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.
Food program: Snack menu
Tip: Sit at the bar for Kevin's spec sheets; the room takes walk-ins after 22:00 reliably.
Address: 550 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
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.
