Mr. Bing’s

What you need to know

The Drinks

Spirits and classic cocktails, with the Old Fashioned as the house drink. No kitchen. Two levels, sports memorabilia on the walls, and parklets out on the corner.

The Story

It opened in 1967 and is named for its first owner, Henry Grant, who everyone called Mr. Bing and who ran it until 2016. Jackie and Peter Cooper, who also run Ireland’s 32 out on Geary, took it over that year. San Francisco added it to the Legacy Business Registry in March 2023.

The building has form. 201 Columbus held the photographer J.B. Monaco’s studio, and during Prohibition an Italian speakeasy called Zaza’s ran behind a furniture store front. Jack Dempsey drank here, and the bar has turned up on screen in Planet of the Apes and Venom.

Practical Info

Price: $. Dive bar pricing.

Hours: Reported as opening in the early afternoon and running to 2am, but there is no official website, so call 415-362-1545 before making a special trip.

Where it sits: On the seam where Chinatown, North Beach and the Financial District meet, which is why listings file it under all three.

Bourdain: The Layover, San Francisco, aired January 2012. This was his last drinking stop of the episode and where the closing monologue was filmed. When closure rumours went round in 2016 he publicly worried about losing a fine drinking establishment.