A year and a half after we saw Paradise Lounge's interior get the wrecking ball treatment at the corner of 11th and Folsom, it's time for the debut of new salsa club and rooftop restaurant Calle 11 pronounced kal-yay own-say, for you non-Spanish speakers. It's the project of local restaurateur Leticia Luna, proprietor of the former Leticia's in the Castro and also Rockapulco, once upon a time, and the club will feature live salsa music on Fridays and Saturdays. As Inside Scoop tells us, though, there are two other components to the three-story space: a rooftop restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating called Del Encanto, and a second-floor lounge that will reportedly have a more lounge-y, jazz-y vibe.
For the restaurant, Luna hired away chef Christopher Caraballo from the Puerto Rican food stand he helped found in Oakland, Borinquen Soul, and you can see the opening menu here. Highlights look to include a whole deep-fried fish, and slow-roasted pernil (pork shoulder) available on weekends only.
Also, there will be Sunday brunch, and plenty of mojito pitchers.
As Caraballo tells Inside Scoop, he's keeping thing simple. "I promised my mom I wouldn’t try to reinvent the wheel," he says.
The opening is slated for early January, which basically means any day now. And three cheers for another rooftop venue to join El Techo de Lolinda in the rarified club of SF rootftop restaurants.
Previously: Goodbye, Paradise Lounge