Pair California Wines With Tapas-Style Dishes At A SF Wine Bar That Boasts The City’s Largest All-CA Wine Collection

First Crush

Boasting the largest all-California wine collection in San Francisco, First Crush Restaurant & Wine Bar - located in the heart of Union Square - pairs an impressive selection of carefully curated California wines with mouthwatering, tapas-style dishes that highlight local, organic ingredients.

First Crush

First Crush has garnered numerous accolades for its wine selection, including the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence that it has received since 2001. Upon browsing the wine menu, I was not only impressed by the comprehensive, all-California wine list that fully captured the beauty of the wines grown in this region, but also by the whimsical names given to the wine flights. Don’t the names like Bouquet of Rose andPleasure of Pinot just tickle your tongue for more?

While First Crush is best known for its wines, I also enjoyed the food menu featuring New American cuisine with a Californian influence. I would highly recommend ordering the wine flights and small plates to share - as a caveat, the portion for these “small plates” are rather large!

Fritto Misto ($14)

Think of this plate as everyone’s beloved fried calamari, but with an addition of rock shrimp as well as jalapeno, Fresno chili, and green onion for an extra layer of spiciness. While I would have preferred the the sauce to be on the side to prevent the shrimp and the calamari from becoming soggy, the sweet and spicy sauce really made the Fritto Misto special.

Roasted Trio of Organic Beets ($15)

Chunky pieces of juicy gold and red beets with ornamental kale, pistachios, Laurel Chenel goat cheese, tangerine pieces, and watermelon radish were tossed in white balsamic vinaigrette to create this plate of fresh, colorful beets salad. I loved the interplay of different textures, from the creamy goat cheese to the crunchy pistachios.

Cabernet Marinated Mini Lamb Lolipops ($20)

Even though it was cooked a bit too well done for my liking (I personally prefer my red meat to be rare), the lamb lollipop had beautiful sear on the outside on top of creamy, triangular piece of polenta with mushroom bits and micro greens. The lamb was glazed with Cabernet-infused demi glace to accentuate the rich flavor.

Ahi Tuna Tartare ($18)

Fresh chunks of tuna sashimi was mixed in with avocado, cucumber, red onion, jalapeno, Meyer lemon, and daikon sprouts, and then topped with a dollop of wasabi caviar over a bed of green seaweed. The side of crispy taro root chips and a drizzle of wasabi aioli on the plate complemented the tuna tartare perfectly.