Spanish Restaurant Near Me on Russian Hill: Abrazo at Hyde and Union

Search for a spanish restaurant near me from a hotel near Fisherman's Wharf or an apartment on Russian Hill, and Abrazo is one of the few answers you can reach by cable car. It sits at 2000 Hyde Street, on the corner of Union Street, where the Powell-Hyde line climbs past the windows. Chef and owner Michael Pawlik calls his cooking Spanish-Californian: paella, gambas and croquetas built on Spanish technique, with Northern California produce worked into nearly every plate.

The address has a long Spanish history. For more than two decades this corner was Zarzuela, a beloved Russian Hill tapas room run by Madrid-born chef Lucas Gasco that famously took no reservations and had no website. When Zarzuela closed, Pawlik took over the space and opened Abrazo at the end of 2018, keeping the Spanish thread but moving the menu toward seasonal California cooking. The name means warm embrace in Spanish, which is how the restaurant describes its idea of a neighborhood place.

Begin the meal with the raw bar and snacks. Miyagi oysters cost $3.75 each and come with smoked saffron crema, Espelette pepper, pickled Fresno chili and charred lime, a very Californian take on a Spanish aperitivo. The house bread is $9 with olive, shallot and herbs and a smoked paprika olive oil for dipping, and the cured meat and cheese board, at $23, brings Spanish and regional meats and cheeses with marinated olives, candied walnuts and dried fruit.

The small plates are where Abrazo shows its range. Gambas al ajillo are $18, served over garbanzo bean purée with Espelette and crostini instead of the usual pool of garlic oil. Patatas bravas, at $14, use fingerling potatoes with aji amarillo aioli and piquillo pepper. Croquetas cost $16 and blend braised chicken, Serrano ham, Calabrian chilies and Mahón cheese, finished with black truffle aioli. The charred octopus, at $21, comes with potatoes, kumquats and chorizo oil.

For something heartier from the small-plates list, order the albóndigas. The beef meatballs are $16 and sit in a smoked paprika and tomato sauce with Manchego mousse and red onion jam. Bone marrow, at $19, is roasted and topped with crispy garlic and trout roe, served with crostini. Two people can make a full dinner out of four of these small plates and a glass of wine, a lighter way to eat here than ordering the large plates.

The centerpiece is the seafood paella at $49, made with bomba rice and saffron and loaded with chorizo, prawns, mussels, clams and squid, then finished with smoked paprika aioli and a grilled Meyer lemon. It is sized to share, so order it as the main event for two or three people and build small plates around it. Other mains include a roasted chicken over saffron rice for $35, branzino for $38 and a flat iron steak with salsa verde for $46.

Drinks lean Spanish. Red sangria made with Spanish red wine, orange, apple and a top of cava is $13 a glass. The Gin Tonic, the Spanish style of gin and tonic served with elderflower, Fever-Tree tonic, juniper and orange, costs $17, as do the other house cocktails. Estrella Damm Daura lager from Barcelona is $9. After dinner, a glass of Navazos fino sherry is $12, and Pedro Ximénez sherry, the sweet raisiny style that pairs with dessert, is $10.

Desserts are $12 each. The chocolate crema catalana comes with orange, a chocolate-hazelnut streusel and berries, a twist on the Catalan cousin of crème brûlée. The classic flan is served with huckleberry compote and crème fraîche ice cream, and ricotta buñuelos, the fried Spanish dough puffs, arrive with vanilla ice cream, ganache and Meyer lemon curd. House-made ice cream and sorbet, including a rosemary olive oil flavor, are $6 and come with a shortbread cookie.

Abrazo serves dinner only. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm and on Sunday from 5:30 pm to 9 pm, and it is closed on Monday. The restaurant posts a note on its website that if online reservations show as unavailable, because the booking system has had problems. Phoning is also the easiest way to ask for a bar seat or a later table on a busy Saturday.

The room is bigger than the corner suggests. The restaurant describes an 18-foot ceiling, a cozy bar and a private dining room that seats 18, which makes it a practical choice for a birthday dinner or a small rehearsal party on Russian Hill. Ask for a window table if you want to watch the cable cars clang past on Hyde Street, or sit at the bar for a quicker dinner and conversation with the bartender about the Spanish wine list.

The wine list mixes Spain with California. By the glass you will find Mas Fi cava brut for $12, Laxas Albariño from Rías Baixas for $14 and Lar de Sotomayor Rioja Tempranillo for $14, along with a Priorat from Gil Family Estates. The bottle list goes deeper into Rioja gran reservas and Priorat, and also carries Napa and Sonoma names for anyone at the table who prefers California wine with their paella.

Russian Hill is made for a walk before or after dinner. Head three blocks north on Hyde Street to the top of the famous crooked block of Lombard Street, between Hyde and Leavenworth, which is quieter in the evening once the tour buses leave. Or walk east toward Macondray Lane, the hidden wooden-stair lane between Jones and Taylor that inspired Armistead Maupin's Barbary Lane in Tales of the City. Both are good for views of the bay and Coit Tower.

Practical notes: Abrazo is at 2000 Hyde Street, San Francisco, CA 94109, email info@abrazosf.com. It is a full-service, sit-down restaurant, not a counter-order tapas bar, and the private room needs booking in advance through the events page. Hyde Street is very steep here, which matters for anyone with limited mobility. Abrazo suits a date night, an out-of-town visitor riding the cable car, or a group that wants paella in a calm neighborhood room.