Pause Wine Bar

Pretty nice wine bar hidden in sort of a dead patch of Market. Not too fancy but still nice for the area. It’s pretty quiet since there isn’t much foot traffic here, so it’s a good spot for a more mellow happy hour.
They have a decent happy hour that goes until 7pm on weekdays: half-​bottle carafe of wine for $ 14 and $ 1 off all food. I honestly don’t know much about wine, but whatever red they had for the half-​bottle was pretty good.
The food isn’t bad either, but nothing really appealed to me that much. Everything’s also pretty pricey for the amount of food and in comparison to the price of the happy hour wine. We shared:
–COD SLIDERS ($ 10) — ⁴⁄₅
2 sliders with avocado, cilantro and sriracha aioli. Not bad. The cod was fried nicely and not too greasy, but the sliders were a little heavy on the aioli for me.
–PESTO FLATBREAD PIZZA ($ 14) — ³⁄₅
Meh. Too cheesy it overpowered everything else. Rather oily too and while some pizzas still taste okay when they’re no longer warm, this one didn’t cool well. I’d rather get another half-​bottle than this or probably any of the other flatbread pizzas.

This chill wine bar was one of my best discoveries of 2015. It makes for a great date spot!
Pause Wine Bar is the larger, sibling wine bar to Yield Wine Bar (located in the Dogpatch). Both share the same environmentally friendly ethos and offer a menu primarily composed of vegan/​veggie small bites.
The staff is very friendly, attentive and knowledgeable. They have made spot on wine recommendations on both of my trips here. The bar has many reasonably priced full bottle options, but don’t overlook the half-​bottle carafe wine options.
While the wine is clearly the main draw, the food is great as well. The grilled flatbread pizza is quite tasty, but the artichoke, kale and parmesan dip is out-​of-​this-​world good! Be prepared to fight over that last bite of dip!
Oh, and last but not least, I’m a big fan of the regularly rotating, humorous chalk art that decorates the bar.

Great service and interesting wine selection. Bites were only so-​so, but they are at least interesting!

This is a cute little wine bar and an ideal place to take a date or a small group of friends. The ambiance is intimate without being loud or dark. I like that they sell their wine in carafes, and the staff were all really great and attentive. My friend and I ended up sitting there for 3 hours and we ordered a few food items to share throughout our time there. I’m taking a star off for the flatbread… sorry, it is not worth the $ 13 or $ 14 price. But the fries were good, and I had a bite of the Cod Slider that my friend ordered. It was fine but nothing to go out of your way for. If you’re hungry and want a meal, I would suggest going somewhere for food first nearby and using this place for drinks and simple apps.

Had no idea this place existed until friends chose it as a happy hour meeting place. And I am so glad they did. The place looks small from the outside, but there are more seats in the back. The service was excellent and everyone was very nice. They have a nice selection of wines and snacks for reasonable prices. Definitely one of the best kept secrets in town.

We held an event for 50 people at Pause recently and it really couldn’t have gone better. Chris was so helpful and prompt during the pre-​event arrangements and had everything ready for us when our group began to arrive (even 30 minutes before our reservation.) The rest of the staff were welcoming and very responsive (and even made change from their own pockets when the register ran short). We loved the food (especially the Warm Artichoke, Kale & Parmesan Dip) and the wine.
Pause is an ideal venue for small or mid-​sized groups looking for a warm, attractive, and affordable place to host a party or gathering. No venue fee, no order minimum, and only a 12-​minute walk or 5-​minute F Line ride from Civic Center BART.
Hope to be back soon, cheers!

Great for Happy Hour! We went before a show at the Nourse Theater, and it was a perfect location. They have a wonderful selection of wines, and we enjoyed the HH red wine carafe special they had that evening plus the HH bites — filling and tasty and perfect! Service was lovely and attentive.

As far as wine bars go, this one seems pretty small, but the service is good, as is the wine, and the appetizers are the best of all. It’s also not that far from Civic Center BART.

I don’t know if the Francesca fries are named after the bartender, Francesca, but she was pretty great. I loved her descriptions of her wine recommendations, and the wine itself was delicious. The place was also not too crowded on a Thursday night, and pretty classy. Definitely a great place to sit back and relax with a few close friends.

