Welcome to Swig City, where we point you toward don’t-miss cocktails at some of the best bars, restaurants, and clubs in the city. Cheers!
Take one sip of the Boracay Old-Fashioned at Kona’s by PCH, and it’s easy to understand why Kevin Diedrich is one of San Francisco’s most renowned mixologists. Each component of the juicy, vanilla-kissed drink ($21) can be pulled out and savored individually — from the juniper and citrus notes of Botanist gin and delicately floral pandan to the brightness of Dolin Blanc vermouth and herbaceous notes of bay leaf.
Clear-hued and served over a large ice cube with a garnish of calamansi, it’s not just a tongue-in-cheek take on a classic old-fashioned, usually made with bourbon or rye. It’s also the most sophisticated cocktail you can get anywhere at San Francisco International Airport — because Kona’s at PCH is the best bar at the airport.
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Diedrich opened the 7-month-old cocktail destination, a love letter to Asia-Pacific flavors, in partnership with Paradies Lagardère (opens in new tab), which manages airport eateries and retail throughout North America. The bar’s name is a hybrid, referring to two of Diedrich’s other concepts, Kona’s Street Market (opens in new tab) and Pacific Cocktail Haven (opens in new tab), both in downtown San Francisco.
SFO asked Diedrich to open another Pacific Cocktail Haven, but the award-winning bartender jealously protects his baby, a one-time James Beard Award finalist that holds a spot on the World’s 50 Best list of North American bars. “I didn’t want people’s first impression of PCH to be at the airport,” Diedrich says. “But PCH has more weight than Kona’s in terms of credibility and draw.” So they compromised, and the neon logo combines a caricature of Kona, Diedrich’s dog, and PCH’s gold lettering.
Source: Carolyn Fong for The Standard
At SFO, a place better known for glasses of overpriced cabernet and smuggled mini-bottles of hooch, Kona’s operates within the cluster of outlets in Terminal 1 known as SF Eats Food Hall, which also includes Kitava, Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, Napa Farms Market, and Equator Coffee.
Positioned where three of the terminal’s corridors meet, Kona’s by PCH is in an enviable spot. “I think it’s the best location,” Diedrich says. But he and Paradies didn’t pay to obtain it. “I had no idea where it was going to go.” It’s a very casual setup. There’s no table service, and it’s perfectly OK to bring, say, a slice from Tony’s and eat it at Kona’s U-shaped bar.
An ode to a beachy island in the Philippines, the Boracay is Diedrich’s favorite drink on the menu — and the best of the three we tried. “It’s probably the most pandan-y” cocktail he’s ever made, he says, referring to the tropical plant cultivated for its mild, vanilla-coconut-scented leaves. Another must-try is the bourbon-based Thrilla in Manila, made with absinthe, calamansi, pineapple, coconut cream, and shiso over pebbled ice, led by the intense saltiness of li-hing mui, or pickled plum.
Though Paradies handles day-to-day operations, Diedrich created every drink on the menu. Business is ticking up, he says. The team recently debuted “Kona coins,” tokens that can be redeemed for a drink at the original Kona’s downtown and allow the team to gauge brand awareness.
Diedrich visits the airport at least once a week to deliver syrups and check in — which might sound like an exercise in self-imposed misery. But Diedrich has a security clearance, which required him to pass a three-hour exam involving lots of “if you see something, say something” scenarios. He still has to submit to security screenings when flying, though. “I can’t go through the employee entrance,” he says. “They were very adamant about that.”