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    Fermentation Lab

    4.4 (312 reviews)
    Closed 4:00 pm - 12:00 am (Next day)
    Updated a few days ago

    Fermentation Lab Photos

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    FERMENTATION LAB ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Hipster
    Casual
    Trendy

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    Recommended Reviews - Fermentation Lab

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    Chloe S.

    We came here for the Wednesday prime rib deal! Make sure to make a reservation as they can get busy on wednesdays. The deal comes with a glass of wine, prime rib with cream spinach, mashed potatoes, and cornbread, wedge salad, and dessert. We came to celebrate a birthday and the staff came by with an extra dessert with candles. The meal itself was very filling, the meat was tender and a good portion. One of the highlights was the dessert!

    Uni pasta
    Yahaira M.

    Located right in front of the Japantown center, you will find Fermentation Lab. We were greeted, and even without a reservation, I got seated on a busy evening. Inside, you have a two-level restaurant; I saw groups that were getting ready to celebrate birthdays and large groups gathering. You will find a beautiful bar. I would say my drink, the penicillin, was delicious. Now food- I had the Uni Pasta, and for some reason it was more on the sweeter side, which was unexpected to me. Probably would have ordered something else. It was not bad but not memorable. The duck fries were good and the calamari also good. There was an unpleasant smell that wasn't the food, and even the table next to me complained about it. While no one was able to pinpoint the cause of the smell, it lingered and truly made everyone uncomfortable. Overall, probably a great place for drinks and appetizers on my books.

    Jeff H.

    Fermentation Lab is awesome. We tried their happy hour plates and some other entrees on a Friday night. My friends came early and got us a table. My favorites were the ahi tuna with chips and calamari. Service was excellent. The restaurant is beautiful. Fun fact, back in the 1990's, this used to be a Denny's restaurant. After the bars, we could always come here to have a meal. It was a great place to meet up with friends with they went to a different bar or club. Good memories.

    Winnie W.

    Nobody does HH better than FermLab. Come here for brunch, come back for their amazing Happy Hour!!

    July 1, 2027 Happy Hour
    Deanna L.

    The Wednesday Prime Rib special for $65 caught my attention and so did many other items on the menu. Made it just in time for the happy hour, which was $2-$4 off the original price and ordered even more items. The deviled eggs had four pieces(2 kinds), the bacon marmalade was rich and flavorful and the smoked salmon was quite salty. The calamari misto was lightly battered and I loved that it came with a mix of artichoke heart, shrimp, calamari, onions, and jalapenos. I could taste the umani of the duck fat fries. The uni pasta got the creaminess down, and the squid ink pasta was cooked well, but the uni flavor was very light and the flavors weren't as bold as I had expected. The prime rib was tender and the sides were decent. The chefs amuse bouche and the churro were the cherry on top for the prime rib special. With everything that was ordered, I was worried that I didn't have enough table space, but all the items were spaced out enough to fit everything a the right time. The Fermentation Lab is the perfect place for a date for those that appreciate a lovely atmosphere, welcoming service, vibrant drinks and beautifully plated dishes. I probably wouldn't come for just the prime rib special, but I would love to try other items on the menu. I wasn't expecting any screens, but they had two projectors and a tv playing the USA vs Bosnia World Cup game so that was a pleasant surprise!

    Hope L.

    Came here on a Wednesday for the $65 prime rib dinner special and it didn't disappoint! It came with so many courses and a dessert and the prime rib was the star of the show! It was juicy, tender, and cooked to perfection. We also got the deviled eggs and the toppings were amazing! Our server was so sweet and brought out an extra dessert for us too. Highly recommend this restaurant!

    Matcha martini
    Steffi K.

    A friend of mine had her wedding afterparty here, and we had an awesome time in the lounge area upstairs! It's tucked away from the rest of the bar with plenty of seating, so we could all sit comfortably and rest our feet after being in heels all day. We had a $1k minimum bar tab spend, which we easily met with about 30 of us having at least one drink. Bonus points for having a men's room, women's room, and two unisex stalls! I ordered a matcha martini since I really needed a little caffeine to sustain myself through karaoke afterwards as well, and it is now one of my favorite cocktails. Super creamy with the delicious notes of pineapple and coconut, and you can't really taste the alcohol (just the way I like it). Half our table ordered one after trying mine! We also grabbed some duck fat fries to share, and they were well fried, crispy and not greasy feeling. Thank you Fermentation Lab for having us!

    Mocktail
    Mariyet A.

    The service was great. They had a small selection of mocktails for myself and a lot of different drinks to choose from for my husband. The seating area looks upscale. I would come back!

    Uni Pasta
    Alisa B.

