As we reported back in December, the 14-year-old restaurant known as Fifth Floor had to go the way of so many other formal dining destinations of the last few years and succumb to the pressures of casual-ization and small-plate-ization. The restaurant tucked inside the Hotel Palomar, we were promised, would become something more cocktail-focused, with small plates by chef David Bazirgan. And today, we get the official word on the new name and concept: Dirty Habit.
It feels a little weird that a place as austere and acclaimed as Fifth Floor is getting renamed something so dirty sounding (literally), but the adjectives employed in the release are "edgy," "sultry," "experiential," and "mysterious," so you know there were a lot of meetings back at the Kimpton Restaurant group about how to rebrand the restaurant as something hip and young.
Bar manager Brian Means promises a "dramatic, sociable environment" centered around the bar and a new outdoor patio in the previously uninhabited courtyard space. They say they want to create the vibe of a "secret retreat," with a "10-foot-long fire fixture," but chef David Bazirgan says the food will still be approachable. As for the cocktails, Bazirgan says, "We’re going to have table-side finishes, interactive cocktails and an eclectic vintage glassware collection that Brian and I have collected at local antique markets."
Look for Dirty Habit to open in May, and for now there's just a placeholder website.
Dirty Habit, Hotel Palomar, 12 4th Street between Market and Mission