The de-bro-ification of the Marina continues with Tuesday’s opening of Lobalita (opens in new tab), the modern cantina that has taken over the former Tipsy Pig location on Chestnut Street.
The bar and restaurant is the latest debut in a neighborhood that has been shedding its reputation for fratty bars and fitness studios thanks to an influx elevated food and beverage businesses, including Little Original Joe’s, Super Mensch, and Bar Darling.
A low-key den filled with dark woods, checkered flooring, and red diner stools, Lobalita is the latest project from hospitality pros Stryker Scales, Nate Valentine, and Jamal Blake-Williams, who have been on a tear the past two years, opening hot spots such as Bar Darling and North Beach’s April Jean. These join a portfolio of established bars Peacekeeper and Harper & Rye, as well as the now-closed Mamacita on Chestnut and Padrecito in Cole Valley.
Lobalita was perhaps the group’s most eagerly awaited project, as it occupies one of the Marina’s most popular bar spaces. Tipsy Pig, a beloved gastropub, closed last spring after 17 years. “It’s a full circle of accomplishment,” Blake-Williams says, noting that he’s working with the same partners who opened Tipsy Pig nearly two decades ago. “To breathe new life into the street, and have my wife [Brittany Busacca] design it, means a lot.”
Lobalita continues the team’s efforts to keep drinks affordable. | Source: Courtesy Lobalita
The interior has a distinct through-line with the trio’s other projects. | Source: Courtesy Lobalita
The bar’s name is an homage to the she-wolf, an icon of feminine power and strength — and a logical move for a group that named April Jean after two of the partners’ mothers.
Across all their projects, the trio makes a point of keeping drinks affordable, and Lobalita’s cocktail list, all $14, includes likely stunners, such as the Lolo-lito, made with gin, roasted corn, lime, dry vermouth, and a mini elote, and the Holy Mole, a combination of tequila reposado, mole syrup, and sweet vermouth. Yes, there’s an option for the many fans of the espresso martini, a riff on the carajillo (opens in new tab), made with Licor 43, a house cold-brew espresso blend, and espresso-cinnamon salt dust. But Blake-Williams cites the horchata-colada, made with tequila, coconut-horchata, pineapple, and lime, as the most drinkable option on the menu.
Tipsy Pig was among the Marina’s most beloved spaces. | Source: Courtesy Lobalita
There are five beers on tap, almost all local, along with about a dozen world-spanning wines by the bottle. Of note, the program includes private-label Chilean house orange and white wines.
On the food side, look for taquitos, guacamole, and quesadillas, complemented by tuna tartare cones with chipotle-agave sauce and mango mascarpone, and a lamb picadillo gordita with pistachio pipian rojo. There’s also an entire section of two-to-an-order tostadas with fillings such as birria, al pastor, and “patito,” duck carnitas with manchego, fig-guajillo jam, and chicories.
Blake-Williams expects that tostada to be among the bestsellers. “It’s breathtaking,” he says.