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17 Essential Cocktail Bars in San Francisco

The best places to belly up for a strong drink

by Lauren Saria and Eater Staff Updated May 12, 2023, 11:15am PDT

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by Lauren Saria and Eater Staff Updated May 12, 2023, 11:15am PDT

2 comments / new

Michelle Min

San Francisco’s top bars are shaking and stirring cocktails to rival any of the best watering holes in the country. And, good news: the bar scene in this city is incredibly deep. There are more options than ever for low-proof drinks and Latin-inspired concoctions, while the city’s classic cocktail dens continue to execute on the highest levels. If you’re looking for something specific — say, a hot new cocktail option, a time-tested dive, or a rooftop on which to imbibe — there are plenty of choices across each category. But let this be your first stop, a guide to getting to know San Francisco’s best cocktail bars.

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Red Window

With a prime location on Columbus in North Beach, Red Window and its Spanish-inspired menu of cocktails can bring a little Iberian sunshine to even the foggiest of San Francisco days. There’s a tapas menu to pair with drinks like the Oops I Dropped the Coconut, an almost tropical cocktail served in an actual coconut. Also of note: the entire menu is low-ABV featuring cocktails built on aperitifs like vermouth and sherry instead of stronger spirits.

500 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133

Visit Website

Red Window

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Bar Iris

Bar Iris is the sister bar to Nisei, located in the former La Folie lounge space. It’s both elegant with cool black walls and modern decor, and not-too-stuffy, favoring fun riffs on high balls and lots of Japanese whiskey and spirits. The cocktails demonstrate restraint and care in sourcing: for example, the Okinawa is made with hard-to-find purple Japanese yams, calamansi, and rum. Plus there’s a tight menu of small plates prepared next door including karaage chicken in inky Japanese curry and several varieties of handrolls.

2310 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Visit Website

A yellow-colored cocktail in a tall glass with a dehydrated citrus wheel garnish.

Also featured in:

11 Bars and Restaurants With Impressively Strong Nonalcoholic Cocktail Menus in San Francisco

Li Po Cocktail Lounge

If you’re going to this classic Chinatown dive, then you’re probably ordering one thing and one thing only: the Chinese mai tai. We wish we could tell you exactly what’s in it, but that’s not possible because in 2013 the owner’s trademarked the name and aren’t sharing the secret of what makes this deceptively strong cocktail so easy to sip. Famously loved by Anthony Bourdain, this is an ideal bar for rowdy nights and old-school energy.

916 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94108

Visit Website

A man with a glass in his hand.

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Moongate Lounge

Find the celestial and stylish Moongate Lounge, directly above the Michelin-starred Mister Jiu’s from James Beard Award-winning chef Brandon Jew. The bar’s cocktails draw inspiration from the lunar calendar, such as the Deimos, made with bourbon and oolong topped with green walnut foam and brined black sesame honey.

28 Waverly Pl, San Francisco, CA 94108

Visit Website

Also featured in:

17 Picturesque San Francisco Restaurants for Your Wedding Day

The House Of Shields

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.

39 New Montgomery St, San Francisco, CA 94105

Scenes, House of Shields

Kona's Street Market

Consider Kona’s Street Market the fun, little sister bar to the original Pacific Cocktail Haven, a true powerhouse in its own right and recently named one of the 50 Best bars in North America. You should definitely check it out — but also, head to this spot for a globe-trotting menu filled with intriguing ingredients like date molasses and ube-coconut cream. Inspired by street markets from around the world, the menu at this dark cocktail den includes a Boracay Old Fashioned made with gin, vermouth, coconut water, calamansi, and makrut bitters, and Save Me a Piece of That Corn! made with tequila, falernum, averna, atola de elote, and horchata.

32 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Visit Website

A purple cocktail in a short glass topped with cream.

Also featured in:

Tommy's Mexican Restaurant

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.

5929 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94121

Visit Website

Exterior neon sign of Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant in the Richmond neighborhood

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Smuggler's Cove

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. It’s rum-filled, of course, but there are ample options even if you favor clear spirits or something built on a whiskey base.

650 Gough St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Visit Website

Tiki drinks at Smuggler’s Cove

Also featured in:

Horsefeather

This laidback Divisadero tavern tends to be a popular spot for happy hours and hangouts but it’s also a true cocktail destination. The drinks here draw on made-in-house ingredients like kombu saline and tepache foam and some of the best concoctions star fat-washed and infused spirits including brown butter-washed whiskey and cucumber-and-dill-infused aquavit. On top of the sunny front terrarium, there’s now a long parklet out front, and, as always, a food menu with everything from snacks like duck fat fries to full meals like a double cheeseburger on a sesame-seeded brioche bun.

528 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Bar Agricole

After more than two and a half years away, owner Thad Vogler’s James Beard Award-winning Bar Agricole resumed shaking and stirring single-origin spirits into refined cocktails in 2022. The bar returns in a new SoMa space wrapped in warm woods and painted cool blue-and-grey tones. In addition to a menu of cocktails starring thoughtfully sourced spirits, chefs Will Napoli and Nick Balla offer seasonal and ingredient-driven plates like tomatoes with yellow wax beans and grilled chicken in green olive salsa.

