There's also a "garbage salad," which is like a version of a Cobb salad with pork belly, beans and feta thrown in.

Wine selections will focus on California and Italy, curated by beverage partner Paul Chung, while the beer list will include eight beers, with the Champagne of Beers, Miller High Life, being a constant.

Caroline Brown tells the Chronicle that they landed at the Universal Cafe space because it was one of the first restaurants she came to love in SF, after moving here from Chicago in 2017, and it was near her first office here.

"I knew this was the type of restaurant we wanted to open someday," she says, noting how welcoming and warm the place felt, filled with regulars.

With that in mind, they are hoping to keep affordability front and center with the menu, so that they gain a regular crowd and so that people can "eat here more than once."

The size and layout of the space remains the same, with 28 seats inside and eight more outside, but it does now feature a small DJ booth. And the 11-seat bar will be for walk-ins only.

While there will likely be guest DJs spinning on weekends, Caroline says her record collection is eclectic, and you can expect to hear soul, funk, disco, jazz, and rock and roll being spun during dinner when she's in charge. She tells the Chronicle that the goal is for the place to "remain authentic and really feel like you’re at a dinner party in our home."

And while brunch — a staple at Universal Cafe — may be something down the line, they're only planning on dinner service for now. But, the bar counter will be in service for coffee and fresh doughnuts all day long, with coffee from The Coffee Movement.

Side A - 2814 19th Street - open Thursday and Sunday to Monday 4 pm to 10 pm, and Friday to Saturday 4 pm to 12 am - Opening May 1, with reservations going live May 15 on Resy