Cafe du Nord sits in the basement of the Swedish American Hall on Market Street, a 320-capacity SF room booking indie, jazz and singer-songwriter sets nightly.
Tip: The room is low-ceilinged and intimate; sightlines are best from the back bar. Pre-show dinner upstairs at the hall gets you in first.
Address: 2174 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94114
Charmaine's tops the Proper Hotel on Market Street with a wraparound terrace, fireplaces and Civic Center views, with SF cocktails above the Tenderloin.
Tip: Entrance is on McAllister Street, not Market. Reservations open at noon for evening tables; walk-ins fill the bar after 22:00.
Top of the Mark crowns the InterContinental Mark Hopkins on Nob Hill in San Francisco with a 19th-floor sky lounge and a 100-martini list it has poured since 1939.
Tip: Friday and Saturday evenings carry a music charge after 20:00. The northwest window seats hold the Golden Gate sightline at sunset.
The View Lounge sits on the 39th floor of the Marriott Marquis with floor-to-ceiling windows that frame the SoMa skyline and the bay. Walk-in seating most nights.
Tip: The northwest windows look out over Yerba Buena and the Bay Bridge at twilight. Cocktail menu is conservative; pay for the room, not the recipe.
Kaiyo Rooftop sits on the 12th floor of the Hyatt Place in SF's SoMa, pairing Nikkei small plates with pisco cocktails and a deck looking over Oracle Park.
Tip: Ballpark nights book up fast; reserve the deck side rather than the indoor lounge. The Nikkei menu pairs better with cocktails than wine.
Cavana crowns the LUMA Hotel on the 17th floor of Mission Bay with bay views, agave-led cocktails and Latin American small plates from a deck above the Chase Center.
Tip: Sunset tables along the east edge catch the bay light. Warriors game nights run a different cocktail menu and shorten the kitchen.
Bourbon and Branch in the Tenderloin holds court behind an unmarked door on Jones Street, the speakeasy that restarted San Francisco's craft cocktail era in 2006.
Tip: Main room needs a reservation and a daily password; the Library room takes walk-ins from 18:00. Phone policy is strict.