Irish coffee
Photo: David Jackmanson · CC BY 2.0

The American Irish coffee was perfected at the Buena Vista Cafe by the wharf in 1952, a glass of black coffee, brown sugar, Irish whiskey and a layer of softly whipped cream.

The drink as Americans know it was developed at the Buena Vista Cafe on Beach Street in 1952 by owner Jack Koeppler and travel writer Stanton Delaplane. Delaplane had drunk a version at Shannon Airport in Ireland; Koeppler spent months on the cream technique (the fresh, slightly aged 48-hour double cream that floats cleanly on the hot coffee) and the precise sugar dissolve before he was satisfied. The Buena Vista now pours roughly 2,000 Irish coffees a day, in a line of glasses prewarmed with hot water, finished with cream poured over the back of a spoon. The recipe has not changed in 70 years.

2 editor picks for Irish coffee in San Francisco, ranked by editorial score. All San Francisco signature dishes · Irish coffee across every city.

Also in: Dublin.

The Buena Vista Cafe ★ 4.4

$Café

The Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco is the Hyde Street corner where Jack Koeppler perfected the American Irish coffee in 1952, pouring 2,000 of them a day.

TipSit at the long bar to watch the line of pre-warmed glasses come down; the back tables miss the show.

DirectionsView

Tosca Cafe ★ 4.3

$$$Cocktail bar

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.

TipSit at the bar for the espresso machine theatre; the roast chicken takes 40 minutes, order it first.

DirectionsView

Learn to cook it, or eat it with a guide

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