Mili, a luxurious new wine bar, is opening in downtown SF
A new wine bar is opening Wednesday in downtown San Francisco, hoping to lure office workers for happy hour snacks and glasses of high-end French wine.
Mili, which means “meeting” in Sanskrit, is located on the ground level of the Mira Building, a twisted-looking, 39-story condo tower near the Embarcadero. Its wine selection leans toward the classic, with lots of pours available from regions like France’s Burgundy and Bordeaux, plus Napa Valley. (Wines range from $12.50-$90 per glass.) A short food menu includes items like caviar, charcuterie boards and pate en croute.
Opening a wine bar was not always in the plans for owner Shubhra Sarkar. A longtime Silicon Valley engineer, she made a career change in 2020 once the pandemic hit. She enrolled in a master of fine arts program for painting. And she decided to finally act on her passion for wine, which she and her husband had developed during their extensive travels around the globe.
“We’ve been to 50+ countries,” Sarkar said. (They ticked off their seventh continent, Antarctica, in December.) “We’ve been enjoying collecting all kinds of wines from the different places we visit.” She had especially memorable experiences in Santorini, Greece and Casablanca, Chile.
Mili will serve snacks like caviar, pate en croute and charcuterie.
Provided by MiliSince Sarkar had never run a bar or restaurant before, she hired people with experience, including general manager John Jasso, who previously worked at fine-dining favorites Gary Danko and the Progress, and consulting sommelier Renee-Nicole Kubin, formerly of popular bistros Nopa and Routier.
Design-wise, Sarkar was aiming for a space that feels “friendly but chic,” she said. She brought on local architecture firm Studio BBA to design the space, which was brand-new construction and does not include a full kitchen. It features zinc countertops, modern chairs from Mission District furniture maker Fyrn and dishes from Oakland ceramicist Sarah Kersten.
Downtown San Francisco has been famously slow to rebound since pandemic restrictions eased, with many office buildings still sitting empty. But Sarkar, whose apartment is located very close to Mili, said that this particular part of downtown — the East Cut — seems to be coming alive again. “We are opposite the Gap headquarters, and we have all the condominiums close by,” she said. “We want to cater to people who want something casual, maybe not a full dinner, but just a place to have a drink.”
The vibe may be casual, but some of the prices are not. Many of the opening list’s wines by the glass, all available in 5- or 2- ounce pours, are splurges. Prestigious white Burgundy from appellations like Chablis and Chassagne-Montrachet will go for $75 and $68, respectively, per 5-ounce pour, while a glass of Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley — made by Francoise Peschon, a onetime Chronicle Winemaker of the Year — is $90 for 5 ounces.
Shubhra Sarkar, a longtime Silicon Valley engineer, is the owner of new San Francisco wine bar Mili.
Courtesy Anirban SenguptaOther glasses are more in line with standard San Francisco pricing these days, like a $15 glass of Assyrtiko, the crisp, Sauvignon Blanc-esque white wine from Greece, and a $14 red blend from Portugal.
Sarkar hopes that Mili will live up to the spirit of its name: a place for meeting and socializing. “It’s easy to say, it speaks to our roots — because we are from India — and it just seemed like a perfect name for a gathering place,” she said.
Mili. Opening Wednesday. 4:30-10 p.m. Monday-Friday and noon-10 p.m. Saturday. 110 Folsom St., San Francisco. miliwinebar.com
Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicle’s senior wine critic. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com
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