North Beach & Chinatown
During this 1907 saloon's heyday, patrons relieved themselves in the marble trough below the bar – now you'll have to tear yourself away from Comstock's…
Must-see nightlife in Northern California
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
You've got two seconds flat to order from tough-gal barkeeps used to putting macho bikers in their place – but with 48 beers on draft, you're spoiled for…
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The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Drink adventurously with ingenious cocktails inspired by local obsessions: San Francisco muralists, Chinese diners or conspiracy theories. Every six…
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San Francisco
Dangerous dames lure unsuspecting sailors into late-night schemes over potent hooch at this art-deco bar straight out of a Dashiell Hammett thriller…
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The Haight & Hayes Valley
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum…wait, make that a Dead Reckoning (Nicaraguan rum, port, pineapple, bitters), unless you'll split the flaming Scorpion Bowl?…
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North Beach & Chinatown
Beat a hasty retreat to red-vinyl booths where Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac debated the meaning of life under a golden Buddha. Enter the 1937 faux…
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North Beach & Chinatown
The walls here are plastered with merchant-marine memorabilia, and you'll be plastered too if you try to keep up with the salty characters holding court…
Oakland
This Blue Bottle cafe is inside the beautiful WC Morse Building, a 1920s truck showroom. Communal tables, lofty ceilings and minimalist white decor invite…
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The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
At this industrial-chic, champagne-focused Dogpatch wine bar, you can't launch a cork without hitting a sommelier. The married owners are both sommeliers…
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The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
So, imagine a 1950s traveler who sets out to experience Southeast Asia and Africa, picking up art and curios along the way. Now think about this traveler…
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The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
For those who identify as ladies and also like others who identify as ladies, there's a shiny new bar. A huge neon sign announces 'you are safe here',…
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The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Designed to stimulate discussion of philosophy and art, the Interval is a favorite spot in the Marina for cocktails and conversation. It's inside the Long…
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San Francisco
The vintage rainbow neon sign points the way to a local landmark – Twin Peaks was the world's first gay bar with windows open to the street. If you're not…
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San Francisco
Here's another neighborhood cocktail bar that doubles as a delectable brunch and dinner spot, but the drinks are really where it's at. Case in point, the…
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The Haight & Hayes Valley
Drinking becomes an art form at this Victorian parlor crammed with graffiti installations and absinthe fountains. Motown Mondays feature the Ike Turner…
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San Francisco
Since 2014, Andytown Coffee has spread like afternoon fog, unstoppable thanks to its yummy drip coffee, Irish-inspired soda bread and one-of-a-kind 'snowy…
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San Francisco
On a chilly evening, squeeze into this narrow, cozy craft-beer bar and give some inventive brews a try. The brewmasters are known for throwing unusual…
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North Beach & Chinatown
Potent potions and lipsmacking quack cures are proudly served at this apothecary-style Barbary Coast saloon. Tartly quaffable Lachlan's Antiscorbutic …
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The Haight & Hayes Valley
Glory hallelujah, beer-lovers: your prayers are answered. Genuflect before the chalkboard altar that lists 40-plus beers on tap and hundreds more bottled,…
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The Haight & Hayes Valley
Persian arches, One Thousand and One Nights murals, 1930s jazz on the jukebox and top-shelf cocktails at low-shelf prices have brought Bohemian bliss to…
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Monterey
Vintage beer advertising punctuates Alvarado Street's brick walls, but that's the only concession to earlier days at this excellent craft-beer pub…
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Santa Cruz
This locally beloved cocktail parlor is the perfect place for a night of dapper drinking. Settle into a huge armchair amid the vintage-chic decor to…
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San Francisco
An airplane crashed on a desert island, and out of the wreckage came this killer Castro tiki bar. Enter through the airplane door to discover a long-lost…
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North Coast & Redwoods
The kind of coffee shop you dream of finding in a small town like this with a library of intriguing books, local art on the walls and sturdy leather…
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The Haight & Hayes Valley
Who's there? Steampunk blacksmiths, anarchist hackers, trance DJs practicing for Burning Man, and other San Francisco characters straight out of an R…
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North Beach & Chinatown
Poetry on bathroom walls, opera on the jukebox, live accordion jams and Beat poetry on bathroom walls: Caffe Trieste remains North Beach at its best,…
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North Beach & Chinatown
Guy walks into a bar, roars and leaves. Without missing a beat, the bartender says to the next customer, 'Welcome to Vesuvio, honey – what can I get you?'…
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The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Work it all out on the dance floor with SF's most down and funky crowd – the full rainbow spectrum of colorful characters is here to party. Highlights…
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San Francisco
Tonight's San Francisco weather: partly foggy, with 100% chance of typhoons every 20 minutes inside the Tonga Room. No need to duck for cover – rain only…
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Oakland
Order a greyhound (with freshly squeezed grapefruit juice) and take a gander at the profusion of antique musical instruments, fake taxidermy heads,…
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The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Warm your cockles with a prim little goblet of bitter-creamy Irish coffee, introduced to America at this destination bar that once served sailors and…
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Redwood Curtain Brewing Company
North Coast & Redwoods
This tiny gem of a brewery has gone through a major expansion thanks to its varied collection of rave-worthy craft ales. The taproom is family-friendly,…
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Sacramento
Bustling with activity, this brewpub has 22 rotating taps of excellent draft beer. Playful variations of hoppy IPAs are the specialty, but it does lighter…
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Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada
Claiming to be the oldest bar in the state (established in 1852 when it served liquor to thirsty miners), the Iron Door is a dusty, atmospheric place,…
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Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada
Small batch, Californian boutique wines and 16 craft beers are served in a sophisticated, contemporary space. But it's the lovely backyard beer garden…
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The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Find your California mellow at this neighborhood wine lounge in an 1885 Victorian building. After decades as Force of Habit punk-record shop – note the…
San Francisco
Come as you are – pinstripes or leather, gay, straight or whatever – to toast freedom with sublime bubbly after GLBT History Museum visits, or find liquid…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Do the planet a favor and have another drink at SF's first certified green bar, in an actual 1858 Wild West saloon. Elixir blends farm-fresh seasonal…
Oakland
Java gourmands queue at Blue Bottle's original warehouse location for single-origin espressos and what some consider the Bay Area's best coffee. Single…
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The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
This is no tiki bar. The setting is austere and designed to keep patrons focused on the origin and quality of the small-batch rums that the owner…
