In 1966, Patrick Joseph Nolan, impressively known as “Paddy”, opened the Dovre Club on 18th Street in Valencia in the heart of the mission, in what is now known as the Women’s Building. At that time, Dovre became a boon for provocateurs and rogue writers. It is a true district Irish pub with a deep sense of history, contemporary with its fair share of difficulties. But it is also bound by a strong substance of thirsty tribesmen who seek a good pour harp among common people.
It was a regular watering hole for famous writers like Hunter S. Thompson, who once wrote San Francisco as a city on the edge of the western world, where one can drink all night and sober up against the fresh morning air.
After Nolan died in 1996, Dovre was evicted from the Women’s Building to make way for a nonprofit focused on providing women with social services, workshops and wellness classes. But two years later, Dovre caught his second wind with longtime bartender Brian McElhatton at the helm.
Brian McElhatton, a former owner of Dovre Club, who died in 2008. His brother Brendan “Elvis” McElhatton now runs the bar.
Charles Russo / SFGATEDovre then reopened in 1998, retaining its reputation as a favored dingy dive known for its true Pints Guinness. Just a few blocks from his original home, McElhatton passed on Nolan’s legacy to the corner bar with his brother, Brendan “Elvis” McElhatton, who moved from Ireland to the United States in 1999. 38 years old, leaving Dovre the Elvis.
“It was hard. But I see this as my brother’s heritage, and I want to continue that,” McElhatton told SFGATE. “I definitely have the feeling that I should continue his legacy, and at that stage I worked here for nine years. I felt myself as part of the Dovre.
Since then, McElhatton and the crew have experienced a pandemic, fought fear of eviction, and settled in a new lease that led to Dovre’s home in 1498 Valencia St. At the top of the st.
As Dovre picks up for this year’s festivities, which include a live DJ and extended hours, McElhatton’s no-frills on some of the traditions and misconceptions of St. John’s. are a pain in the ass to clean at the end of a rough night.
Dovre Club’s latest t-shirt and slogan.
Charles Russo / SFGATE
The coat over the bar at the Dovre Club in San Francisco.
Charles Russo / SFGATE
From left: Club Dovre’s new T-shirt (and slogan); the coat over the back bar at the Dovre Club. (Photos by Charles Russo / SFGATE)
From left: Club Dovre’s new T-shirt (and slogan); the coat over the back bar at the Dovre Club. (Photos by Charles Russo / SFGATE)
Ni eng een-pour Guinness
For those who set up a stool on the Dovre – do not expect Guinness with a pour. Here, a Patt Guinness is an act of patience as the dark stout takes time to settle in the glass. McElhatton recalls one of his American-born bartenders who once made the mistake of giving his deaf and dumb father, who was visiting from Ireland, a quick Guinness straight from the crown.
“My American bartender tried to pour it into someone. My father, through sign language, talks to someone who does not know sign language, could communicate that is not how you do it,” McElhatton said. “So he’s like another glass, come here, you scoop two-thirds of it and then you let it settle, so that the black and the white separate. Then you go half to the top, let it settle and then you fill it to the top That was just a beautiful moment. My dad was like, ‘I take nothing from that S-Tty One-Pour Guinness.’
‘We are already green’
Some bars claiming to be Irish one day serve many pints of green-colored ale for in the spirit of St. John’s. Patrick’s Day to come. But not the Dovre. McElhatton said the gimmick is spicy, and why even ruin a perfectly fine Irish beer with green food coloring?
“We do not do that. It is a real Irish bar. There is no bar that tries to be Irish on St. Patrick’s Day,” he said. “There are a lot of bars in this country that claim to be Irish bars, but only because that’s a good business model and people want to participate. So green beer, we do not. We do not do that because we are already green. “
Brendan “Elvis” McElhatton, owner of the Dovre Club in the San Francisco Mission District.
Charles Russo / SFGATEMcElhatton added that although Dovre is Irish-owned and run by Irish, it is also a regular stop for all walks of life. If you belong to Dovre, he said, they take care of their own.
“I’m very proud of our Irish heritage and all that, but we’re multiracial, multinational. Everyone feels comfortable here. We’re very little aggro. It happens from time to time at every bar, but very rarely here,” he said. . “It’s just a nice neighborhood bar to hang out in. Our regulars love it, and everyone here feels cool and peaceful and happy.
It’s just an Irish drink
While some bartenders may refuse to serve Irish car bombs because the name refers to the deadly explosions that involved the Real Irish Republican Army against British soldiers and Northern Irish police in the late 1990s, McElhatton said he did not blink when one the popular ordered. Cocktail hanging from a shot of Irish cream and whiskey and a glass of stout.
He thinks, however, that the drinks are hard to clean because the Baileys cry into the glass when they are not chugged accordingly, which forces McElhatton to put a little more elbow grease on to scrub those pint glasses for the next round.
“It’s just an Irish drink. It’s not like people say, ‘Oh, we’d like to blow up cars.’ “My main problem with Irish car bombs is the pain in the ass washing my glasses,” McElhatton said. “About 10 years ago, Irish car bombs were a very popular feature here. But I’ve never met anyone who came in and ordered one of them in an offensive manner. It’s just a pat that [customers] like, and it will stop you sooner than you probably know.
The neon sign for the Dovre Club flashes in the night above the bar entrance, at the intersection of Valencia and 26th Street in San Francisco on March 15th.
Charles Russo / SFGATEHands on the Dovre
While kids in elementary schools across the country are coming up with everything shamrock green on St.
“Cracking people? I wear green, and about 95% of the people who will be here on St. Patrick’s Day will wear green. But I’ve never heard of people snapping,” he said. “So if you are not green, are you knocked out? OK. That’s the first one I’ve ever heard of.”
Of course, keep your hands to yourself at the Dovre.
The Dovre Club is located at 1498 Valencia St. Its annual st. Patrick’s Day Party is again this year from noon to 2 p.m.
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