Nob Hill's Hotel Bars Are Building a Weekly Calendar for Regulars

The rooftop sign on the Huntington Hotel is lit again. The owners switched it back on ahead of the hotel's March 1 reopening. The building at Taylor and California had been dark since 2020, and its previous owners defaulted on a $56.2 million mortgage in 2022. Highgate and San Francisco's Flynn Properties bought it in 2023. Greg Flynn called the reopening "a symbol of the resurrection of San Francisco" at the March 2 ribbon-cutting.

That sign is the most visible change on the hill this year, but it isn't the most useful one if you live a few blocks away. The useful change is in the schedules. Across four hotels at the summit, the bars have spent 2026 setting fixed weekly time slots, multi-visit challenges and long-term contracts. Those are the tools of a venue that wants you back next week. Taken together, they give Nob Hill a predictable week of evenings you can reach on foot.

The Huntington came back with two rooms of very different sizes

The Big Four returned on March 17 with 72 seats. Interior designer Ken Fulk oversaw the restoration, and chef David Intonato, previously at Appellation in Healdsburg, updated the menu. Fulk kept the dark green and brass, the rams'-horn sconces, the carved wooden columns and the mirrors etched with the names of the four railroad magnates. The piano at the center of the back bar is back for nightly live performances.

The menu choice that matters most for a repeat diner is the chicken pot pie. It's still $35, the same price it was before the pandemic. In its March 31 review, SFGATE called it a home run, priced the same as six years ago. The reviewer also reported that pianists Michael Udelson and Dick Clark have returned, joined by newcomer Hardy Hemphill, and that they play seven nights a week. Eder Garcia, who spent 12 years as a barback there, is one of three staff members who came back. Retired head server and house historian Ron Henggeler helped train the new team on the property's past.

The same review called it the quietest restaurant the critic had ever sat in in San Francisco. The hotel credits padded carpet and acoustic felt ceiling panels. That quiet goes well with a room that offers live piano every night.

Off the lobby, Arabella's opened a few weeks after the restaurant. It was already running when The San Francisco Standard toured the hotel in early April. The hotel lists it as a 25-seat cocktail salon, open Tuesday through Saturday from 6 p.m. It's named for Arabella Huntington, Collis P. Huntington's second wife. The menu follows eras of her life through cocktails, under a sweeping mural by Rafael Arana. The back bar holds decades-old spirits, including Soviet-era vodka, and the room has a bar cart from 1930s France. Arabella's has about a third of the Big Four's seats, which puts a hard limit on how many people fit in on a busy night.

Top of the Mark turned its centennial into a stamp card with no deadline

Across the summit, the InterContinental Mark Hopkins opened on December 4, 1926. That makes this December its 100th anniversary. To mark it, Top of the Mark brought back the 100 Martini Experience on May 25, with one martini for each year of the hotel's history. Each costs $22 to $26.

The rules show who it's for. You get a stamp in a passport for each martini, in any order, with no time limit. Anyone who fills all 100 stamps qualifies for prizes. If you still have a passport from an earlier round, you can pick up where you left off. A visitor in town for a weekend gets a nice view and a stamp or two. Someone who lives a five-minute walk away can actually finish.

General manager Clayton Cagle, who used to bartend in the lounge, curated the list. It includes Martini No. 46, the "Geary Boulevardier," and No. 59, "Caught Red Handed." According to Hoodline's September 30 report, the 19th floor was an 11-room penthouse until 1939, when owner George D. Smith spent $110,000 turning it into the glass-walled lounge. During World War II, the northwest window became known as "Weepers' Corner." IHG currently lists the lounge as open Sunday through Thursday from 4 to 11 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 3 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Saturday live entertainment carries a cover charge.

The Tonga Room's band signed on for two more years

The Fairmont's contribution to the calendar is a band that's staying put. In June, SFGATE profiled Island Groove, the Tonga Room's house band, led by CJ Simbre. Simbre was born and raised in San Francisco and now drives in from American Canyon. The usual lineup is four players. On the night SFGATE visited, Steve Landaker was on drums, Keith Madrid on guitar and Larz Delago on lead vocals.

The band plays 7 to 11 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. That's fewer hours than before: they used to play four-and-a-half-hour sets five nights a week. Simbre describes the Tonga Room as the last restaurant in San Francisco with a regular house band, paid at local musicians' union rates. The group recently signed a two-year contract extension. With that deal, four nights a week of live music at the Tonga Room are booked for two more years.

Bruma arrives with the routine already printed

The newest piece was designed around this idea from the start. The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco has announced that Bruma, an 80-seat cocktail lounge at 600 Stockton Street, will open October 12. The hotel's announcement says the programming "is built to become part of guests' routines" and lists the weekly schedule:

• Golden Hour Aperitivo, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 4 to 6 p.m.
• Friday Night Live Jazz, 7 to 10 p.m.
• Latin Fusion Band Saturdays, 7 to 10 p.m.

General manager Nicholas McDermott said Bruma invites "guests and locals alike to slow down and discover something new." The design firm Fettle drew on the parlors of Nob Hill's old mansions, including the Leland Stanford Mansion. The room has a hand-etched églomisé mirror behind the bar and centers on the hotel's original fireplace. The food and drink program was developed with Lowder-Tascarella Hospitality and executive chef George Vanyi. It includes a tableside martini chilled with liquid nitrogen and a reworked Nob Hill Pisco Punch. As of today, Bruma hasn't opened yet. Hours and reservation details will be announced closer to opening day.

The week, laid out

Put the published schedules side by side and they cover the week with little overlap. Hours change, especially at venues that opened or reopened this year, so check before you head out.

Wednesday through Saturday is the most crowded part of the grid. On Monday and Sunday, the options are the Big Four's piano and Top of the Mark.

The dates between now and the centennial

1. October 12. Bruma's announced opening at The Ritz-Carlton.
2. November 30, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The Nob Hill Association's free Holiday Tree Lighting in Huntington Park at California and Taylor, with live music, treats and activities. The Huntington Hotel also stands at California and Taylor.
3. December 4. The Mark Hopkins turns 100. The hotel's centennial program also includes special events, historical tributes and culinary programming.

The Big Four's posted hours, from SFGATE's March review, are breakfast daily from 7 to 10 a.m., lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 5 to 10 p.m. on weekends. That schedule is six months old, so confirm it before you reserve.

If you live near the summit and want to know how this year's changes affect your home's value, Minna Real Estate can walk you through it block by block. Start with Get My Free Home Valuation.