Sipping Through San Francisco: 20 Best Bars in San Fransisco

Photo by Joe L: Pexels.

Sipping Through San Francisco: 20 Best Bars in San Fransisco

San Francisco is in San Francisco County and is one of the best places to live in California. It is a romantic place because of its breakthrough scenery, incredible dining options, and friendly people. If you’re traveling alone, with a group of friends, or are seeking things to do on your own, San Francisco is a fantastic destination.

In light of its almost outrageously famous landscapes. San Francisco is among the Western Hemisphere’s most popular tourist destinations, which is not difficult to comprehend. The city’s nightlife is very impressive, as expected.

This city has a tremendously rich bar culture. While the city’s iconic cocktail dens continue to serve up the best drinks, there are more options than ever for aperitifs and low-proof beverages. There are numerous options available in each area if you’re searching for something specific, such as a trendy new cocktail, a well-known dive, or a rooftop to indulge.

San Francisco boasts the finest of the best when it comes to wine bars, neighborhood pubs, and cocktail bars with a tiki theme. There are many different neighborhoods in San Francisco, each with its personality and nightlife. So, there are a ton of different bars that tourists can choose from. In San Fransisco bars, you will have the best experience after taking a classic cocktail made with farm-fresh ingredients. For beer lovers, this is the right place to be.

The range of cocktail bars in this city will likely surprise you. Moreover, Old saloons with creative cocktail menus and hip bars in the wine region. Thus, in this article, we are going to check out the best bars that you can visit while in this tranquil city.

Here are the 20 Best Bars in San Fransisco

1. Smuggler’s Cove

Photo by Ivan Samkov: PEXELS

While in this tranquil city, you should include the smugglers’ cove on your bucket list. It is one of the best cocktail bars in San Francisco. It has been offering a comfortable retreat from busy San Francisco since it first opened its doors in 2009. The interior of this bar is amazing. It is decorated with vintage nautical and tiki objects.

A wide range of rums and historically significant tiki drinks, including amusing, goofy, and extremely mesmerizing options, are available at Smuggler’s Cove. You can taste contemporary rum beverages at Smuggler’s Cove, which features more than 550 different rums. Amazingly, the cocktails at this spot are freshly made. Some of the drinks you will find at this spot are The Kona Cocktail with fresh muddled pineapple and rum, Puka Punch with passion fruit, falernum, and rums, and Smuggler’s Rum Barrel with Caribbean spices.

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Practical Information

location;650 Gough Street,

contact;+1 415 869 1900,

 Open every day, 5 pm-1.15 am

2. Trick Dog

This is a bar that you should visit while in this tranquil city. It is one of the most visited distinctive artisan cocktails among San Franciscans and visitors. Their poetic cocktail menu is one of the things that will bring back. For each drink, the proprietor has selected a poem that uniquely explains it. Each cocktail is presented differently and has a distinct flavor that you won’t find at other bars.

Interestingly, the menu centers on a theme that changes every few months. There is a vast range in both the tipples and the themes, some of which lend themselves to literal interpretations and others which are more symbolic such as horoscopes, records, and Pantone colors. Some of the drinks that you can enjoy in this bar are My Ruin, made with gin, sherry, bergamot liqueur, and lemon chamomile sorbetto.

3. Pacific Cocktail Haven

Photo by Daniel Horvath on Unsplash

Pacific Cocktail Haven was established in 2016. one of the Best American Bartenders was the founder of this tranquil spot, Kevin Dietrich. Kevin won the award of Best American Bartender in 2020. Moreover, in 2022, Kevin was nominated as one of the best U.S. Bar Mentors by the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation.

After your busy day in this city, you should choose this bustling bar that has swiftly become one of America’s most renowned Cocktail hotspots. It has developed from a local hangout into a popular spot for both residents and tourists. This bar is situated close to San Francisco’s prominent Union Square.

The creative cocktail menu focuses on gin, agave, rum, whiskey, brandy, sherry-sake-shochu, vodka, and punch. You will experience a hospitable atmosphere with specialty drinks that range from Japanese whisky to low-ABV concoctions and tiki-style punches. Check out the mouthwatering Underwater Cinema cocktail, which is created with Monkey Shoulder scotch, ghee, nori, vermouth, wasabi, and bitter.

Practical information

Address: 550 Sutter St, San Francisco, CA 94108, United States

4. Cold Drinks Bar

Red Label Liquor Bottle Beside Drinking Glass.Photo by Ivan: PEXELS

The Cold Drinks Bar has been dubbed one o the best bars in San Francisco. It offers a glitzy old Shanghai jazz-era vibe. If you want to dress up in your best clothes and have some fantastic cocktails, Cold Drinks Bar is without a doubt the best option in San Francisco.