1540 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Visit Website

Also featured in:

ABV

ABV owners Ryan Fitzgerald, Todd Smith, and Erik Reichborn-Kjennerd, are all longtime veterans of the San Francisco bar scene, so it only makes sense that the cocktails at their Mission bar are some of the best in the city. The menu is divided by spirit, a move that makes so much sense it’s a wonder more bars haven’t adopted it. You can’t go wrong with the Whiskey in Church and “the burger.”

3174 16th St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Visit Website

Pimm’s at ABV

Also featured in:

Third Rail

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.

628 20th St, San Francisco, CA 94107

Visit Website

Beer, shot, jerky at Third Rail

Also featured in:

True Laurel

Cocktails and food are equally matched at this Lazy Bear spinoff in the Mission. Bar manager and partner Nicolas Torres is behind the creative beverage list, which incorporates a variety of unexpected cocktail ingredients such as the Bon Pon Ton made with lemon gin, pandan tonic, and Pineau des Charentes aperitif. Whatever you drink, don’t miss the legendary patty melt and an order of crispy mushrooms.

753 Alabama St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

The back bar at True Laurel cocktail bar in the Mission.

Also featured in:

Casements Bar

A trio of friends opened this modern cocktail bar, which defies American expectations for what an Irish bar should look and taste like. Drinkers can sample the collection of Irish whiskey and gin, get a smooth pint of draft Guinness, and chase it all down with fish and chips. Bonus: it’s home to one of the coolest back patios in the Mission, with graffiti-covered walls encasing a rowdy space with tables, heaters, and (oftentimes) live music.

2351 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

Cocktail at Casements

Also featured in:

Trick Dog

Trick Dog is a creative cocktail powerhouse, known for a menu that changes every sixth months. Past iterations include a record album, Zodiac wheel, and San Francisco tourist map, as well as a children’s book called “Rhymes with Trick Dog.” It’s also the home of Quik Dog, a favorite for hot dogs and buttermilk-brined chicken nuggets.

3010 20th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

Trick Dog

Also featured in:

buddy

What do you get when you combine the skills of a handful of cocktail industry veterans with a familiar Mission space and a bevy of fried mortadella sandwiches? Buddy, the neighborhood bar powered by Alvaro Rojas (Elda), Nicolas Torres (True Laurel), Nora Furst (Uma Casa), and Claire Sprouse (Hunky Dory in Brooklyn). Step into the buttoned-up space for expertly-crafted low-ABV cocktails, well above-average bar food, and a flood of natural wine.

3115 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

Interior of the bar

Also featured in:

White Cap

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, drinkers can get cozy with a strong drink after a beach walk.

3608 Taraval St, San Francisco, CA 94116

Visit Website

Also featured in:

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Red Window

500 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133

With a prime location on Columbus in North Beach, Red Window and its Spanish-inspired menu of cocktails can bring a little Iberian sunshine to even the foggiest of San Francisco days. There’s a tapas menu to pair with drinks like the Oops I Dropped the Coconut, an almost tropical cocktail served in an actual coconut. Also of note: the entire menu is low-ABV featuring cocktails built on aperitifs like vermouth and sherry instead of stronger spirits.

500 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133

Visit Website

Red Window

Bar Iris

2310 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Bar Iris is the sister bar to Nisei, located in the former La Folie lounge space. It’s both elegant with cool black walls and modern decor, and not-too-stuffy, favoring fun riffs on high balls and lots of Japanese whiskey and spirits. The cocktails demonstrate restraint and care in sourcing: for example, the Okinawa is made with hard-to-find purple Japanese yams, calamansi, and rum. Plus there’s a tight menu of small plates prepared next door including karaage chicken in inky Japanese curry and several varieties of handrolls.

2310 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Visit Website

A yellow-colored cocktail in a tall glass with a dehydrated citrus wheel garnish.

Li Po Cocktail Lounge

916 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94108

If you’re going to this classic Chinatown dive, then you’re probably ordering one thing and one thing only: the Chinese mai tai. We wish we could tell you exactly what’s in it, but that’s not possible because in 2013 the owner’s trademarked the name and aren’t sharing the secret of what makes this deceptively strong cocktail so easy to sip. Famously loved by Anthony Bourdain, this is an ideal bar for rowdy nights and old-school energy.

916 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94108

Visit Website

A man with a glass in his hand.

Moongate Lounge

28 Waverly Pl, San Francisco, CA 94108

Find the celestial and stylish Moongate Lounge, directly above the Michelin-starred Mister Jiu’s from James Beard Award-winning chef Brandon Jew. The bar’s cocktails draw inspiration from the lunar calendar, such as the Deimos, made with bourbon and oolong topped with green walnut foam and brined black sesame honey.

28 Waverly Pl, San Francisco, CA 94108

Visit Website

The House Of Shields

39 New Montgomery St, San Francisco, CA 94105

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.

