14 editor picks in San Francisco.
San Francisco helped revive the craft cocktail, and its bars range from tiki temples to Barbary Coast survivors. Trick Dog and ABV in the Mission lead the modern wave, while Smuggler's Cove on Gough Street is a destination for rum and tiki. Along Columbus Avenue, Vesuvio Cafe, Tosca Cafe and Specs' Twelve Adler Museum Cafe carry the North Beach barfly tradition.
14 cocktail bar places in San Francisco we have eaten in, sorted by editor score. All cuisines in San Francisco · Cocktail Bar across every city.
Drink Theme-menu cocktails (changes twice a year)
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.
Drink Bywater (rye, falernum, chartreuse, allspice)
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.
Drink Honeydew daiquiri
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.
Drink Three-dot rum punch
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.
Drink Sazerac
Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco is the Tenderloin Prohibition-style speakeasy, with a password door, a 200-page bourbon menu and a Sazerac.
Drink Jack Kerouac (rum, tequila, lime, cranberry)
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.
Drink House cappuccino (brandy and chocolate)
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.
Drink Pickle-back shot
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.
Drink Old Fashioned with house bitters
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.
Drink Boulevardier on rye
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.
Drink Pisco Punch
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.
Drink Snug Negroni
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.
Drink Anchor Steam beer
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.
Drink Kaffir lime gimlet
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.
