Near City Hall, Tommy’s Joynt is an easily overlooked San Francisco landmark that doesn’t show up on most people’s radar. Opened in 1947, Tommy’s is the oldest Hofbrau in California.

Hofbrau’s offer beer and German-American comfort food. Large portions at reasonable prices (for San Francisco, that’s anything not insanely overpriced). Tommy’s is famous for its pastrami, turkey, corned and roast beef, made freshly in-house. 

In addition to honest comfort food, Tommy’s offers a wall full of local and imported beers at its bar. In warm summer days, Tommy’s opens its rooftop biergarten. Opened by local singer and radio D.J Tommy Harris, Tommy’s served late-night grub to musicians finishing their gigs at local clubs and stages.

In 2020, rumors spread that Tommy’s was closed for good. Despite reopening after the citywide COVID shutdowns, viral social media posts still circulated that Tommy’s was closing or that the property would be sold to developers. I spoke to one of Tommy’s owners at the bar, and he completely dispelled the rumors.