Bottoms Up! New Cocktails At Tony’s & Capo’s

by Joe Bonadio

As a longtime resident of North Beach, I often reflect on the exceptionally good judgement I displayed when moving here, now nearly twenty years ago. I could have landed anywhere after leaving New York, and the fact that I wound up in a beautiful neighborhood full of great restaurants and legendary bars, all within easy walking distance, is a blessing that I appreciate now more than ever. And as anyone who knows me can tell you, two of my favorites are Tony’s Pizza Napoletana and Capo’s.

The yin and yang of Tony Gemignani’s North Beach kingdom, the two restaurants offer two distinct iterations of Tony’s ideal pizzeria. The OG, Tony’s Pizza Napoletana is the dynamo of the organization, tackling a dozen different styles of pizza in a bustling, high-energy environment that seemingly never slows down. On the other end of the spectrum, especially in terms of ambience, is Capo’s: with a dining room that transports you back in time to 1930’s Chicago, Capo’s focuses on the pan styles, including Deep Dish, Detroit, Tavern Style and Chicago Cracker Thin.

Of course, the two restaurants have one obvious thing in common: world class pizza. But even if you don’t care for pizza (in which case I don’t trust you), they’re both standout bars worth seeking out for their own sake. Their wine lists are well curated by Jules Gregg, as evidenced by the ten Wine Spectator awards that festoon the back wall at Tony’s. And thanks to bar managers Nick Lawlor (Tony’s) and Isabel Sandoval (Capo’s), the cocktails are always on point—and a lot more than you might expect from a pizzeria.

Every once in a while I put together a feature on the new lineup of cocktails at either of the restaurants, and this time we’re going to roll it into one Summer cocktail wrap-up for both. My first stop was at Capo’s to see Isabel, whom I consider to be one of the friendliest bartenders in a neighborhood chock full of them.

She started me out with a Spring Showers, a new addition that I’ve seen on the bar and been curious about. The drink revolves around Liquid Alchemist raspberry syrup, combined with vodka, lime juice and mint. “I wanted to make something bright and refreshing, but with flavors you would typically see in more of a wintery setting, and that’s raspberry,” Isabel explained. “But I really wanted to bring it forth for Summer. Pairing it with the mint and the lime juice kind of brings out the tartness, and the cooling effect of the mint makes it more balanced. And the vodka is a perfect blank slate.” I found it to be delicious, if a touch sweet for my taste.

Next Isabel mixed me up an Afternoon Delight: a beguilingly simple mix of gin, lemon juice, prosecco and simple syrup, combined with the flavor of your choice. It’s Isabel’s take on a French 75, but with a twist. “You can choose your own adventure: peach, raspberry or limoncello,” she told me. “I’m going to make you the limoncello, because it’s my favorite.” I do love a sour gin cocktail, and this drink hit all the right notes for me. No doubt, this is one dangerously drinkable cocktail.

She closed me out with the Zest For Life, which combines clear rum, lime juice, and lime and yuzu tonic, along with a product I’ve never had before: Chareau. “Chareau is aloe liqueur. It’s very underutilized, and you only need a little bit,” Isabel told me. “You might expect it to be subtle, but it’s not. The rep from Fever Tree brought in the lime and yuzu tonic, and I immediately thought of aloe liqueur.” This cocktail is surprisingly delicious, and I could see how too much of the aloe liqueur might overpower a drink. But I liked this cocktail, and I can honestly say I’ve never had anything quite like it.

A couple of days after my visit with Isabel I stopped in to see Nick Lawlor, the Bar Manager over at Tony’s Pizza Napoletana. Like Isabel, I’ve interviewed Nick several times, and I’m always curious to see what he’s mixing up.

Nick kicked things off with a Raspberry Beret, an uber-refreshing combo of Santa Teresa rum, raspberry syrup, lime and mint. “This is one of Sergio’s cocktails. We make the raspberry syrup in house,” he told me. “He pretty much smashes a bunch of raspberries and mixes it with sugar and water, so it has a really fresh feeling to it. It’s a quintessential summer drink, almost like a raspberry mojito. What we call a Patio Pounder—and it’s my favorite one.”

From there we moved on to a libation Nick calls the Soft Light, composed of Barr Hill gin, honey syrup, mango liqueur, bitter bianco, egg white and lemon juice. “Barr Hill gin is from Vermont, and at the distillery they also keep bees. We also buy their honey, and use it in our housemade honey syrup,” Nick explained. “Barr Hill is a really nice, lighter style of gin, and the mango in there really does it for me. Meanwhile the bitter Bianco adds just a little bit of edge to it.” This cocktail is a standout, and it has a savory element that I couldn’t quite identify, but enjoyed nonetheless.

We wrapped it up with a mezcal cocktail called the Bonfire. A medley of Madras mezcal, habanero syrup, pineapple juice and pineapple ginger beer, this one is pretty aggressive. “This one is the most challenging of them all, and it has the sharpest flavors,” Nick confided. “The syrup that we buy is made from habanero peppers, so the spice is up front and center. So this is almost like an Oaxacan Mule, but with spicy syrup and pineapple juice.” Tropical, smoky and intriguing, the Bonfire is a mezcal cocktail for someone who doesn’t normally drink mezcal.

Thanks once again to Isabel Sandoval and Nick Lawlor for tasting me through their new creations, which are all available now. Be sure to check them out while they’re still available—and I’ll see you in the neighborhood!