Spanish Restaurant Near Me by Davies Symphony Hall: Bar Jamón

The symphony lets out at Davies, the program is folded in a coat pocket, and typing spanish restaurant near me into a map app points a short block south along Van Ness Avenue. Bar Jamón sits at 100 Van Ness, on the corner of Fell Street, a 50-seat tapas and gin tonic bar from chef-owner Michael Iglesias that OpenTable introduced as a new opening in May 2026. The pitch is simple: rare Spanish ham, Iberian cheese and a very cold glass.

OpenTable describes the concept as rooted in the great cocktail bars of Spain, the kind where a plate of jamón and a gin tonic are reason enough to stay for hours, and that is what sets it apart from the paella houses elsewhere in the city. Instead of a long dinner sequence, the menu is built around ham, cheese and small plates, while the drinks list puts five gin tonics at the top, ahead of the sangrias and the house cocktails.

Every ham, sausage and cheese arrives with pan cristal, marcona almonds and rosemary crackers or Valencian galletas. Jamón ibérico de bellota from 5 Jota, a 40-month Black Label leg, is $32, and the chef's jamón y embutido tasting is $35. Chorizo from Palacios costs $13 and acorn-fed salchichón ibérico is $15. Cheeses include Murcian Caña de Cabra at $13, Familia Parras Manchego at $12, Basque Idiazábal at $15 and chestnut-wrapped Valdeón blue at $16, with a chef's tasting at $32.

Warm tapas are the heart of a shared table. Patatas bravas, crispy new potatoes with garlic confit and spicy tomato sauce, are $12. Hongos de Jerez cook wild mushrooms with Catalan herbs, garlic and oloroso sherry for $14. The tortilla española, $13, layers organic egg with onion and potato confit and finishes it with chimichurri. Gambas San Lucar bring wild prawns in olive oil with garlic, chile de árbol and lemon for $18, and pan con tomate is $8.

Cold tapas and raciones round things out. Chorizo and Manchego pintxos with piparra pepper are $10 for three, and gambas coctel, chilled prawns with Basque pimentón alioli, cost $19. For a main, pluma de ibérico, the roasted feather loin of an acorn-fed pig with salsa verde, is $45, and a black truffle ribeye with creamy mashed potatoes is $48. Dessert is Strauss Family helado with caramel swirl, reserve olive oil and sea salt for $9.

The gin tonic list runs five builds, each $17. Sevilla pairs Tanqueray Sevilla with mandarin, rosemary, oregano and cinnamon; Membrillo uses Aviation gin with Napa lemon, bay laurel and juniper; and Almería mixes Nolet's with strawberries, ginger cordial, Lillet Blanc and caraway. Sangria Catalan, built on white wine, pisco, Sonoma pear and chamomile, is $13, as is Sangria de Toro with Tempranillo and Hennessy. A Rebujito of manzanilla and orange-cinnamon cordial costs $12, and the Granada Salt Air Margarita is $15.

Timing matters around a theater district. Bar Jamón opens at 4 pm Tuesday through Sunday, which leaves room for jamón and a gin tonic before an evening curtain at Davies or the Opera House. It closes at 10 pm Tuesday through Thursday and on Sunday, and stays open until 11 pm on Friday and Saturday, the best nights for a post-show plate. Monday is the one day the bar stays closed, so a Monday concert means eating somewhere else.

Tables are booked through OpenTable, where the listing appears as Bar Jamón @ Sebastián, and the website also links to Yelp reservations. OpenTable notes that reservations open daily at midnight for the following 90 days, which helps when a symphony or opera date is fixed weeks ahead. For birthdays, rehearsal dinners and company nights, the website has a special events form that goes to events@barjamon-sf.com, and the team says it handles everything from family dinners to larger celebrations.

With 50 seats, the room is an intimate one, and the restaurant describes it as designed to reflect the lively spirit of Spain. The bar is the focal point, since this is first a gin tonic house, and the drinks look the part: the Botánico, a gin-free $17 build of Ketel One cucumber mint vodka, butterfly pea flower, chamomile and elderflower tonic under a lemon air, glows violet in the glass. Expect a lively, close-quartered room rather than spread-out tables, which suits pairs and small groups best.

Michael Iglesias is a James Beard-nominated restaurateur, and OpenTable credits him with Coqueta on the San Francisco waterfront and Poca Madre in Washington, DC, both developed under the influence of chef José Andrés. Bar Jamón is his return to the city with something smaller and more focused. The printed tapas menu closes with a signed toast to the new year, Gran abrazos y felicidades por 2026, from Iglesias as chef owner and Zeke Valdivia as bar partner.

Bar Jamón also runs special nights. In September 2026 it hosted Paella en Vivo, a live paella event with tapas, sold through the Color nightlife app, and the homepage nudges guests to download Color for future ticketed events. The cocktail list has some playful names, too: the Mayor's Club Martini, $17, pairs Belvedere vodka with Basque Atxa vermouth, served freezer cold with blue cheese stuffed olives, and the Nuez del Tío, $16, is a walnut and star anise Sazerac rye drink.

For a walk before or after, Davies Symphony Hall, home of the San Francisco Symphony, stands at 201 Van Ness Avenue, a block north, and the War Memorial Opera House, home of San Francisco Opera and Ballet, is at 301 Van Ness. One block east, the SFJAZZ Center at 201 Franklin Street, on the corner of Fell, is a glass-walled venue where a late jazz set makes an easy nightcap before you walk back for one more round.

Practical notes: Bar Jamón is at 100 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102, on the corner of Fell Street in the Civic Center performing arts district, and the phone is (707) 812-3606; general email goes to info@barjamon.com. Hours are Tuesday through Thursday 4 pm to 10 pm, Friday and Saturday 4 pm to 11 pm, Sunday 4 pm to 10 pm, with Monday the weekly day off. Instagram updates come from @barjamonsf, and events are booked by email.