Cassava Bakery + Cafe Launches Wine Bar Program

Outer Richmond hidden gem Cassava Bakery & Cafe has come a long way since its early breakfast and lunch days: after expanding into the space next door earlier this year, husband-and-wife owners Kristoffer Toliao and Yuka Ioroi have finally landed their beer and wine license, and are planning to stay open later with a selection of aperitif cocktails, wine, sake, and small bites.

The duo brought in Stuart Morris of Sake Tengoku to curate a select list of four types of sake, available in 3- and 6-ounce pours or as a $19 tasting flight paired with Stilton, Port Salut cheese, and cucumber sunomono. "We want to show how versatile sake can be," Ioroi says. The cocktail program is also notable, with offerings like the Sparrow Buck (shochu, ginger-Szechuan peppercorn syrup, Cocchi Americano, sparkling water, orange bitters) and the Eggs and the Garden (which uses two kinds of shochu, two kinds of vermouth, ginger-cardamon syrup, lemon, and egg white). Bar bite options include housemade kettle chips with Oaxaca cheese dip, porchetta with Gouda mashed potatoes, and Nutella panna cotta for dessert. The bar program is offered Wednesday-Saturday, 5-9 pm. Here's the bar bites menu and the drink menu.

There's one exception to those hours, however: the restaurant continues to hold occasional tasting-menu dinners on Saturday nights, for which the bar options won't be available. They recently joined up with SeatMe to make reserving spots earlier, and the next two dinners are scheduled for this Saturday, October 5, and the following Saturday, October 12. This preview menu offers a glimpse of what they're serving, with dishes like compressed oxtail and wild-mushroom risotto; dinner is $57.

· Cassava Bakery & Cafe to Expand Next Door [~ ESF ~]
· Inside Cassava Cafe, Opening Monday in the Richmond [~ ESF ~]