A vegan vibe bar in San Francisco!
In an audiophile bar filled with mood lighting and intimate seating, you will find “cosmic vegan vibrations” in the form of Om Sabor’s vegan menu. Om Sabor is a vegan restaurant owned by Mexican immigrants within Phonobar, a cocktail bar in Hayes Valley, San Francisco.
I was invited to visit Phonobar this weekend by Robin of Vegan Dollhouse. I hadn’t heard of it yet, so rather than looking up Om Sabor’s menu online, I left myself open to surprise, and pleasantly so. The name “Om Sabor” comes from the combination of “Om,” the sacred vibration sound, and “Sabor,” the Spanish word for “taste” or “flavor“.1 Inspired by both international and Latin flavors, Om Sabor aims to share their passion for “good karma food with a touch of ancestral family roots inspired with other universal cuisines.” The menu reflects this with offerings from tacos and nachos, to cauliflower wings, mac n cheese, and even vegan clam chowder- because when in San Francisco! Robin and I each selected our own mains: Pesto Mac n Cheese for me, and a Caesar Salad for her. Then, we shared the “Crab” Arancini and Carne Asada Nachos. The Pesto Mac n Cheese is a creamy cashew cheese blended with sun-dried tomatoes, basil, pistachio pesto, and English peas, then topped with coconut parmesan and panko crumbs. It is TO DIE FOR, and Robin exclaimed after tasting, that they “NEED to enter the Mac n Cheese Competition!” (with Bizerekeley Food Fest on 10/19/25). Agreed! Her Caesar Salad is a mix of romaine hearts and a caper-cashew dressing, topped with wheat croutons, Violife parmesan, and “chick’n”. The Carne Asada Nachos are loaded with flavor. La Palma corn chips are topped with pinto beans, Om signature cheese sauce, heavily seasoned wheat soy protein, Pico de Gallo, coconut queso, pickled jalapeno, crema, and salsa. Each chip was loaded with toppings, and the soy meat packed mild heat. Our favorite was the “Crab” Arancini, fried rice balls made with Arborio rice and lemon garlic jackfruit (as the “crab”), seasoned with guajillo (red pepper chili), and topped with salsa macha aioli, sprouts, and pickled onion. They tasted like little crab cake balls with a nice outer crunch. I polished off my meal with a Phonobar cocktail called “Snap Out of it“, a snap pea-based drink! It’s crafted with a blend of snap peas, floral water, lemon, cane sugar, seltzer, foam, and gin. It’s a refreshing, clean-tasting beverage with a hint of spice from the gin, that I would order again.
I desperately wanted to try the vegan clam chowder, but it was sold out! Which is great for them, but sad for me. I used to eat clam chowder a TON as a kid, and referred to a local restaurant that served it as “the soup store”, so this is definitely on my future to try list! We visited Phonobar on a Sunday evening and found free street parking directly across the street. I can’t attest to other days, but even with a ton of streets closed off for an event, we were still able to breeze in and out.
Have you been to Phonobar or enjoyed Om Sabor’s vegan cuisine elsewhere? Are you also devastated I don’t have a review for their clam chowder? Don’t worry, I am on the case!
Phonobar SF Location: 370 Grove St. San Francisco, CA 94102
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