If you are not a lover of scotch, worry not. The bar has several cocktails that will give you the best experience while in San Francisco. Moreover, you can order your preferred spirit from the full bar. If you enjoy whiskey, you should think about ordering one of the flights. Take that opportunity to discover whiskies you may not have otherwise tasted.

You can munch on chicken wings, popcorn, shrimp chips, or fried shishito peppers while sipping your preferred beverage.

Address: 644 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133, United States

5. The Snug

Photo by Polina Kovaleva:PEXELS

This is another bar in San Francisco that you should visit. The area where it is situated is warm and welcoming. The Snug offers local beer, handcrafted wines, inventive cocktails, and delectable comfort food. Beer lovers will admire the brews produced in Somerset, Oakland, Santa Rosa, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco. For anyone interested in drinking a cocktail, the option includes prickly pears blended with amaro and habaneros.

Additionally, don’t be afraid to experiment with the food menu’s many flavors. Although the spicy fried chicken sandwich is outstanding, other options include the popcorn chicken, the Impossible burger, and the Wagyu double-smash cheeseburger.

6.15 Romolo

This is another bar to visit while in San Francisco. The bar serves outstanding handcrafted cocktails and other drinks. If you need a spot for a romantic setting for a date, this is the bar to go. Moreover, you gather with your friends and enjoy some drinks.15 Romolo can be anything you need it to be.

15 Romolo offers a wide variety of house special cocktails, including the Pimms Cup with cucumber, mint, ginger, and seltzer, and the Spaghetti Western featuring bourbon, amaro, tomato, basil, balsamic reduction, and Tecate.

7. Comstock Saloon

After you are done exploring San Francisco, visit this bar and order your best drink as you relax. With elevated traditional cocktails and comfort food, this ode to 19th-century San Francisco.

Interestingly, the drink menu pays homage to its pre-Prohibition roots with classics like Old Fashioneds and Sazeracs, as well as a few lesser-known but wonderful drinks like White Lily. You will also have more fun while in this bar as Jazz bands frequently perform on the little stage, which includes an upright piano.

Roast chicken, oysters, and cheese plates are among the hearty pub fare available. It’s worth swinging by on Friday afternoons since Comstock has revived the old saloon practice of serving complimentary lunch with the purchase of two cocktails.

155 Columbus Ave, San Francisco

Cross street: At Pacific Ave

Contact:415-617-0071

Opening hours:

Mon 4pm-12am, Tue-Thu 4pm-2am, Fri 12pm-2am, Sat 11:30am-2am, Sun 11:30am-4pm

8. Cityscape Bar & Lounge

Photo by No Revisions on Unsplash

Cityscape Lounge is one of San Francisco’s tallest sky bars. When you visit this bar you will enjoy a breathtaking 360-degree view of the City by the Bay.

You will make a memorable experience in San Francisco with specialty cocktails served in a relaxed yet opulent lounge. All of the drinks are excellent and named after San Francisco and Bay Area locales, such as Nob Hill Manhattan and Pacific Heights (Martell Cordon Bleu Cognac, Cointreau, and lemon)

Moreover, Small portions like Dungeness crab with spicy giardiniera, natural tobiko, and grilled brioche, and Kennebec potato crisps with a black garlic-charred scallion aioli, will keep you there for a while.

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Practical information

333 Ofarrell St (at Mason St) San Francisco, CA 94102

(415) 923-5002

9. Linden & Laguna

Linden & Laguna opened in 2021 and specializes in premium wines and draught beer. It is a wine bar in Hayes Valley’s historic district.

The wine list features beverages like the Vidaubenaise Rose of Provence (2020), Cune Imperial Reserva Tinto (2016), and Chateau St. George Grand Cru Bordeaux. Beers available at Linden & Laguna include Anchor Steam Lager, Fort Point IPA, Guinness Stout, and Trumer Pils.

After enjoying your drink, don’t miss the chance to sample the mouthwatering Point Reyes oysters, Josey Baker charcuterie with homemade tapenade, apricots packed with goat cheese, and sourdough bread with olive oil.

10. Liliana

This is a bar in San Francisco that will tempt you to stay up late with an alcoholic beverage. Liliana is the bar’s version of a wood-burning fireplace, warm and intimate. Wood paneling wraps the walls and ceilings, and dramatic lighting casts a melancholy hue.