    Cocktail bar with pretty delicious food!!! I really enjoyed my experience here overall. A beautiful interior and good vibes. Everything on the menu was priced a little high, but the quality was worth it. Every cocktail was good! FYI - Yelp advertised that this restaurant has a "no tipping policy"... but the tablet indeed asked for a tip when we checked out. Service was great, so I didn't mind... but just a heads uo!!! + Uni Pasta (5/5): MY FAVORITE! Squid ink pasta was perfectly al dente and carried the creamy sauce so well. Very decadent, full of flavor, and smooth. They added a good amount of uni for the price. + Makgeoli Braised Bossam (4/5): Very small portion, but the pork was cooked well and was flavorful. A different take on bossam, so not very traditional. + Tea Leaf Salad (2/5): Lacked so much flavor. Vegetables were fresh, but the tea leaf dressing truly did not taste authentic. I would not recommend. + Sake Flight (5/5): SO GOOD! Bang for your buck. I loved the variety of sake and the presentation. A lot of these I've never even heard before.

    Uni Pasta
    Simone O.

    tldr: food is good but the service kinda ass (not once did the servers come fill out water and they checked in once at the end when we were kinda finished and it wasn't even our original server). i was a party of 4 with a 630 reservation on tuesday - not that many people inside and you seat yourself actually after you walk in. nice intimate kinda date spot imo. happy hour 3-6 had some good looking items, but my partner came with a party of 10 and the oysters gave them food poisoning. duck fat fries - doesn't really taste like duck fat but they got a good crunch, solid steak fry ahi tuna poke - this was very good the taro chips a great addition makgeolli braised pork belly - the sauce for this was FIRE. banchan good inside a wrap with the lettuce uni pasta - i was excited for this but kind of let down. the sauce needed salt and didn't have that much flavor, but the pasta texture was perfect katsu miso loco moco - the katsu had a great crunch despite being under the egg. the gravy was light which i didn't enjoy as much but could be a good try

    Esther C.

    stopped by in the late afternoon and found out they have happy hour tried their drinks and they were actually really good. fun flavors and a nice spot to relax for a casual drink didn't get to try the food this time, but would definitely come back to check out their menu next time great little Japantown spot for drinks and a chill hangout

    Duck fat fries with scallion aoili
    Jhannell O.

    Went here for a friend's birthday dinner reservation and we were surprised to have the entire upstairs area just for us! It felt extra special. Even though we were upstairs, we got served quickly and they were attentive with what we needed. We tried the ahi tuna poke, calamari misto, duck fat fries, and brussel sprouts to share. My favorite was the ahi tuna poke. It was served with taro chips, it added a light and crunchy element. I got the makgeolii braised pork belly. It was such a large serving. It was like a mini bossam. I wish it came with more lettuce because there was about half of the pork belly left it without rice or lettuce. For drinks, we got pandan lemon drop and lychee martini. They were a great sis and a good amount of sweet and tart. Overall, I really enjoyed the vibe. I could see it being a nice spot for a night out.

    Katelyn R.

    Great all day happy hour on a Sunday. Poached oysters, deviled eggs, and calamari are all definitely must tries. For the regular menu, I got a penicillin cocktail with some dark liquor and it was delicious, I love that spice ginger gives. Both the uni pasta and loco moco was bomb. Big, spacious & clean interior with nice classy decor. Every worker was sweet and happy to help. I would definitely return here if I lived in the bay :)

    Uni Pasta

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    Fermentation Lab Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Fermentation Lab

    I'd like to ask if your restaurant permits guests to bring their own wine, and if so, what is the corkage fee?

    Hi Olivia, yes we permit our guests to bring their own wine bottles. Our corckage fee is $20 per bottle.… 

    Is it family style?

    Hi! This can be a family style restaurant, but I'd say most of the meals aren't! They're really each person gets their own meal. That said, you can always share!

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    Really unique, immersive speakeasy. Came for a birthday and opted for their escape room, which is…read morealso a really cool feature for a speakeasy bar. The escape room is Alice In Wonderland themed and includes three drinks as part of the experience. Arrived on time for our reservation but were held in a waiting room for about 30 min before we could start. Didn't seem like anyone else was doing the escape room but it was also the week of their biz anniversary so maybe they were just super busy. Phoenix led our escape room and was such a delight. Friendly, great banter, helpful throughout the escape. The escape game is split across multiple rooms with a good diversity of puzzles. Don't want to spoil too much here but they were good challenges. Drinks we incorporated throughout and presented like test tubes that were drinkable in a gulp, kind of like a cocktail shot. Personally, I found the first two drinks to be a bit too sweet, but I liked the third, which was coconut forward. The price is definitely a bit more costly. It was $100/person for a party of five. I understand that it was an escape room + the staff + the cocktails. If you max out the party size, it's about $85-ish per person which I think is pretty solid. Still very unique and fun and glad I got to try it

