The spicy double at Maillards with bird’s eye chiles and aioli between crispy beef patties. After years of running as a popup, Maillards will open a permanent location inside the new Two Pitchers taproom in San Francisco.
Cesar Hernandez/The Chronicle
One of San Francisco’s star smashburger operations is ready to open alongside one of the region’s most distinct craft breweries.
Starting April 22, top-ranked popup Maillards will sling its smashburgers on a regular basis at Two Pitchers Brewing Co.’s new taproom at 3821 Noriega St. in the Outer Sunset. Maillards’ burgers, stacked with crispy patties and gooey cheese, will be paired with the brewery’s specialty radlers, beer mixed with fruit juice.
Maillards’ smashburgers, which Chronicle associate restaurant critic Cesar Hernandez named among the top three in the Bay Area, come in single and double patty stacks with melted cheese and grilled shallots rather than the typical onions. The Birds Eye burger is punched up with a Thai chile aioli and herb salad, while the OTL features fresh onion, tomato and lettuce. Chef-owner Max Ponzurick said he hopes to offer a monthly burger special.
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“The paper-thin patties have a bright sheen with a seductive, delicate crunch,” Hernandez wrote of Maillards, which is named for the chemical reaction that produces deep browning and flavor. “Despite being one of the latest to join the fray, Maillards’ popularity suggests life still surges through the smashburger trend.”
Other dishes will include grilled cheese, fried chicken sandwiches and French fries cooked in beef tallow. (Because the taproom opens in the afternoon, Maillards’ breakfast sandwich will not be available.) New items will include an herby Caesar salad and soft serve ice cream.
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Maillards became an instant hit when it launched in 2023 as a vendor at the Outer Sunset farmers market on Sunday mornings. It expanded soon after with a Tuesday popup at Heritage Bar and Grill in the Richmond District.
Maillards will continue operating at the Sunday market after the fixed location opens. “The Sunset has been our home from the beginning and it will stay our home for the foreseeable future,” Ponzurick said. The Heritage popups will also continue for the next few weeks, but could end based on how business goes at the taproom.
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Beef patties get pressed on the flattop for smashburgers at a Maillards popup.
Cesar Hernandez/The Chronicle
Two Pitchers co-owner Tommy Hester is excited about opening the taproom, the company’s first in San Francisco, after about a year-and-a-half of work on the former Noriega Produce store. It’s Two Pitchers’ second tasting room, following its uptown Oakland location, which opened in 2021.
The radler-burger combination also echoes Two Pitchers’ taproom in Oakland, where smashburger specialist Lovely’s runs the kitchen. “We’re really focused on making the best bar experience, and over in the kitchen with Maillards, they’re only focused on the food,” Hester said.
The taproom is opening during a difficult moment for the U.S. domestic beer market. Craft beer industry advocacy group Brewers Association reports craft production fell by 5.1% in 2025, following years of decline. Meanwhile, the percentage of Americans consuming alcohol is at a 90-year low, per a 2025 Gallup poll.
Hester recognizes the industry is going through a rough patch, but he said that Two Pitchers’ focus on radlers has paid off in not getting lost in a crowded field. Keeping pints at the Oakland taproom affordable and having a popular burger vendor have also been key in holding on to a core customer base. “We are different enough that we have been able to buck that trend,” Hester said.
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Two Pitchers’ radlers will take up 10 of the bar’s 20 taps. These drinks are made by blending a base beer with lemon, grapefruit, passionfruit or other fruit juices. Other beers include a pale ale and a lager, the latter which will cost $3 a pint. “I think it should be the cheapest pint in town,” Hester said. Other pints will be $6.
For customers looking for a stout, hazy IPA or other craft beer styles, the taps will also feature Bay Area breweries such as Cellarmaker and Bare Bottle, among others.
The 2,000-square-foot taproom, just blocks from Ocean Beach, can accommodate 49 customers, including in an outdoor parklet.
Both Hester and Ponzurick are optimistic about the business outlook in the Outer Sunset, where they said people continue flocking to the Sunset Dunes park and popular neighborhood staples such as Devils’ Teeth Bakery and Andytown Coffee, plus new restaurants such as brewpub Fifty Vara and a forthcoming outpost of Black Jet Baking Co.
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“The momentum has 100% been on our side in the entire process of creating this,” Ponzurick said.
Two Pitchers Brewing Co. and Maillards. Opening April 22. 3821 Noriega St., San Francisco. maillardssf.com; twopitchers.com