Dance off your dinner

At the new wave of nightclub-restaurant hybrids, dance fiends can dine without having to dash.

Camper English

Linger too long at a meal these days, and you may find yourself in the middle of a dance party. That’s because a spate of new restaurants is merging fine dining and nightclubbing. Though it had always served food, the just-reopened Roe Restaurant and Lounge was so successful as a nightlife destination that its owners overhauled the space to focus some of the buzz on the kitchen. To that end, they hired chef Alvin San, fresh from a stint at the cutting-edge Spanish restaurant El Bulli. His menu, featuring such clever dishes as bacon, eggs, and toast (pork belly, poached egg, and brioche) and tuna Wellington, is sufficiently smart and familiar to satisfy both food dorks and clubgoers. And the restaurant’s “Good Fridays” three-course prix fixe dinners bring in large groups who inevitably stay to work off the calories. Around 11 p.m., Roe wraps up dinner service and the loud crowd streams into the dance space. The kitchen stays open to serve a limited bar menu that’s perfect for peckish latecomers, and, thanks to an after-hours license, the DJs provide
a second helping of beats until 3 a.m.

 

---

Roe Restaurant and Lounge,
11:23 p.m.
The scene
The club attracts late-twentysomethings carpooling into San Francisco, as well as club-hopping urbanites.
THE CROWD
From designer jackets to designer Daisy Dukes, it’s a mixed bag of haute and hoochie.
THE SOUNDTRACK
Digestion-friendly deep house or ’80s music during dining; bass-heavy hip-hop upstairs later.
THE TRICK
Come early for dinner or drinks and skip the $10–20 admission.
THE DRINK
Civilized cocktails are on the menu in the lounge, but upstairs clubbers prefer bottle service and Red Bull.
OVERHEARD
“Sorry, what did I order again?”

 

651 Howard St., S.F., 415-227-0288, roerestaurant.com

Elsewhere
Late-night shopping and club hopping intersect as Straits Restaurant becomes a club in a Singaporean restaurant in a mall. Westfield San Fran­cisco Centre, 4th fl., 845 Market St., S.F., 415-668-1783, straits restaurants.com.

The Western Addition’s Balinese-influenced Poleng Lounge features small plates, big drinks, and a packed club in the back. 1751 Fulton st., S.F., 415-441-1710,
polengLounge.com.

The new Polk Gulch Japanese restaurant Sudachi includes one bar for sushi, another for sake cocktails, and room for dancing to
live music or DJs. 1217 Sutter St., S.F., 415-931-6951, sudachisushi.com.