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    The Beehive - Beauty Mark

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    4.3(457 reviews)
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    This is by far my favorite bar in SF. I used to drive up here weekly with my coworkers for Friday…read morenights almost 4 years ago. This place has not changed much (in a good way.) The atmosphere is so lovely, there's good music that gradually turned into old school hiphop as the night grew longer. The servers were so kind and came by all the time to refill water and make sure everyone was happy. Little shoutout to the server that took care of us all night Kimberly! She was so amazing and had the best service. (: It may be a bar but the food is so good, we got a little of everything to share. As a regular of lounge-style bars, this place has good lighting if you like taking pictures of your drinks, a good surprise! I really appreciate all the staff for being so kind and attentive on a busy Saturday night. We had a party of 12 that took up a little two-couch area with no issues at all! If I can make a recommendation for anyone that reads this, get the Thunderbird!

    Cool bar with bites in the Mission District. We got there shortly after it opened at 4pm on Friday…read moreafternoon. I was craving a refreshing craft cocktail and got one with the Green Emmanuelle. I liked the cardamom in the Beauty Mark as well that my partner ordered. We ordered shishito peppers and mushroom bahn mi sliders. The mushroom bahn mi sliders were amazing - the quality fillings and taste of the soft bun - I was unexpectedly hit with a bite of spice from maybe jalapeño seeds left but didn't sour my experience. The shishito peppers ended up being extremely spicy as well, those are usually just a few spicy and not the majority. The roasted lemon and salt was a wonderful combo but just too spicy to eat. However, the server very kindly removed it from our bill without us asking. We order the crostini because we were still hungry and that was an absolute hit. Delicious med-soft crostini with luscious berries and sweet honey. I didn't care my hands got sticky as it was soooo good! Great experience, I would be weary if the peppers as I'm a bit spice-intolerant but everything else was spot-on.

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    Blind Pig Speakeasy Lounge - Hot & Sour: Tanqueray Gin w/ lichiko shochu, aloe, rose, hot pot paste, basil, citrus, peychaud's ($18)

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    one of the finest cocktail bars in the city…read more intimate, friendly, well crafted, passionate, and impressive. have been coming here for a little while now, and their drinks never fail to amaze. leo, pedro, and andrew in particular really make the establishment shine, and truly do make this place special. they are always kind and attentive no matter how busy it may be. don't forget to roll the dice.

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    Can see why this bar gets so much praise and love how it focuses and utilizes asian ingredients…read more They have a great outdoor space with tables and the setup inside maximizes how many people could sit + stand. Thats how I know asians own this place lol. Appreciate this level of intention. Made it feel more intimate and cozy. Everyone was very friendly and attentive. Immediately when you walk in the staff is on it. There was a handful of pandan drinks and our server explained each one perfectly and gave his recommendation. I forgot what I got but it was delicious. My cousin got a matcha one which was interesting and strong! Their menu was refreshing (no pun intended) and the type I love to see that are actually creative and culturally inspired. Got lucky with standing seats then moved over to the bar. It wasnt that packed on a Saturday evening assuming bc it was OSL weekend. They were playing great music at a good volume. But golly hella expensive. 2 drinks with the service charge and tip was over $60. Guess thats SF. Would definitely return but for a special occasion.

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    Girl dinner: cocktails and jerky. What's not to love? We…read moreordered: - The yuzu cute cocktail: perfectly refreshing and tart, not too sweet from the pineapple - A mango coconut horchata cocktail: good but a bit sweet and bland. Needed a kick - The jerk jerky: goddam this was spicy! From someone with a medium spice tolerance! Good thing I had the cocktail to wash it down haha. The parts that weren't tongue burning spicy were so flavorful though - The red eye: the espresso rub was subtle but a fun contrast - The thicc Jim: better than any slim Jim or chomp stick you'll ever eat. Fresh pork and that hot honey garlic essence Logistics: - Indoor and outdoor seating - Limited street parking nearby but right next to the light rail and buses along third street and the bay bike trail - Non alcoholic options available

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    Such a cool Japanese bar with a great atmosphere! Make sure you bring your ID, because they will…read morecard you at the entrance as if you're going into a club. The inside has a really cool, stylish vibe, with a great selection of drinks and very good bartenders. The food was amazing too, especially the sando -- honestly, it might be the best sando I've ever had in San Francisco! Excellent service all around and a fun, comfortable place to meet up with friends for drinks and some seriously good Japanese food. Definitely a spot I'd come back to!

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    Fermentation Lab - cocktailbars - Updated September 2026

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