Inside Novela, a San Francisco book-themed bar takes you back in time

Look around a book-themed SoMa cocktail bar, aptly named Novela after the Spanish word for novel, and you’d see glasses of punch at almost every table. 

Look around this book-themed SoMa cocktail bar, aptly named Novela after the Spanish word for novel, and you’ll see glasses of punch at almost every table.

Not the sugary-sweet mixture served at kids’ birthday parties. Nor is it the Hawaiian Punch-plus-cheap vodka of frat house lore. This is an elegant punch, carefully crafted with high-end liquor, fresh fruit, housemade syrups and precise measurements from recipes swiped directly from an 1862 cocktail book written by Jerry Thomas, who is considered the father of American mixology.

“One of the original concepts of the bar was doing a lot of different punches, historically accurate punches and fun cocktails in large format,” said Daniel McGee, the Novela bar manager for the last three years. “In the Hemingway era, there were a lot of punches, a lot of parties going on, so you’d make cocktails in mass for hundreds of people at a time.”

This may be a literary bar, but historic cocktail compendiums are books, too.

INTRODUCTION: In 2013, the bar’s then-owners, Alex Smith and Kate Bolton, discovered boxes of old books in the basement of the San Francisco building. They put the books on display, arranging them by the color of their spines in elegant bookshelves near the bar. Customers drinking alone are encouraged to take one down and have a read, although even the most mischievous among them won’t be able to reach the top shelves, where some rare, first-edition copies and vintage illustrated books are hidden.

From time to time, authors swing by Novela for book signings, then drop off a handful of their books to add to the shelves — and McGee often adds books from his own collection

To keep the theme going, food is served on plates that look like books, while customers relax in leather reading chairs. In a private space near the back of the bar, giant pictures of Ernest Hemingway look down from the wall.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Hemingway wasn’t exactly known as a punch drinker, but there are several fancier cocktails on the menu in honor of other authors and literary characters, including…

The Jay Gatsby: In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” Nick Carraway often shares his observations on the beverages offered at Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s extravagant parties. Novela’s Jay Gatsby is basically the house Manhattan, a slightly sweet and savory whiskey cocktail that isn’t too stiff, served in a glass sprayed with peaty scotch to give it a whiff of smokiness that tickles the nose. The bar often serves 100 of these a night, making it the most popular drink on the menu.

Saya Kuroki: The secret ingredient in this Negroni-style cocktail made with Japanese whiskey? Cocoa Puffs. McGee says the graininess of the cereal gives the drink a little bit of texture, while the chocolate leaks into the big-batch cocktail gently enough to flavor it without overpowering. Novela buys Cocoa Puffs in bulk and uses a box in each batch, which makes about 110 cocktails. The trick? Leave the puffs in the mixture for only 30 minutes, then strain out the cereal before it gets too soggy and taste the magic left behind. It’s a bitter drink, but the chocolate notes make it exciting. And it’s named after a character in a series of comic books called “Deadly Class,” which follows student assassins at a high school in 1980s San Francisco.

The Samwise Gamgee: “Lord of the Rings” fans will remember Samwise as Frodo’s best friend and gardener. McGee uses the green garden as inspiration for this Brazilian-influenced vodka and cachaca cocktail made with sugar snap peas. Brazilian rum is sweetened with snap pea juice which provides pectin, so when the drink is shaken, it creates a green foam. It’s served with butterfly flowers.

And then there are the punches — this writer’s favorite tipple on the menu. Novela’s mixes them in large batches in the basement each morning, pressurizes them with nitrous gas, then shoots them upstairs to be poured from a tap into dainty glass chalices, served cold on a golden platter.

The house punch is a simple masterpiece that uses blueberry, apricot, grapefruit and lemon, all harmonizing with green tea to create a classic bourbon drink that makes it feel like early afternoon, no matter the actual time.

A vodka white peach punch will expand your palate while offering a mix of flavors you’ve almost certainly never encountered together. With cardamom tea, lemon and Italicus liqueur bringing out peppery and floral notes, this drink tastes like a cold toddy, but with a milky, white-peach flavor blast that makes it far too crushable for a weeknight beverage.

A strawberry mezcal punch, sweet and smoky all at once, is surprisingly potent. It’s the perfect drink for a bonfire on the beach or, more literally, served at a bar that was once an old bookstore and hasn’t lost its charm.

EPILOGUE: So what is McGee reading these days? The bar manager says he’s a real fantasy nerd — many of the drinks are named after his favorite fantasy novels. His current obsession is “Rhythm of War,” the fourth book in Brandon Sanderson’s “Stormlight Archive” series of New York Times bestsellers.

DETAILS: Novela is open from 4 p.m. until midnight or later on weekdays and 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturdays at 662 Mission St. in San Francisco; www.novelasf.com.