Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in San Francisco for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in San Francisco for grown-ups.
Trick Dog in San Francisco is Bon Vivants' Mission cocktail bar with a twice-yearly themed menu (Pantone chips, IKEA catalogue, mural maps) and a long bar list.
Signature drink: Theme-menu cocktails (changes twice a year)
Food: American snack menu, burgers
Tip: Walk in before 19:00 or after 22:30; bar seats are first-come and turn over fast.
ABV in San Francisco is Todd Smith and Erik Reichborn-Kjennerud's Mission cocktail bar with a Bywater on the menu since 2014 and the city's best bar burger.
Signature drink: Bywater (rye, falernum, chartreuse, allspice)
Food: Bar snacks, burger, daily specials
Tip: Sit at the bar back-bar to watch the build; the upstairs Over Proof tasting room is by appointment.
True Laurel in San Francisco is Lazy Bear's sister cocktail bar in the Mission, with Nick Roush's spec sheets and a regular World's 50 Best Bars nomination.
Signature drink: Honeydew daiquiri
Food: Snack menu from Lazy Bear kitchen
Tip: The honeydew daiquiri only runs in melon season (July to September); ask the bar whether it is pouring tonight.
Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco is Martin Cate's three-floor tiki bar in Hayes Valley, with 500-plus rums and the most-cited tiki cocktail list in the United States.
Signature drink: Three-dot rum punch
Food: None (rum bar)
Tip: The lower floor is the quietest of the three; ask the bar for the rum tasting trio.
Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco is the Tenderloin Prohibition-style speakeasy, with a password door, a 200-page bourbon menu and a Sazerac that runs the room.
Signature drink: Sazerac
Food: None
Tip: Reserve a slot and ask for the password by email; the walk-in bar in the back room is easier than the front.
Vesuvio in San Francisco is the North Beach Beat-era cocktail and dive bar across the alley from City Lights bookshop, open since 1948 with the original wood booths.
Signature drink: Jack Kerouac (rum, tequila, lime, cranberry)
Food: None
Tip: Upstairs is quieter than the ground floor; the Jack Kerouac drink is the punchline order.
Tosca Cafe in San Francisco is the North Beach Italian American room since 1919, reopened by April Bloomfield in 2013 with a Roman chicken and the house cappuccino.
Signature drink: House cappuccino (brandy and chocolate)
Food: Italian American kitchen, full menu
Tip: Sit at the bar for the espresso machine theatre; the roast chicken takes 40 minutes, order it first.
Hi Tops in San Francisco is the Castro's gay sports bar with a long Sunday brunch and the city's most-cited pickle-back, opened in 2012 across from the Castro Theatre.
Signature drink: Pickle-back shot
Food: Bar food, daily specials
Tip: Game days run a kitchen-set menu; pre-order at the bar to skip the queue.
The Treasury in San Francisco is the Financial District after-work bar in a 1925 vault, with a long Old Fashioned list and a snack menu that holds up to a Friday rush.
Signature drink: Old Fashioned with house bitters
Food: Snack menu
Tip: Friday from 17:00 fills the bar fast; book a side booth via the website for groups of four-plus.
Rye in San Francisco is the Tenderloin's whiskey-leaning cocktail bar since 2007, with a long rye list, a back patio and a Boulevardier spec the regulars order.
Signature drink: Boulevardier on rye
Food: None (drink-only)
Tip: Open until 02:00; the bar has the city's most reliable late post-show Boulevardier.
Comstock Saloon in San Francisco is the North Beach saloon reopened to a 19th-century template, with the Pisco Punch made to the long-lost Bank Exchange recipe.
Signature drink: Pisco Punch
Food: Bar snacks, full dinner menu
Tip: Order the Pisco Punch and a plate of Welsh rarebit at the bar; the back dining room takes reservations.
The Snug in San Francisco is Hi Lo's Pacific Heights cocktail bar on the Fillmore corner, with a Negroni board, a long American whiskey list and a strong bar-snack kitchen.
Signature drink: Snug Negroni
Food: Snack menu
Tip: Bar seats fill from 18:00; come at 17:30 on a weeknight for a guaranteed perch.
Specs' in San Francisco is the North Beach dive in an alley off Columbus, with maritime memorabilia, an Anchor Steam draw and 60 years of regulars holding the booths.
Signature drink: Anchor Steam beer
Food: None
Tip: Cash only; bring a small bill, talk to whoever is at the bar, do not photograph the wall.
Pacific Cocktail Haven (PCH) in San Francisco is Kevin Diedrich's Union Square cocktail room, with a Southeast Asian flavour palette and a kaffir lime gimlet on the menu since 2016.
Signature drink: Kaffir lime gimlet
Food: Snack menu
Tip: Sit at the bar for Kevin's spec sheets; the room takes walk-ins after 22:00 reliably.
Peak food season in San Francisco is year-round.
Local dining hours: lunch around 12:30, dinner from 19:30.
service is typically included; small extra is welcome but not expected.
Ask the next local you meet what they would order. San Francisco rewards trust.