Well, This Place Is Sexy

Friday night.

It’s a night of opportunity. Of new beginnings. Of patty melts and tequila flights and jazz and burlesque and other worldly pursuits at Black Cat.

It’s a bar. It’s a restaurant. It’s a jazz club known to dabble in scantily clad dancing. And, lucky you, it’s now open in the Tenderloin, and it looks like this.

The opening partners (whose collective résumés include Lolinda and NYC’s Bobo) wanted to create a retro escapist fantasy that celebrates the Tenderloin’s history as a center for jazz. With a few modern touches, of course, like this menu from a Zuni and Chez Panisse alum and drinks from a Beretta vet.

Entering the high-ceilinged, two-level space, you’ll see a gleaming center bar, the occasional gold-mesh window covering and a photo mural of the neighborhood. All of those are nice. One of those is important.

So you might pause at the important one for a Vieux Carré or one of those tequila flights. But we’d recommend heading toward the staircase on your right.

It leads downstairs to the second bar, and a stage lit gold and purple. And as you may have deduced, that’s where you’ll find a live jazz band or a burlesque performance. And a patty melt.

Patty melts can be sexy, too.