Belgian beer lovers and moules frites fans rejoice! Inside Scoop brings the news that Bel has at last opened for business at 3215 Mission Street near Valencia. They write:
Some foods were just made to go with beer. This is nothing new to Richard Rosen and Jennifer Garris, the team behind the Mission’s craft beer and pizza joint, Pi Bar.
With the opening their brand new Bernal Heights’ gastropub, Bel, the pair are at it again — this time, tackling the beers and foods of Belgium. Located in the former Locavore space on Mission, at Valencia Street, the restaurant opened its doors Sunday night (5/25).
On the beer front, expect a range of saison, Trappist, sours and fruit beers, among others. According to Garris, of the twelve drafts, four will be dedicated to a rotating roster of Belgian beers. Also available, a variety of California-made Belgian-style brews and a bottle list of about 45 Belgian bottles. Wines will be mostly French and German. (The full drink list is online.)
Rosen’s menu, which is comprised of small and large plates, looks promising, and of course, includes an obligatory interpretation of moules frites. Other classic Belgian offerings include a Ghent-style fish chowder made with prawns, mussels and cod called seafood waterzooi and carbonades flamandes — a dish made with beef brisket and Flemish sour beer, Rodenbach. On the side, in addition to frites, you’ll find a chiffonade of Brussels sprouts and a Belgian endive gratin.
Oh, and be advised, Bel has even installed their very own Manneken Pis. What’s a Manneken Pis? Apparently, that’s Belgian for this fella:
PHOTOS: via Bel
Bernalwood 
YES more beer! Very much looking forward to stopping in on a regular basis.
Sounds great to me!
It’s an amazing space with great food and beer. This is definitely one of my new regular spots.
Thank god something classy to push out that shitshow called the Knockout.
Long live the Knockout!
Nope, Knockout’s still right where it’s always been a couple doors down – and here’s to cheerful coexistence.
RIchie Rosen from Boulevard then Chenery Park Restaurant then Eureka then Pi Bar… the food is going to be amazing!
Chenery Park was worse than Stouffer’s before they were put out of their misery. I will have to investigate whether this is food or beer accompaniment.
Not while Richie was there it wasn’t.
I hope the music’s better than the boring classic rock they play at Pi Bar (actually even classic rock stations play a more adventurous mix of music than these guys).
I am a little concerned about the statue using so much water. We are in a drought. Maybe they should have it use beer instead.
Not to worry, they routed liquid from the urinal drain for realism & water savings.
Just ate there last night, moules & frites were delicious
Oh, and I ran out of dipping sauce for the fries and just asked for more, they were cool with that.
Ok. So we went tonight. the menu was inviting but what came out was so sad. the steak was so thin, like you would get at a diner. Very thin. 28 bucks for a steak and fries w/ three dipping sauces-lame. Our server didn’t know the sauces for the muscles, he described the white sauce as a “white sauce with the white beer”. the sides were so small and sad. Our server was such a drag. Miles was his name. For $110 we got 5 tap beers, two entrees, one side and a salad. Sucked. Sorry
Weird. I just got back from dinner there a few minutes ago. Steak was excellent. Mussels were very good; just needed more sauce. Fries were very good. Maybe different parts of the restaurant are actually alternate universes?
maybe. Go and try for yourselves bernal family. I just had a shit experience. I do, however, wish only the best for any business giving it a go in our hood. thanks todd for chiming in.
Thinking about the steak a little more, and your comments. They definitely do it in the style you’d get at a pretty good cafe in Europe; it’s a smaller piece of meat with butter on top. In that sense it is very well prepared, and it sent me falling down a happy memory hole of travel sensations. But if you were expecting another style, I can certainly see how it might not fit the bill.
Thank you for your courageous candor. I will postpone a review visit until things have been brought to order.
The Bel doth troll for thee?
Before tip!
OK how do we rank the top 10 Bernal eateries for dinner at this point? I’ll swing:
1) 3rd cousin (back soon?)
2) Ichi Sushi
3) Hillside Supper Club
4) Blue Plate
5) Red Hill Station
6) Piqueos
7) Vega
8) Front Porch
9) Bernal Star
10) Angkor Borei
Not a bad collection…I’d say about equal to Berkeley’s in quality (Chez Panisse and Iyasare are fancier but not really better food IMO than 3rd cousin & Ichi).
Bon Apetit!
Red Hill as low as 5th? Bernal Star top 10? Not to mention your Chenery Park dis. I’ll be nice and say I disagree with nearly everything you wrote.
De gustibus non est disputandum. Now, rather than just hurling “nice” ad hominem, let’s see your list.
Have you been to Pizza Hacker or was that too casual for your list? I’m not sure why anyone would pizza at Vega if you’ve tried Pizza Hacker.
Frankly, I don’t know why anyone would pizza at Pizzeria Defina if you’ve tried Pizza Hacker.
1. Red Hill
2. Ichi
3. Pizza Hacker
4. Vega
5. Paulie’s Pickling
6. Blue Plate
7. Precita Park Cafe (evening menu)
8. El Gran Taco Loco
9.Hillside Supper Club — grudgingly. Super spendy for what you get, and picked veggies as amuse bouche is not a very good idea IMO. They love that concept though!
10. Emmy’s, even though it isn’t as good at the new place.
11. Red Hill, again
I have not tried Bel yet but I will be trying it soon. I lived in Brussels for one semester abroad back in college, so I feel like I’ll know what to look for. I’m hoping to switch it for Emmy’s.
Thanks for your tips. I haven’t tried Pizza Hacker yet (I make my own pies from scratch thank you) but will shortly. Precita Park evening menu I feel like you do about Bernal Star—both really are br/lunch spots. I will also try Paulie’s Pickling.
Red Hill has the aspiration to be a top spot but right now is only in the mix with Hillside/Blue Plate as fancy-neighborhood level. A bit trendier with the colorful presentations but not really awesome yet. Hillside is volatile—some of the dishes are sublime, others clumsy and heavy. Blue Plate has always been sort of brooding and smoky, but the meat loaf is classic.
To be quite honest I go to Piqueos more than any of the other options. It’s kind of stuck in the Emeril squeeze-bottle era, but I love the location (I never went back to Moki’s after they moved into that ugly gym) and I’m never disappointed, which is a neat trick if you can do it.
sure. I mean, no ‘splainin taste. Like you said. Let me ask you this. Have you truly explored the Precita Park evening menu? To me the food is great value for the quality.
I haven’t truly explored it, but what I had the two times I’ve dined there was so clumsily over-salted and poorly conceived that it didn’t make my top 10. However, I’m there for lunch regularly and do recommend it for that. On a nice night dining by the park al fresco would be really nice in theory, they just need to up the game a touch. I haven’t been back in 6 months or so so maybe my impression is stale.
(BTW Paulie’s Pickling is that sandwich stand in 331, which closes at 5pm so is disqualified from the dinner list.)
Is the signage intentionally similar to the Bell Helmets logo?
One creative realtor is calling this stretch of Mission “Gourmet Row”… which as a homeowner, and frequent diner-outter, I will not dispute. Although it is perhaps a bit aspirational.
http://www.missionpossiblesf.com/#page_13542
SF Weekly just weighed in with their review of Bel:
http://www.sfweekly.com/foodie/2015/06/02/urinating-mannequins-and-belgian-beer-at-bel-in-bernal-heights