The Stinking Rose

If you like garlic, even a little, you will adore The Stinking Rose. But if you dislike garlic, stay away. It’s featured in most of the appetizers and entrees, which you can wash down with garlic wine. You can even order garlic ice cream for dessert. The slogan, “We season our garlic with food,” is no exaggeration.

But the Stinking Rose is not merely a gimmick restaurant for tourists, though it does attract its share on busy Columbus Avenue in the heart of North Beach’s storied Italian district. The menu features a wide assortment of good Italian food, seafood and meat dishes, which arrive at the table in generous portions and at more reasonable prices than the snootier Italian restaurants that also line the street.

The highlight of the Rose, besides the garlic, is the playful décor. The owners have an unmistakable sense of humor. Snaking along the ceiling in three rooms is the world’s longest garlic braid (348 feet), while hundreds of Chianti bottles are suspended from the ceiling of another room.

Framed photos and newspaper front pages fill almost every inch of the walls, except in the two rooms painted with San Francisco scenes by a local muralist. There’s also a small upstairs patio, and for couples wishing to escape the silliness, 18 private booths with curtains. In all, there are nine rooms and corridors, each with marble-topped tables, so you never feel you’re in a big restaurant that can accommodate 200+ diners.

Back to the garlicky food, you’re guaranteed to walk out full (and stinky) because meals come with a basket of soft, warm garlic rolls that you can dip into Garlic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and the entrees are served with garlic mashed potatoes. Look at it this way: you'll be completely immune to vampire attack!

HelloSanFrancisco tip: On your way out, try a free taste of the garlic wine at the bar and buy some from the cashier if you like it. Jars of pickled garlic and garlic salsa are sold, too.

- by Bob Cooper, San Francisco Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Bob Cooper

Bob Cooper is a full-time freelance writer (www.bob-cooper.com) who writes about travel, outdoor sports and health. He is a monthly contributor to Runner's World and has written recent articles for other national magazines such as Continental, Ladies' Home Journal and Inc.