Add Pause to the list of amazing date night spots in San Francisco. The place is just cozy enough that you can actually have a conversation with someone and understand what they are saying. It is cheap enough that you won’t throw your entire wallet on someone you may not even want to spend the night with let alone the next few weeks. Its also busy enough that you can get distracted by the people watching when you don’t have anything to say to each other.
You can also buy bottles pretty easily and cheap so that if you are in a worst case scenario you can just drink until you forget about where you are. The dark ambiance of the place is perfect and you can talk to you server about the types of wine and their best recommendations. They had a nice selection of sweet wines as well as white wines which are my favorites.
Its not too busy on Market street on the weekdays so it is nice little place to duck into for a quick drink when you don’t want to deal with a ton of people being around. There are locals and people on dates and it never feels overwhelming. There is also a back area that is dedicated to large parties and this is perfect place for those awkward tuesday night birthday parties that it is hard to get everyone out for.
Overall Pause doesn’t have many frills but it has wine and darkness. Which when you are trying to get past the second date jitters is all you really need.

We stopped in here during happy hour on a Saturday. The place was empty and we happily sat at the bar and chatted with Francesca. While we imbibed on a few half carafes of Pinot Noir, we attempted to solve the weekly anagram… the solution to which I’ve since forgotten. We also indulged in the Francesca’s Fancy Fat Fries and a bowl of marinated olives. I think they have a really nice/​varied selection of wines and there are many items on the food menu I would try next time we come back.
I could be a regular here, no doubt about it.
Oh, and I really liked the superhero chalk drawings. Two thumbs up to whoever drew those.

Pause is fantastic place to enjoy the best wines & vegetarian appetizers! The staff are always sweet & inviting! They make wonderful suggestions & I love, love, love this place! Check it out & prepare to enjoy them too!

Trivia Tuesday anyone? Yes! Everyone!
We came in a little early to take advantage of the half carafe happy hour specials that ended at 7. We’ve tried this twice and both times had different house reds and both were pretty fantastic. Their HH apps are pretty delish too.
This past Tuesday was our first time doing trivia. The questions were pretty hard but made for a lot of fun. The two guys working the bar were hilarious and a lot of fun. My only complaint is that without a mic, it was hard to hear some of the questions. Especially since the interior is a little weirdly shaped so if he was facing the other way, it was easy to miss something. They were accommodating in repeating and patient with us because of that though.
All in all, I’m glad this place is in my ‘hood because I’ll definitely frequent it. Especially now that I have to work on getting those trivia points!

Good, solid wine bar. I would probably not go out of my way to come back here again but would recommend it to others who are searching for a wine bar by Civic Center. The chalk art around the bar is very entertaining to look at. The bartender was super friendly and conversational when I came here with my friend. The menu is straightforward. There is not a ton of wine that is sold by the glass, which helps with making decisions. The wine is a bit pricey but still good… not that I’m a wine connoisseur.
I have not yet tried the food, but the bites look tasty. Again options are limited but I kinda like places that specialize in a few things. They also have weekly trivia nights, which is awesome. I would come back here to check that out. Overall great experience!

Fun place, like their wine selection a lot. The HH menu is relatively sparse and while the carafe selections are a good bang for your buck, I wouldn’t recommend it if you actually like good wine. Splurge a bit more and order from their regular menu which has some incredible selections of wine.
The food is relatively uninspiring and actually something that I would personally avoid getting here in the future.
They do trivia once a week, and it’s a fun environment to be in. You don’t have to participate, but it’s still fun to hear some strange facts come out of the questions being asked. The atmosphere is perfect for a date night, or just a catch up session with friends. I would most definitely recommend it.

Alright spot.
Nothing blew me away about this spot — the wine selection was ok, the service was fine, the atmosphere is decent (but it was a little bare for a friday night), the food was ok (flatbread and parmesan dip were both good, but not exceptional).
Prices were a little higher than i expected — wines start at $ 45 a bottle.

