"We Season Our Garlic With Food ®"

Garlic is our passion. When in San Francisco, all you have to do is "follow your nose" and it will lead you to one of The-City-By-The-Bay's most unique and entertaining dining experiences... The Stinking Rose: A Garlic Restaurant.

Garlic is known universally as "the stinking rose",

the term reportedly going back to Greek and Roman times. But why? The "stinking" part is obvious, but why "rose"? Garlic is an allium which is part of the Liliaceae family. Garlic is closer to a lily than a rose. So what is the origin of the name? Unfortunately there is no clear answer to this question. Too bad.

Dracula and Garlic

The most famous of all garlic folklore is its association with vampires. This was popularised in the West by Bram Stoker in the classic gothic novel, Dracula. In Dracula, van Helsing uses garlic to protect Lucy by placing it in her room and around her neck.

Does Garlic Repel Vampires?

That's the $64,000 question ... all we know is that not one of our thousands of customers has ever been bitten by a vampire!