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.
Food program: 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.
Address: 3174 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
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.
