Mortar & Pestle Bar to Open in San Mateo

It's a new year for cocktails in San Mateo.

Mortar & Pestle Bar will be opening on Jan. 6 in San Mateo in a venue located within the confines of the original Curry Up Now brick and mortar restaurant.

The bar will showcase craft cocktails, microbrews and California wines, as well as a small bite menu. The bar is located at the rear of the current Curry Up Now space, with the entrance on Main Street.

The owners, Akash and Rana Kapoor, conducted a nationwide search of bar consultants to help with the opening and settled on Bittercube, a Milwaukee and Minneapolis based firm that also makes its own craft bitters.

These are being used to help create an eclectic signature cocktail menu that includes an Indian inspired Rum Old Fashioned with a house made Garam Masala syrup, a Sri Lankan Coconut Arrack, and a namesake cocktail served in a mortar that is made with vintage bourbon and Demerara sugar and finished with lemongrass, rose syrup, mint and kaffir lime leaves.

There will be an array of exclusive house-made tonics and the selection of beers is by renowned blogger David Jensen of Beer47.

The wine list has been put together by sommelier John Hoang, who will also be managing the bar.

The name Mortar & Pestle is derived from tools that Bittercube co-founders Nick Kosevich and Ira Koplowitz often utilize.

They have trained nearly 100 bartenders over the last four years and the company has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Playboy and Food & Wine, and on NPR. Bittercube focuses on classic cocktail methodology and house-made ingredients.

In keeping with Curry Up Now’s mission of offering good food options priced under $12.00, the signature cocktails at Mortar & Pestle are reasonably priced at $10.00 while craft beers are offered for $5.00 and wines by the glass from $6.00 to$9.00.

Among the notable small bites on the Mortar & Pestle opening food menu will be a Trio of Samosas featuring beef, curried veggies and pork belly, and Crispy Flat Tacos with a choice of proteins. The Kapoors have also developed a Zesty Chili Con Queso and a barbecue platter called Tikka Tikka Hummus made with chicken thigh served with an Indian inspired hummus and crispy naan bits. The full Curry Up Now restaurant menu can also be ordered at the bar.

A Happy Hour menu will be available all week from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Mortar & Pestle will be showing world sports such as soccer, rugby, cricket and field hockey, as well as NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB games, on three large-screen TV’s, plus there will be a multi-lingual Karaoke Bar for those so inclined.

The industrial chic design of the Mortar & Pestle exterior is complemented by casual, engaging decor. Highlights of the 35-seat space include a lighted Onyx bar top, reclaimed wood furniture, a large community table with bench seating, a high ceiling affording lots of natural light, custom lighting fixtures, over-sized tattoo animal artwork, a custom designed word wall behind the bar and a night club styled banquette seating option which will available for bottle service.

Mortar & Pestle is located at 129 South B St. behind the Curry Up Now restaurant, in San Mateo.

The bar will open for service nightly, Monday through Thursday from 4:00 to 10:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 4:00 p.m. to midnight and on Sunday from noon to 10:00 p.m. There are plans to add brunch service. Neighborhood street parking is often an option. The web site is pending and the telephone number is (650) 830-5310.