San Francisco - Alison Bing [140]
If it’s in season, it goes into the glass at this top-end mixology bar, brainchild of celeb-chef Michael Mina. Ooh and ah over lobster corn dogs and truffled popcorn while sampling knockout cocktails in cozy leather-and-wood snugs. Arrive early or reserve ahead, or expect to stand. Cocktails are over $10.
GOLD DUST LOUNGE Map Bar
415-397-1695; 247 Powell St; 7am-2am; & Powell St
Precarious Victorian brass chandeliers hover over a bar full of visitors and a twangy rockabilly band at this Union Square anachronism, where the gold paint has lost its glitter and pints are no longer cheap. But there’s something of a time-machine effect in the swinging doors, coat stands and nude paintings – you almost expect someone to beckon you to a brothel upstairs.
IRISH BANK Map Bar
415-788-7152; www.theirishbank.com; 10 Mark Lane; 11:30am-2am; 1, 15, 30, 45; California
Perfectly pulled pints and thick-cut fries with malt vinegar, plus juicy burgers, brats and anything else you could possibly want with lashings of mustard are staples at this cozy Irish pub. There are tables beneath a big awning in the little alley out front, ideal for smokers even on rainy nights.
JOHN’S GRILL Map Bar
415-986-0069; 63 Ellis St; 11am-10pm Mon-Sat, noon-10pm Sun; & Powell St; Powell-Mason, Powell-Hyde
It could be the martinis, the low lighting, or the Maltese Falcon statuette upstairs, but something about Dashiell Hammett’s favorite bar lends itself to hard-boiled tales of lost love and true crimes, confessed while chewing toothpicks. That is, until the tourists filling the joint snap you back into the present.
PIED PIPER BAR Map Bar
415-512-1111; www.sfpalace.com; 2 New Montgomery St; 11:30am-11pm; & Montgomery St
Deep within the opulent Palace Hotel, the Pied Piper’s mahogany walls and plush seating up the swank factor, but what sets it apart is the creepy-gorgeous 1909 Maxfield Parrish mural behind the bar. Prices are steep but include munchies. Good for a classic martini.
REDWOOD ROOM Map Bar
415-775-4700; www.clifthotel.com; 495 Geary St; 5pm-2am Sun-Thu, 4pm-2am Fri & Sat; 2, 3, 4, 27, 38; Powell-Mason, Powell-Hyde
We love the landmark Redwood Room, with its walls paneled from a single ancient redwood tree. For years it was San Francisco’s most iconic bar, inside one of its most storied hotels. Then Philippe Starck got hold of the place, making it horrifically trendy, mounting plasma screens on the walls (sin of sins), installing his now-tired-looking signature furniture, and raising cocktail prices through the roof. Still, it’s worth seeing the room on a quiet weeknight, but never on weekends, when Carrie Bradshaw wannabes jam the place and aggressive bouncers fail to remember they exist in service of guests, not the other way round.
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top picks
DIVES
Specs’
Ha-Ra
Saloon
Doc’s Clock
House of Shields
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TUNNEL TOP BAR Map Bar
415-722-6620; www.tunneltop.com; 601 Bush St; 5pm-2am Mon-Sat; 1, 2, 3, 4, 30, 45
You can’t tell who’s local and who’s not in this happening, chill two-story bar with exposed beams, beer-bottle chandelier, and rickety balcony that always seems about ready to give out. The owners are French, and their Gallic friends throng the place, tapping their toes to conscious hip-hop (think Common, not Little Wayne) and boom-boom house music, the SF soundtrack. Cash only.
CAFFE AMICI Map Cafe
415-391-3241; www.caffeamiciespresso.com; 155 Montgomery St; 5am-7pm Mon-Fri, 7am-5pm Sat & Sun; 1, 15, 30, 45; & Montgomery St;
Amici serves excellent coffee in hand-painted Italian cups, and draws hearts in cappuccino foam, warming the spirits of Downtown office workers.
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CIVIC CENTER & THE TENDERLOIN
BAMBUDDHA LOUNGE Map Bar
415-885-5088; www.bambuddhalounge.com; 601 Eddy St; 5:30-10pm Wed-Thu, to 2am Fri & Sat; 5, 19, 31, 38
Vinyl beds, mojitos and occasional glimpses of B-grade rock stars through bamboo thickets – Bambuddha is SF’s answer to Miami. We dig the hot bartenders and cool poolside