Nearly a decade after it opened on Veterans Day in 2018, there’s something that still feels like a secret upon entering The General. One needs to pass through the fast-casual Dametra up front before walking into a more intimate setting, where the bar itself tells a story – it is the restored bar top from the historic Stilwell Hall at Fort Ord, some 90ish years old. The General became one of the first dining establishments on this slice of the former Army base, and the neighborhood has since filled in around it.
“Business keeps getting better and better,” says manager Dmitri Reehani. “Customers come shopping, then look for a place to eat and drink.”
The eat part comes courtesy of Dametra’s Mediterranean menu remixed. The drink part comes thanks to lead bartender Hamada Adwan, who upped the focus on craft cocktails earlier this year, after a prior emphasis on beer and wine. The most popular signature cocktail is the smoky old fashioned, made with Madre mezcal. But the hibiscus margarita is a treat, not too sweet, magenta in color and elegantly adorned with a thin lime slice. The hibiscus syrup is made in-house, and the smooth tequila choice is Siete Leguas Blanco, all layers of subtlety.
The classics are more popular, but this drink has its moments, Reehani says: “When a customer orders a hibiscus margarita, other people see it and say, ‘What’s that, I would like that.’”