7 Mile House Sports Bar & Grill

Your Neighborhood Award-Winning, Historic Family and Dog-Friendly Restaurant.

7 Mile House was built circa 1858—but not as a mile house. It was first constructed as a toll gate approximately seven miles from Portsmouth Square. It is proudly the Bay Area’s last ‘mile house’ left standing in its original location.

Mile Houses, established in the mid 19th century, served as old stagecoach and wheel exchange stops, hotels, and sundry shops, where horses rested and riders or drivers took a break from the arduous travel. Later, mile houses evolved into popular neighborhood watering holes. In the case of 7 Mile House, it's said it even became a brothel.

The 7 Mile House has stood as witness to some of San Francisco’s more colorful, albeit sometimes notorious, moments in history. In the late 1890s, an illegal poolroom operated from behind the pub—probably the first recorded incident of the many illegal gambling activities that happened in 7 Mile. These continued from the early 1910s to the early 2000s, with cards, claw machines, and sports betting as the gamblers' choice of play, depending on the era.

During Prohibition, when the neighborhood now called Brisbane was known for moonshining and bootlegging, 7 Mile House's proprietor was arrested for possession of a whiskey still and transporting alcohol in a Federal raid. As the railyard activities around the area declined, 7 Mile House became more and more isolated, and was known for its rough atmosphere with truckers frequenting the establishment. By the 1980s, the bar was known as the "Rykoff bar" and a teamster hangout due to its patronage of mostly S.E. Rykoff employees. It also became popular for its large, tasty burgers served up by an elderly lady named Doris.

Milestones

• Historic 160 Year Old Restaurant
• Appeared in Asian Pacific America • NBC Bay Area
• Appeared in Lasang Pinoy • Adobo Nation TFC
• Appeared in San Mateo County History Stories • Peninsula TV
• Appeared in Eye On The Bay • KPIX 5
• Best Dog-Friendly Restaurant 2017 - 2021 - SF Weekly