This Marina cocktail bar is set to become a Jewish deli — also with cocktails

Lilah, a low-ABV cocktail bar that opened in October in the Marina, will close next month and become a Jewish restaurant and cocktail bar, Super Mensch. 

Co-owner Elmer Mejicanos, a 20-year veteran of San Francisco’s bar scene, said the pivot has nothing to do with Lilah’s format, which saw low-proof sours and shaved-ice concoctions share menu space with crispy duck tacos and Taiwanese pork-belly buns. Rather, it’s because Type 47 licenses — which allow establishments to serve distilled spirits, as well as beer and wine — are much cheaper than they were before the pandemic. “We got a chance to get one, and we couldn’t pass it up,” Mejicanos said.

Lilah’s last day of service will be May 4. 

Mejicanos, who is also a partner in the burger-centric bistro Causwells two doors down Chestnut Street from Lilah, previously told The Standard that his next concept would be a low-proof Mexican cantina-style bar. That project is still happening, although the timeline has been pushed to 2026. Another Causwells location, in Menlo Park, is also opening in the months to come.

Consequently, flipping the Lilah space to Super Mensch will happen quickly, with an estimated opening of late June or early July. Along with Causwells chef Adam Rosenblum, Mejicanos is planning to go all in on nostalgic takes on the Jewish deli culture of New York and New Jersey, with recipes from Rosenblum’s mother and grandmother. That means black-and-white cookies, large slices of chocolate cake, house-made rye sandwiches with pastrami that’s been cured for two weeks, and “latkes and vodkas” during brunch. There will also be “matzoh ball margaritas,” although Mejicanos did not divulge how he plans to combine the two.

“I’m going to have a Manischewitz cocktail without any Manischewitz,” he said, referring to the kosher wine produced from sweet Concord grapes. “I’m using a grape-leaf-infused, unaged cognac and verjus — everything Manishewitz is supposed to be, but good.”