

By Jobeth Devera - California Live - The Stinking Rose
"San Francisco’s The Stinking Rose, a one-of-a-kind dining experience serving up unique creations from garlic martinis to garlic-flavored ice cream.
Learn how to make a traditional bagna cauda, a versatile hot garlic dip made with anchovies.


The worst possible time to drink a garlic martini is right after a twisty-turny Uber ride with a driver wearing way too much cologne.

But I hadn’t made the journey to North Beach for nothing. So after a walk around the block to settle my stomach, I put on my brave face and plunged headfirst into San Francisco’s stinkiest restaurant.
If you’re not familiar, the Stinking Rose is a restaurant that proudly declares, “We season our garlic with food".

Since 1991, the stench of the pungent allium has been emanating from the novelty spot on Columbus Avenue.

While the garlic-themed restaurant moved into a smaller space in early 2022, it’s still just a block away from its original location.
Owners Jerry Dal Bozzo and Dante Serafini both grew up in North Beach and were inspired to open the Stinking Rose after a visit to the Gilroy Garlic Festival.
The quirky spot was such a success that they opened a second location in Beverly Hills in 1996, it has since closed.
With about 40 different garlic-based dishes on the menu, the Stinking Rose goes through a whopping 7 tons of garlic a year (that’s about 40 pounds of garlic a day).

There’s even an urban legend that taxis and Ubers won’t pick people up from the restaurant due to the garlic breath of it all [...If you go, please don’t forget your breath mints].
On my weekday lunch visit, the restaurant was fairly quiet, although it’s usually a buzzing spot on weekend evenings.
A few groups of tourists huddled over candle-warmed tubs of roasted garlic in oil, dipping their bread contentedly.

A smattering of solo lunchers dined outside at the street-facing bistro tables, just steps away from other iconic North Beach institutions like Stella Pastry and Caffe Trieste.





Near my table, a busty mannequin [see below], wearing a garlic hat kept catching the corner of my eye, like someone was watching me.

My dining companion and I followed suit with the rest of the diners and ordered the bagna calda, also known as garlic soaking in a hot tub. While the candle-heated presentation was fun, I was underwhelmed by the dish, [...] aside from the mild sweetness of roasted garlic and the slightest whisper of anchovy.
I much preferred the garlic rose relish, which the menu labels, “for [garlic] main liners.” Our server recommended we pair it with an oven-baked Acme baguette, which arrived toasty and warm.


[...] The rest of the meal [see below] passed far more pleasantly. We ordered the Stinking Rose garlic salad, juicy tomatoes and soft avocado highlighted with a zingy garlic vinaigrette. The garlic mussels, steamed in a rich Calabrian chile and nduja pork sausage sauce, were tender and just the right amount of spicy.




My dining companion loved the 40 clove garlic chicken, a quarter of the bird slathered in cream sauce and scattered with roasted garlic cloves, served with a side of garlicky mashed potatoes. Unsurprisingly, this is Stinking Rose’s most popular entree. While it was the most expensive thing we ordered ($29.95), it yielded plenty of leftovers.
For dessert, we took a leap of faith and ordered the garlic ice cream.

After confessing to our server that I, like her, hated the Gartini, she reassured me that the ice cream was interesting and worth trying. It’s actually the same garlic ice cream that can be found at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, made by Marianne’s Ice Cream in Santa Cruz.
Served with a hardened drizzle of chocolate sauce, the garlic ice cream was unexpectedly subtle. It just tasted like vanilla with a slight savory aftertaste. Or maybe there was just already so much garlic on my breath I’d grown numb to the taste. Either way, I didn’t mind it.
Owner Serafini stated, “We have different varying amounts of garlic lovers. We have some people who love garlic, and no matter how much you give them, it’s not enough. … The majority of people fit in the middle. They like garlic and that’s why they come to the restaurant, but they don’t want an overpowering garlic dish.”
Read More: The Stinking Rose


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