Next time you are in need of refreshment at Union Square, ramble on down to Rambler, the new restaurant and bar at Hotel Zeppelin, 545 Post Street. Remember Wolfgang Puck’s popular Postrio (1989 – 2009)? That space is now Rambler, conceived by Hat Trick Hospitality, Adam Snyder, Hugo Gamboa and Andy Wasserman. They are the team behind a host of socially-driven dining and drinking destinations including Sabrosa, Redford, and The Brixton. Rambler is open to the public for cocktails and dinner service starting at 5:30 pm every day. Weekday breakfast, lunch, and weekend brunch will launch soon.
Scenes from the Rambler opening event on October 4, 2016:
Food at Rambler
Executive Chef Robert Leva (Salt House, Redd, Auberge du Soleil, Calistoga Ranch) serves California fare with Italian tendencies (Leva is Italian). Offerings include small plates like fromage blanc gnocchi with celery root and parmesan broth, a rotating list of shells (oysters) and charcuterie. Wood-fired pizzas are cooked in Wolfgang Puck’s original Postrio pizza oven. Main courses such as beef short rib with marrow crust, creamed spinach, and cipollini onions, and California white sea bass with shelling beans and basil, round out the menu.
Cocktails at Rambler
Rambler offers a mix of cocktails to suit classic tastes in addition to unique, seasonally rotating libations that utilize fresh-pressed juice and house-made tinctures. Rambler Bar Manager Simone Mims (Rich Table, Foreign Cinema) produced an opening menu of craft cocktails that includes Grape Expectations (Singani 63, Pierre Ferrand dry curacao, concord grapes, tarragon), the Zeppelin Martini (Monkey 47 gin, Alessio Vermouth Bianco, cucumber bitters), and the Mele (Spring44 Mountain gin, Granny Smith apple juice, fennel, Giffard Ginger of the Indies, apple ginger foam).
Rambler Decor
Designer Lori Yeomans (Wayfare Tavern, Sammy Hagar’s El Paseo) gave Rambler a California modern vibe. The restaurant is sectioned into two distinct spaces, a brasserie and a dining room that accommodate 100 guests all in. On street level, the brasserie seats 48 throughout its 18-foot bar, tables, and leather banquettes. The restaurant entrance is anchored by an oversize aluminum print entitled “On,” created by celebrated artist John Waguespack. The dining room on the lower level seats 63 guests and has an intimate, clubby vibe. The Zinc Bar, also downstairs, is a four-seat specialty bar with a vignette dedicated to Wolfgang Puck.
(Event photos by Drew Altizer)