Just How Good Is Comstock Saloon's Daily Free Lunch?

Lou Bustamante

The Cherry Bounce ($10) alone makes it worth a visit.

​We reported last week that Comstock Saloon's offering a meal on the house with the purchase of two full-price drinks Monday through Friday (11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.). SFoodie has a hard time resisting the allure of a free lunch, especially one that provides an adequate excuse to enjoy a few cocktails at lunch on a Friday.

First off, we were surprised by the enormous plate. Our large-and-in-charge lunch came with a chopped lettuce salad, roasted potatoes, and a nicely sized hamburger. There was only one condiment -- a hot tomato-soup-like sauce -- and we drenched our whole meal in it. The whole thing was filling, tasty, and of the same high quality chef Carlo Espinas always serves. It wasn't a dumbed-down version of something from the menu -- it was something from the menu. Yesterday's lunch was a pork belly sandwich and today's special is the Hamburg steak, for those who missed it on Friday.

A reader commented that the heavily salted free lunches of the past were offered by bars so patrons would buy more thirst-quenching and/or profitable booze, inspiring the adage, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." But if you end up buying more than two cocktails at Comstock, it won't be because of the saltiness of the food, but because of the hospitality of the staff and the great drinks. In fact, the amazingly refreshing Cherry Bounce (bourbon, sparkling wine, angostura, lemon, juice from homemade brandied cherries, $10) is the reason we bought a third.

Comstock Saloon: 155 Columbus (at Kearny), 617-0071.