New Marina Bar Frankie's Elevates SF's Martini Scene with Elaborate Presentation

A new Marina District bar is making waves in San Francisco’s competitive martini scene with an elaborate approach that combines theatrical presentation with serious cocktail craft.

Frankie’s, which opened quietly on Friday the 13th in mid-February, represents a spinoff venture from the nearby pork-and-pasta restaurant Norcina, according to the establishment’s operators. Chef Kait Bauman and general manager Angelo De Lorenzi created the bar as an extension of their Marina presence, naming it after Bauman’s English Labrador, Franklin.

The bar’s signature martini exemplifies the attention to detail that sets Frankie’s apart from San Francisco’s existing martini establishments. Made with Hendrick’s gin and served in a proper cone-shaped glass, the cocktail arrives with an array of garnish options including pickled onions, lemon twists, and olives stuffed with feta, anchovies, and caviar, according to the bar’s menu offerings.

The presentation involves multiple components that arrive on a metal tray. The martini glass, which sits on a paper doily and contains only half the cocktail, comes accompanied by a “sidecar” - a small decanter that rests in an ice-filled glass to maintain temperature. The garnish skewer doesn’t touch the drink but instead lies across the glass rim like a pintxo at a tapas bar.

“You eat and drink first with your eyes,” Bauman said, acknowledging that the elaborate presentation creates additional work for staff. “Maybe we’re a little crazy.”

De Lorenzi described the presentation as intentional rather than experimental. “It’s not, ‘Let’s just see how this goes,’” he said. “It’s something we thought about — and we want that to show.”

The cocktail program extends beyond martinis with an entire page devoted to Negronis and eight house cocktails. The menu includes the Spicy Bunny, a vodka-based drink with carrot and poblano that arrives with a tiny carrot clothespinned to the rim, and the Tableside Caesar, made with Parmesan vodka and anchovy vermouth.

Frankie’s food offerings complement the drink program with items like a lobster roll on brioche with brown butter and goat cheese, and sirloin-and-guanciale skewers with horseradish. The establishment also serves a “mortie sandie” featuring mortadella ribbons with stracciatella and pan con tomate with anchovies.

The bar demonstrates its commitment to quality through details like serving wine by the glass from 1.5-liter magnums rather than standard 750-milliliter bottles to minimize oxygen exposure, according to menu notes.

While Norcina operates as a cozy, compact restaurant, Frankie’s expands onto the sidewalk and into two parklets, creating what the operators describe as a convivial atmosphere where patrons can drink while interacting with neighborhood dogs.

The bar’s namesake, Franklin the Labrador, maintains a prominent presence both in person and through a large oil painting that dominates one wall. The portrait, created by Norcina regular Dan Hampe, shows Franklin wearing a dapper jacket and neckerchief. De Lorenzi recalled the logistical challenge of transporting the oversized canvas, noting they “had to lower it out of the third-story studio by rope.”

“Everyone in the neighborhood loves him,” Bauman said of Franklin. “They don’t know who I am, but they know him.”

The opening faced typical new restaurant challenges, including malfunctioning dishwashers and freezer failures that complicated the debut timeline. The team had originally hoped to launch in time for Valentine’s Day before settling on the February 13th opening date.

Frankie’s positions itself within San Francisco’s diverse martini landscape, which ranges from minimalist approaches to exotic variations and maximalist presentations across the city’s bar scene.