Interestingly, the bar has a full list of thoughtful, delightfully balanced cocktails. The cocktail menu includes some twists on classics, such as a Gibson with ramp pickle brine and a white Negroni with fennel-infused gin, blanc vermouth, and a dill flower garnish.

In addition, a well-balanced white negroni with fennel gin and dill hints, as well as the wonderfully scorched sourdough fried bread with fresh figs and the silkiest housemade ricotta, are available.

Practical information

location;2875 18th Street near Florida Street 

Open Tuesday to Saturday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

11. Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar

Mai Tai. Photo by Alexandra Tran on Unsplash

After a hard day of meetings or shopping in Union Square, it is the ideal getaway. Visit the Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar. Due to its uniqueness and status as one of San Francisco’s best examples of a “high-style” Tiki bar/restaurant, The Tonga Room is of extraordinary importance. Additionally, there are dance parties and live music shows there!

The traditional Mai Tai, Zombie, or Jungle Bird are some of the essential drinks to try. Additionally, savor Tonga’s original works like The Expat, Tonga Kong, or Bootlegger’s Barrel. Lemon, vodka, coffee liqueur, and rum are the most common ingredients. To go one step further, sip your cocktail from a freshly cored pineapple or add a 1 oz pour of 151 rum to the top.

If you are a foodie, You can have grilled miso salmon, mushroom fried rice, spicy basil chicken, tuna poke salad, and mango panna cotta to quench your hunger.

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Address: 950 Mason St, San Francisco, CA 94108, United States

12. Kaiyo Rooftop

Three Assorted Drinking Glasses With Beer.Photo by ELEVATE: Pexels.

At Kaiyo Rooftop You will experience breathtaking views of the City. Their cocktail bar serves a variety of drinks, including original cocktail concoctions, beers, wines, sake, and nonalcoholic options. Everyone can enjoy the Prince of the Sun cocktail made with Barsol Pisco, Hitachino Nest Red Rice beer, Tahuan Malbec wine, and Sword of the Sun Bottle sake.

Moreover, The Kaiyo Rooftop in San Francisco enables visitors to sample Japanese food with a Peruvian touch. Try the delicious Lima Roll, which is made of shrimp tempura, yellowtail, and unagi sauce, to go with your cocktails. Along with the Papas Fritas, the delectable Scallop Ceviche has wild Japanese scallops and inky squid ink. Delicious!

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13. Moongate Lounge

Every night of the week, devotees of mixology from San Francisco throng to this location. It is one of the city’s most intriguing bars. Through velvet high-back chairs, azure carpets, and restored Chinese frescoes, the opulent, lunar-inspired setting transports visitors to a different planet. Thus, you should visit this bar and have the best experience while in San Fransisco as you sip your best drink.

The Chinese lunar calendar serves as inspiration for the drinks served here. The Deimos and Arial (vodka, pomelo, almond milk, and li hing mui, a salty dried plum) are some of the twelve house cocktails that all employ seasonal ingredients. Additionally, the wines are all-natural and competitively priced. After exploring the city, Sip your favorite drink as you relax.

Practical information

ADDRESS;28 Waverly Pl, San Francisco, CA 94108, United States

+1 415-857-9688

hOURS; Tue 5:00 PM-12:00 AM; Wed-Sat 12:00 AM-2:00 AM, 5:00 PM-12:00 AM; Sun 12:00 AM-2:00 AM

14. LI Po Cocktail Lounge

Gallantry Whiskey Bottle Beside Glass.Photo by Med Yassin Ghaoui: PEXELS.

This is another bar to sip your best drink while in San Francisco. This old-fashioned small pub has been there since 1937, and not much has changed. Fantastically, In San Francisco’s Chinatown, the Li Po Cocktail Lounge has long been a popular dive bar.

if you’re looking for live music, Mai Tais, and Chinese whisky, visit this divey cocktail joint in Chinatown. When it created its distinctive Chinese Mai Tai 60 years later, Li Po gained more notoriety. The strong concoction contains pineapple juice, dark and light rum, 151 rum, and Chinese liquor.

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15. True Laurel Bar

Michelin-starred chef David Barzelay (Lazy Bear) and bar director Nicolas Torres launched the buzzing cocktail bar True Laurel.

For lovers of nonalcoholic cocktails, this is the best bar In San Francisco to sip your best. While scanning the cocktail menu, which changes every day, you will delightedly notice the Old Cuba-Nah, a cocktail prepared with non-alcoholic cane rums, lime, mint, and Nosecco. You will love the Nosecco. It is a sparkling wine from California that contains less than 0.5% alcohol.

