Did you say three-martini lunch? No, we said ‘free martini lunch’

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Does anything in this life compare to the naughty pleasure of day drinking? It’s civilized yet slightly feral, with more than a dash of Sterling Cooper-era glamor. Granted, a lunchtime tipple may be considered classy if you’re rich and tacky if you’re not, but the danger of getting caught may be exceeded only by the thrill of getting away with it. 

Heartwood, a 2-year-old restaurant on pedestrianized Commercial Street in the shadow of the Transamerica Pyramid, is luring people into this honeypot. The premise couldn’t be simpler: Order a sandwich or salad during weekday lunch service, and get a free martini.

The deal is limited to one free drink per customer. But managing partner Tristen Philippart de Foy openly encourages having a second and third martini and seeing where the afternoon takes you. 

To that cheeky end, Heartwood offers five martini options, including the classic (Roku gin or Haku vodka with dry vermouth, orange bitters, and lemon oil), a dirty version, and an espresso. In keeping with the times, there’s an alcohol-free “Zest Coast” option, as citrus-accented as the classic and made with zero-proof gin.

The most inventive of the five could easily reignite one of those “Is this really a martini?” debates. The Leaf Water, with tequila, jasmine tea, honeydew shiso cordial, and shochu, comes garnished with an oversized shiso leaf to give its melon-forward profile a minty pop. It’s popular with healthy, athletic types, Philippart de Foy notes: “We had the Cal swim team in for a private dinner. I’m telling you, we probably sold 120 of those things.”

He started offering the free martini in April, almost as a joke. It felt risqué amid downtown’s post-pandemic lull, and he wasn’t sure Heartwood would get many takers. “Day drinking is exhilarating — but it doesn’t seem to be as big a part of San Francisco culture,” he says. Indeed, while Comstock Saloon in North Beach offers free lunch on Fridays to anyone who orders two drinks, no other businesses that he knows of have attempted the reverse: luring in customers with a complimentary drink. 

The decision was partly driven by economics. Heartwood, a brick-lined New American restaurant from the same team as upscale lounge The Treasury and Valencia Street cocktail bar Beehive, does a brisk business in events and corporate buyouts. But it sometimes struggled during the day.

Within three weeks of rolling out the free martinis, however, Heartwood doubled the average number of lunch customers. Beyond the retro vibes, a high-octane 1 p.m. cocktail is also a bug-splat on the windshield of the corporate wellness grindset. But if City Hall’s plan for reviving the neighborhood’s fortunes depends on getting young people drunk in the evenings, Heartwood is picking up the midday slack. There may be room for more daylight decadence. “When I was a 21-year-old bartender, dudes would come in in suits, and they’d throw back like four or five martinis before going to the office,” Philippart de Foy says. 

The point of hospitality, he adds, is to have a good time with friends and colleagues and make memories — some of which you may later forget. As for going back to work after a midday martini, well, that’s up to you.