39 New Montgomery St, San Francisco, CA 94105

Scenes, House of Shields

Kona's Street Market

32 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Consider Kona’s Street Market the fun, little sister bar to the original Pacific Cocktail Haven, a true powerhouse in its own right and recently named one of the 50 Best bars in North America. You should definitely check it out — but also, head to this spot for a globe-trotting menu filled with intriguing ingredients like date molasses and ube-coconut cream. Inspired by street markets from around the world, the menu at this dark cocktail den includes a Boracay Old Fashioned made with gin, vermouth, coconut water, calamansi, and makrut bitters, and Save Me a Piece of That Corn! made with tequila, falernum, averna, atola de elote, and horchata.

32 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Visit Website

A purple cocktail in a short glass topped with cream.

Tommy's Mexican Restaurant

5929 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94121

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.

5929 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94121

Visit Website

Exterior neon sign of Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant in the Richmond neighborhood

Smuggler's Cove

650 Gough St, San Francisco, CA 94102

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. It’s rum-filled, of course, but there are ample options even if you favor clear spirits or something built on a whiskey base.

650 Gough St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Visit Website

Tiki drinks at Smuggler’s Cove

Horsefeather

528 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117

This laidback Divisadero tavern tends to be a popular spot for happy hours and hangouts but it’s also a true cocktail destination. The drinks here draw on made-in-house ingredients like kombu saline and tepache foam and some of the best concoctions star fat-washed and infused spirits including brown butter-washed whiskey and cucumber-and-dill-infused aquavit. On top of the sunny front terrarium, there’s now a long parklet out front, and, as always, a food menu with everything from snacks like duck fat fries to full meals like a double cheeseburger on a sesame-seeded brioche bun.

528 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117

Visit Website

Bar Agricole

1540 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94103

After more than two and a half years away, owner Thad Vogler’s James Beard Award-winning Bar Agricole resumed shaking and stirring single-origin spirits into refined cocktails in 2022. The bar returns in a new SoMa space wrapped in warm woods and painted cool blue-and-grey tones. In addition to a menu of cocktails starring thoughtfully sourced spirits, chefs Will Napoli and Nick Balla offer seasonal and ingredient-driven plates like tomatoes with yellow wax beans and grilled chicken in green olive salsa.

1540 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Visit Website

ABV

3174 16th St, San Francisco, CA 94103

ABV owners Ryan Fitzgerald, Todd Smith, and Erik Reichborn-Kjennerd, are all longtime veterans of the San Francisco bar scene, so it only makes sense that the cocktails at their Mission bar are some of the best in the city. The menu is divided by spirit, a move that makes so much sense it’s a wonder more bars haven’t adopted it. You can’t go wrong with the Whiskey in Church and “the burger.”

3174 16th St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Visit Website

Pimm’s at ABV

Third Rail

628 20th St, San Francisco, CA 94107

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.

628 20th St, San Francisco, CA 94107

Visit Website

Beer, shot, jerky at Third Rail

True Laurel

753 Alabama St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Cocktails and food are equally matched at this Lazy Bear spinoff in the Mission. Bar manager and partner Nicolas Torres is behind the creative beverage list, which incorporates a variety of unexpected cocktail ingredients such as the Bon Pon Ton made with lemon gin, pandan tonic, and Pineau des Charentes aperitif. Whatever you drink, don’t miss the legendary patty melt and an order of crispy mushrooms.

753 Alabama St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

The back bar at True Laurel cocktail bar in the Mission.

Casements Bar

2351 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110

A trio of friends opened this modern cocktail bar, which defies American expectations for what an Irish bar should look and taste like. Drinkers can sample the collection of Irish whiskey and gin, get a smooth pint of draft Guinness, and chase it all down with fish and chips. Bonus: it’s home to one of the coolest back patios in the Mission, with graffiti-covered walls encasing a rowdy space with tables, heaters, and (oftentimes) live music.

2351 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

Cocktail at Casements

Trick Dog

3010 20th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Trick Dog is a creative cocktail powerhouse, known for a menu that changes every sixth months. Past iterations include a record album, Zodiac wheel, and San Francisco tourist map, as well as a children’s book called “Rhymes with Trick Dog.” It’s also the home of Quik Dog, a favorite for hot dogs and buttermilk-brined chicken nuggets.

3010 20th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

Trick Dog

Related Maps

buddy

3115 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94110

What do you get when you combine the skills of a handful of cocktail industry veterans with a familiar Mission space and a bevy of fried mortadella sandwiches? Buddy, the neighborhood bar powered by Alvaro Rojas (Elda), Nicolas Torres (True Laurel), Nora Furst (Uma Casa), and Claire Sprouse (Hunky Dory in Brooklyn). Step into the buttoned-up space for expertly-crafted low-ABV cocktails, well above-average bar food, and a flood of natural wine.

3115 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Visit Website

Interior of the bar

White Cap

3608 Taraval St, San Francisco, CA 94116

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, drinkers can get cozy with a strong drink after a beach walk.

3608 Taraval St, San Francisco, CA 94116

Visit Website

Related Maps