Eleven cocktail bars, ranked. Two things separate the top of this list from the rest: a bar that changes its menu because it wants to rather than because the season turned, and a bartender who will talk you out of your first choice.
Prices run from ABV, where nothing on the list breaks fifteen dollars, up to the Union Square rooms. The map clusters them by neighborhood so you can build an evening instead of crossing town twice.
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1
Trick Dog
A Mission cocktail bar whose menu changes theme twice a year. Two-time James Beard semifinalist.
Go for the themed menu (Pantone cards, conspiracy theories).
3010 20th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110 Full write-up → -
2
Pacific Cocktail Haven
Kevin Diedrich's award-winning cocktail bar near Union Square.
One of the country's most awarded cocktail bars. Order bartender's choice.
550 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 Full write-up → -
3
True Laurel
A James Beard-recognized Mission cocktail bar from the Lazy Bear team.
Inventive drinks from the Lazy Bear crew.
753 Alabama Street, San Francisco, CA 94110 Full write-up → -
4
ABV
A Mission cocktail bar from ex-Bourbon & Branch bartenders. Drinks under $15.
Serious cocktails without the speakeasy fuss. Everything under $15.
3174 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 Full write-up → -
5
15 Romolo
A North Beach cocktail bar down an alley off Broadway.
Industry-veteran bartenders. Order bartender's choice.
15 Romolo Place, San Francisco, CA 94133 Full write-up → -
6
Smuggler’s Cove
A three-floor Hayes Valley tiki bar with a rum list over 1,300 bottles.
Martin Cate's tiki temple. Get the 1944 Mai Tai and work up the rum list.
650 Gough Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 Full write-up → -
7
Bourbon & Branch
A Tenderloin speakeasy in a building that hid a real Prohibition-era bar.
Reserve a room, or walk into the Library with the password "books."
501 Jones St, San Francisco, CA 94102 Full write-up → -
8
Local Edition
A speakeasy in the basement of the old San Francisco Examiner, among the printing presses.
Newspaper-themed cocktails and live jazz under the old Examiner building.
691 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94105 Full write-up → -
9
Lone Palm
A candlelit Mission cocktail bar with a pre-Prohibition drink list.
White tablecloths and classic cocktails.
3394 22nd Street, San Francisco, CA 94110 Full write-up → -
10
The Beehive
A 1960s-styled Mission cocktail bar with a negroni list and a fondue menu.
842 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110 Full write-up → -
11
Bix
A two-story Art Deco supper club in Jackson Square with live jazz nightly.
Martinis and a band in an Art Deco room. Find it on Gold Street.
56 Gold Street, San Francisco, CA 94133 Full write-up →
Last checked August 17, 2026
