By far one of the most interesting cocktail bars in San Francisco, the Interval is part museum, part cafe, part (best part!) cocktail bar. The menu is extensive, but thoughtful and unique. While you’re picking up, wave hello to prototypes of the 10,000 Year Clock and the floor-to-ceiling library that houses thousands of books.

A true, 87-year-old North Beach classic, where the neighborhood gathers over Fernet and whiskey cocktails. The fading neon sign will guide you inside, where each table has an actual, flickering candle on it. Settle in at the long bar for a beer and a shot or drink a very good old fashioned.

A North Beach hideaway, 15 Romolo is located down an alley off Broadway's neon row of strip clubs. Excellently curated cocktails and an extensive sherry list have always made it a bright spot in a neighborhood filled with vodka sodas and thongs. Try the Pimm’s cup, laced with ginger syrup and loaded with cucumber and mint.

Tosca Cafe, the historic Italian-American restaurant and bar in North Beach, has finally reopened with a warm menu of Tuscan fried chicken, shaved truffle pasta, and of course, the “house cappuccino.” Longtime fans can’t wait to belly up the century-old bar and see the back room again, but in the meantime, takeout negronis and spritzes will have to see us through.

Macondray transformed a standard bar into a space washed with green paint, studded with warm metal, and filled with plants. Owners Aaron Paul and Jake Roberts are local industry pros who happen to have grown up in Maine, so in addition to spicy margaritas and other colorful drinks, there’s a serious lobster roll on the menu.

Pac Heights got lucky when a team of industry pros opened this cozy neighborhood bar in 2017. It’s named after the little nooks and crannies in an Irish pub, but even if you can’t curl up in their Irish nook at the moment, it’s worth cozying out with these cocktails at home. 

House of Shields is a cocktail institution, more than a hundred years old, dating back to 1908. It’s lined with wood panels and brass hardware, including the original floors, chandeliers, and many other details. The cocktails are classic, the bartenders have worked there for years, and it’s a trip back to another era of San Francisco. House of Shields reopened in June of 2021, after being closed for more than a year, along with the Sentinel, the sandwich shop that stands guard just next door.

This glam downtown bar has a literary theme, with shelves lined with colorful books, and a bar stocked with strong punch, to soothe that happy hour crowd. And even though SoMa was as hushed as a library at the beginning of the pandemic, Novela is open and mixing it up.

The Proper Hotel boasts one of the most breathtaking rooftop bars in the city, shaped like the slim triangle corner building. The cocktails are carefully crafted by BVHospitality (also behind Trick Dog), and the menu is now courtesy of chef Jason Fox (of the late Commonwealth). Cozy up to a fire pit with a “proper cup” poured tall with Pimm’s and a curl of cucumber, and stave off hunger with above-average hotel snacks.

This Outer Richmond Mexican restaurant is an institution for two reasons: the best tequila selection in San Francisco and pitchers of Tommy’s margaritas. Still, as long as you’re ordering, get an enchilada and taco combination plate. You’ll need it if the margaritas do their job properly.

Smuggler’s is a tiki bar that looks like the belly of a pirate ship, narrow but three stories tall, so drinkers can climb up into ropes hung with nautical gear, or descend down to a second bar filled with barrels. And it’s a rum authority, pouring hundreds of varieties, with a thick cocktail list. The indoor experience has been closed for months, but Smuggler’s has finally cracked open the door for takeout and delivery, serving zombies and painkillers to go, along with crushed ice by the bag and ceramic mugs. 

This laidback tavern on Divisadero usually pours pretty gin and bourbon drinks in that sunny terrarium of a front patio. But for now, you can pick up pony cocktail bottles, fried chicken boxes, and duck-fat fries.

Blackbird is the neighborhood watering hole of Duboce Triangle, serving strong cocktails and craft beer. These days, they’ve opening up the Dutch door on Market Street to sell bottles to go, as well as outdoor seating on the patio.

This bar from the team behind Range — former bar manager Jeff Lyon and owner-chef Phil West — has a subtle railway theme and cocktails that feature seasonal ingredients and hand-cut and hand-crushed ice. The cocktails are all affordable, and don’t miss the beer, shot, and bite of homemade jerky. These days, they’re teaming up with a neighbor to comply with liquor license laws, so Wooly Pig is providing the food, and Third Rail is bottling up the cocktails to go.

Wildhawk, that lady-run lounge in the Mission, has kept the vermouth cabinet open. Favorite cocktails include the “Breakfast Negroni,” infused with Cocoa Puffs, and the “Ninja Princess,” featuring Japanese whiskey and passionfruit. 

Cocktails and food are equally matched at this creative Lazy Bear spinoff. Bar manager and partner Nicolas Torres is behind the creative list, which incorporates a variety of non-traditional cocktail ingredients like the Fungus Among Us, made with truffle vodka, candy cap mushroom, oxidized wines, lemon, and pet-nat. Right now, the mid century–inspired bar has a to-go menu with cocktails, wine, and exciting snacks.

Step under the neon sign and into the low-light interior, and the Lone Palm is a dark and moody cocktail bar with Deco details and strong martinis. It’s not exactly a dive, it’s a classic, complete with candles and white table clothes. Food trucks have been parking out front, so these days, you can pair pastor tacos or porchetta sandwiches with those drinks.

At the top of Mission bordering on Bernal, the Royal Cuckoo has a devoted fan following, and a certain dark and mysterious bohemian charm. A self-described organ lounge, it has church pews for seats and an actual organ, and often hosts small live jazz groups. The bar pours a stiff Manhattan and keeps prices reasonable. Head all the way to the back to snag a coveted seat on the cozy patio.

A cocktail pro and a surfer teamed up to open White Cap, which is succeeding in warming up the Outer Sunset, a neighborhood in need of more watering holes. Filled with driftwood and a fireplace, usually drinkers can get cozy with a strong drink after a beach walk, but now the drinks are available to go.