Serious Outer Sunset Cocktail Bar On The Horizon

Look what the tide dragged in: A new cocktail bar at 46th Avenue and Taraval called White Cap, due to open on November 10th. Grown up surf vibes at the tiny, 14-by-30 foot bar will come from SF native and noted Outer Sunset surfer Matt Lopez, with drinks from local bar star Carlos Yturria, a co-owner of the downtown cocktail destination The Treasury.

White Cap’s block, just steps from Ocean Beach, is already home to one local watering hole, the Riptide, which was rebuilt in 2016 after it was gutted by fire in 2015. The Taraval strip also received a dose of coffee with a roastery from Andytown, whose original cafe location is just north on Lawton Street. The block is also due for a bakery expansion of some kind from Outerlands, a defining restaurant of the area that’s also located a bit to the north, on Judah.

Architect Shane Curnyn of Juniper Architecture has fitted the White Cap space at 3608 Taraval with an L-shaped bar, banquettes, and an open-seating area. And while Lopez and Yturria met surfing the waters of Ocean Beach, they want to be clear that White Cap isn’t just some surf bar, so don’t expect surf boards on the wall.

“In San Diego, or Santa Cruz, people who are surfers, they scream it,” says Yturria. “But the Outer Sunset crew — they’ll surf twice a day, and if you ask them if they surf, they’ll be like, I don’t know, I guess.” So it will be with White Cap.

Yturria’s bar menus, printed in the style of zines, will change quarterly. He’ll also draw on the Sherry program he’s put forward at the Treasury, and as there, he’s procured a slushie machine.

“It’s a really small bar, so I need to a run a simple program,” Yturria explains. The emphasis: “Fresh ingredients, keeping things lively.”

Meanwhile, the whole Treasury team is at work on a bar in the Range Space on Valencia, which chef/owner Phil West is making over as a bar/lounge with a 1960s theme.

When White Cap splashes down, hours will be 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily.

• Outerlands Plots Bread-Focused Expansion With New Outer Sunset Space [ESF]