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16. Charmaine’s Rooftop Bar & Lounge

Jack Daniels. Photo by Akandwanaho TarzanLyts: pexels

This is a popular rooftop bar in San Francisco. You can join the affluent happy hour crowds from San Francisco congregating at the bar, especially on the infrequent warm evenings, and sip your best drink.

The Bon Vivants, a local mixology company, is in charge of creating the majority of the menu’s elegant cocktails. The focus is on strong, well-balanced beverages that are perfect for starting the weekend. Two popular drinks include Mr. Jinks (mezcal, Lillet rose, shrub, guava, lime, and bitters) and The Unsinkable Sam (Jack Daniel’s, Campari, grapefruit, lemon, ginger beer, and lager).

Bar food is delicious especially when you sip your favorite drink. Fantastically, the bar has some nutritious fare with international influences, such as the kale salad with sunflower seeds, tuna tartare with nori crackers, and tempura maitake mushrooms with spring onion.

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Address; 45 McAllister St., San Francisco, California 94102

Contact;(415) 786-3467

Open Daily 12:00 AM-2:00 AM, 5:00 PM-11:59 PM

17. Peacekeeper

After exploring this lovely city, stop by this bar. Here, you’ll find far nicer cocktails than what you often find at tourist attractions. Incredibly, it is a tequila temple in Nob Hill, San Francisco.

Gray concrete, blonde wood, and hanging plants make up the design trio of the bar, which harmonizes beautifully with the room’s abundance of natural light. The open layout and cool drinks may seem like they would be great for hot afternoons, but Peacekeeper’s fireplace also makes it unexpectedly comforting on gloomy San Francisco days.

The menu is constantly changing, with a focus on tequila-based cocktails. Due to the presence of components including shrubs, berries, and spices, flavor profiles are continuously bright, fresh, and well-balanced.

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Location; Bush St, San Francisco, California 94109

Contact;(415) 504-2502

HOURS;Mon-Fri 12:00 AM-2:00 AM, 2:00 PM-11:59 PM;Sat-Sun 12:00 AM-2:00 AM, 1:00 PM-11:59 PM

18.Anina

One of San Francisco’s top bars for hanging out with friends, taking your significant other out on a date, and taking your family. During your visit to San Francisco, the bar will provide the best experience.

The island motif of the bar will astound you. This is one of the few warm-weather pubs in San Francisco, thanks to the soothing palm tree paintings and the outdoor terrace with picnic tables that are ideal for punch bowls.

For a group drink, choose the Avila, which combines tequila, Aperol, grapefruit, lime, and Prosecco. If you’re ordering a drink for yourself, order the seafoam spritz, which combines elderflower, lime, Prosecco, and lemongrass.

Address: Hayes St., San Francisco, California 94102

https://www.aninasf.com/

HOURS; Mon-Fri 12:00 AM-2:00 AM, 2:00 PM-11:59 PMSat-Sun 12:00 AM-2:00 AM, 12:00 PM-11:59 PM

19. Verjus

You can tell you’re in the ideal setting to linger over a superb glass of wine by looking at the gleaming décor, which is distinguished by a sleek red roof, wood tables, and a marquee menu above the bar.

True wine geeks will love this establishment. The knowledgeable staff behind the bar will be happy to help you navigate the large wine selection. The selection concentrates on organic wines and wines from small-scale vintners with native fermentation. Although France (particularly Burgundy, Alsace, and the Loire) dominates the list, Italy and the US are also well-represented.

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Address; Washington St., San Francisco, San Francisco 94111, United States

Contact: (415) 944-4600

HOURS; Tue-Wed 11:30 AM-10:00 PM; Thu-Fri 11:30 AM-12:00 AM; Sat 5:00 PM-12:00 AM

20. Pagan Idol

Photo by Isabella Mendes: Pexels

The most authentic luau in the city is at this tiki bar. As a result, you ought to stop by this bar to enjoy your time in San Francisco to the fullest. A fun night is guaranteed by DJs, live bands, and burlesque performances.

It is hardly surprising that the beverages menu has traditional tiki bar drinks like daiquiris, mai tais, and scorpion bowls and mainly focuses on rum. By drinking your cocktail from pineapple or coconut, you can add some island flavor. Although the prices for the cocktails may appear a bit high, the bartenders use a lot of pouring pressure.

Address; 375 Bush St., San Francisco, California 94104

Contact; (415) 985-6375

https://www.paganidol.com/

HOURS;Mon 4:00 PM-11:59 PM;Tue-Fri 12:00 AM-2:00 AM, 4:00 PM-11:59 PM;Sat 12:00 AM-2:00 AM, 6:00 PM-11:59 PM;Sun 12:00 AM-2:00 AM

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