Japanese shaved ice cocktails await at San Francisco Low-Proof Cocktail Paradise Lilah

Marina favorite Causwells turns off its latest restaurant venture with the debut of Lilah, a low-alcohol cocktail bar just two doors down on Saturday, September 28th. Opening at 2336 Chestnut Street, Lilah will be a place where partner Elmer Mejicanos' cocktails can shine, building on his time crafting low alcohol contents. Proof Drinks at Red Window, his previous project. Back then, Mejicanos took on the challenge of creating a drinks menu without a full liquor license and instead focused on sherries, vermouths and aperitivi as the base for his cocktails. Now Lilah continues that low-proof philosophy and a menu from Causwells chef and partner Adam Rosenblum.

The bar launches with an impressive selection of over 20 drinks in seven categories: spritzes, sours, martinis, tiki, kakigori (Japanese ice cube), savory and non-alcoholic. The Kakigori cocktails seemed to become the showpiece of the bar, transforming the frozen dessert into low-alcohol cocktails. The bar's hand-cranked, cast-iron ice shaver pumps out piles of fluffy ice that can be dressed with syrup, powder and fruit. The Watermelon Crayon, for example, combines low-proof rum with watermelon syrup, rose hips, wormwood, calamansi, vanilla and mint powder, topped with sour candies made from watermelon rind, according to the bar's press release. The Key Lime Pie Kakigori mixes shaved ice with tonka bean-infused low-spirits. Proof vodka, key lime liqueur, lime leaf aperitif, salted vanilla orange bitters, coconut spirit and Nilla wafers.

Lilah's Firecracker drink in San Francisco.

The Easy Tiger Cocktail from Lilah in San Francisco.

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Another fun item Mejicanos is bringing to the menu is a new version of its popular “30-minute soufflé,” but this time as an espresso martini with nitro vanilla coffee foam that “rises” similar to the popular dessert. There's plenty to explore elsewhere on the cocktail menu, including beer, wine and six non-alcoholic options. Non-alcoholic versions of Spritz, Gin Tonic and Paloma are available, as well as some new concoctions such as Lively, which contains Peruvian pepper Aji Amarillo, ginger, lime, agave and Three Spirits Livener. “We knew we wanted to be playful and tell a story with the drinks we make – but at the same time we always wanted to make sure our product was the best we could get, that it was as sustainable as we are.” can do it,” Mejicanos told the San Francisco Examiner.

For dining, Rosenblum prepared a menu of Asian-influenced dishes. Think Taiwanese pork belly buns; Banh Mi with lemongrass pork and pate; Cantonese duck “crispy tacos”; green papaya salad; and white poke with kampachi, cucumber, mango and watermelon radish. Brunch complements the dinner menu with items like the Scallion Pancake Breakfast Wrap with Chinese Pork Sausage and Chili Crunch Aioli or the Hangover Rice Congee with Chicken and Cured Egg Yolk.

Food and Drinks from Lilah in San Francisco.

The bar is housed in a compact space that once housed an eyeglass store, but the Lilah team translated the playfulness of the food and drink menus into fun and chic touches befitting Lilah's namesake, Delilah, Mejicanos' young daughter. The wallpaper features hand-drawn animals drinking at a bar, a fox sips champagne alongside flamingos and zebras drinking martinis, and wall sconces take on bird-like shapes. The bar itself is small, with just two seats, but tables and benches fill the rest of the space with storage in the seats for guests, they say Examiner. “We always just wanted to create a very comfortable and inviting space so that you don't feel like it's just for a special occasion,” Mejicanos told the newspaper. “It could be a place where you can just come in on a Monday night and hang out without feeling like you’re overdressed.”

Lilah (2336 Chestnut Street) is open Sunday through Wednesday from 4:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 4:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Brunch is available Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.