This is no tiki bar. The setting is austere and designed to keep patrons focused on the origin and quality of the small-batch rums that the owner personally selected from around the Caribbean. The cocktails are balanced and potent, pairing exceedingly well with plates of oxtail stew, jerk chicken and Cuban sandwiches. Servers translate the Spanish menu with a smile.
Meanwhile, there are plans to adorn the walls with reproductions of folk-art by Bill Traylor, an artist born into slavery in Alabama. The art is part of a collaboration with SF's Museum of the African Diaspora, which has partnered with the bar, along with Calle 24. Some proceeds will go toward these organizations, perhaps countering arguments that bars like Obispo are contributing to the gentrification of the Mission.