Take a moment.
Armin Van Buuren has a few important things to say about time:
Miranda July does too: «Inelegantly, and without my consent, time passed.»
In fact she has a lot of important things to say about a lot of things:
Found ourselves at Pause after seeing the latter in conversation about her new book. Memorable moments both elegant and not:
— Massive vegan pizza topped with an insanely good combo of cashew crème, potatoes, kale and fried leeks. Enthusiastically devoured like we were not in public.
— Dates stuffed with an unpronounceable cheese (chèvre) and profound pomegranate molasses. Best first date date ever.
— Warm artichoke, kale and Parmesan dip served with slices of bread. Almost impossible to stop at just three servings. OK maybe it was four.
— Eclectic wine list including a New Zealand blend with pomegranate notes. Works well in dates. Also works well in wine.
— While we are good at sharing food, conversation and closing down restaurants, we are not good at trivia. Keep your own talents in mind if you come on a Tuesday.
Staff couldn’t have been more personable, friendly and understanding especially as our before show plans turned into an after show reality.
Design and music (not Armin appropriate) were top notch though the fake candles seemed misplaced. Make sure you’re with someone who can laugh at these things.
As Armin says, remember to live, to cry and to love. And as Miranda reminds us, time passes, especially on nights like this, far too quick.
Take a moment to pause.

I would like to Pause for a second and write a review about this place. I promise, I won’t «wine» too much.
Bad puns aside, I mean, yeah. This is a legit little place. If you’re a wino, I think you will probably fall in love with it. I usually stick to beer or a cocktail, although a nice glass of red is a sweet treat from time to time. This would probably be an excellent spot for Date Night.
I came here for a meetup, and I was the second one to arrive. One waitress seemed a little snippety, although the man working behind the bar was exceptional. He seemed like he might be the owner or manager, or perhaps just a stellar employee. I would definitely order your vino from him, as he smiles and gives you a fair pour. Wish I had asked for his name.
There are a few happy hour specials on mini carafes of wine, but I just ordered two glasses: a Pinot Noir (from Momo) and a Rose (origin unknown, as I completely forgot).
They charge tax on glasses of wine, which is strange, as I’ve never gone to a bar that does so. I was slightly confused when the server told me my total was $ 14.14 on a $ 13 glass of wine… yikes. So the next glass of wine (priced at $ 9) was actually $ 10… you get the idea. It’s a weird system, but I’m sure it has to be some San Francisco regulation, because I don’t know why else they would do so.
Hungry? There is a limited bar menu, but it is not a real sit-​down restaurant by any means. If you want something substantial, I would suggest dining elsewhere before or after your drinks. I had some of the rosemary fries (sans cheese) and they were delicious! They were neither soggy nor twig-​like, but juuust right. The vegan pizza also looked tempting, but I had just eaten a couple of hours beforehand.
Before you even ask, yes, I did my research and made sure that the wines I was drinking were vegan approved on Barnivore. One can never be too careful. I did appreciate that the owner had called the wineries and found out which ones were vegan, and even highlighted all of them for our browsing convenience! This was a vegan and vegetarian meetup group, so of course all of us were very appreciative of that fact. He went above and beyond and made our evening a success!
I would give them a five, but I’m just not much of a wine drinker. It’s nothing personal. Maybe I should go here more often and learn to appreciate the subtle art of fermenting grape juice. Until then, I will be at a dive, spending 5 bucks on a pint.

Trivia night here is SO much fun. Plus, they have great happy hour specials (carafes for half price? I think? haha). Anyway, they also have really good food — flat bread pizzas, kale artichoke dips, and cheeseeee!!!
Conveniently located between Civic Center/​Hayes Valley/​Castro and very close to the Muni — so you can always stumble back on to public transportation if need be :-).

Wifi password: organicwine Looking for a wifi in this part of town can be more tricky than I would think.
This was really a nice unexpected stop on our stroll through the neighborhood. Being a great fan of organic wines myself, we just couldn’t leave this place unnoticed. It is true, that we came a little early, but for the evening it must be a nice environment. The bar was really dark with nice decorations and couches. We were sitting on the bar, looking at bartenders work. He was really amazing, and gave us a nice overlook of his wines.
Wines were from all over the world. This must be a cultural thing, I found the wines by glass quite expensive. Me, as an European I chose a wine from California. It was delicious. I will definitely go back when Im around the corner.