A Bourbon At...Ha-Ra Club

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[Photo: Jennifer Yin]

Nestled on the corner of a pretty tough Tenderloin block — on Geary between
Hyde and Larkin — Ha-Ra is a well kept, yet homely...ready to serve you up a
long bourbon pour to help wash down the bite of over-salted and over-cooked
Tenderloin you just took to get there.

A Bourbon At?is sponsored by our friends at Basil Hayden’s Bourbon. Basil Hayden’s is handcrafted, light-bodied and aged longer with twice as much rye to produce an incredibly approachable, sophisticated and luxurious bourbon. It’s spicy. Unexpected. And full of potential. Just like your plans tonight.

Ha-Ra was opened in 1947 by the same family that owns the bar today. And along
these lines, the place feels like it’s a home — better yet, the basement of a home. With a little imagination you can see it as one of those vintage late 70’s/early 80’s game room basements with low ceilings, a pool table, sports photos all over the walls (in this case, boxing photos), TVs playing sports, a loaded juke, and a wooden cabinet full of bourbon in the corner. The only thing the place is missing is shag carpet and a generous stash of stogies and Chex Mix. Cheap thrills and no frills, that’s Ha-Ra for you. Have no fear of the Tenderloin. Even the dive bars can be clean, safe and friendly.
-Eddy El Espia