Bars

A 21st-floor cocktail lounge in the Beacon Grand Hotel with 360-degree city views, inventive drinks by Scott Baird (of Trick Dog fame), and Michelin-level small plates. Open Thursday through Sunday.

A rooftop bar at the Timbri Hotel near Union Square with a glass-ceilinged solarium, skyline views, fire pit seating, and American-Asian cuisine. One of San Francisco’s newer elevated drinking spots.

A two-story Mission bar and dance club in the former Elbo Room space with a Void Acoustics sound system. DJs spin house, hip-hop, Latin, and dance music nightly. The Mission’s nightlife anchor on Valencia Street.

A whiskey-forward bar on the fifth floor of Hotel Zelos with over 640 whiskeys, craft cocktails, and a heated outdoor patio with fire pits. Steps from Moscone Center and Union Square.

A tropical-themed cocktail bar with San Francisco’s largest patio, brunch with drag shows on Sundays, and creative cocktails in the Tenderloin. An unexpected oasis on Jones Street.

San Francisco’s original dance music institution. The largest nightclub in the city with a world-class sound system and DJs from around the world.

A SoMa nightclub that’s been open since 1985 with two stages, four dance floors, and programming that runs from live music to burlesque to all-ages shows. DNA Pizza next door feeds the late-night crowd.

Hidden in a North Beach alley since 1968, Specs’ is part dive bar, part museum, part clubhouse for misfits. The walls are covered in maritime artifacts and union banners. The cheese plate is seven dollars. The stories are free.

The Beat Generation made this North Beach bar their unofficial headquarters in the 1950s. Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Cassady drank here. The stained glass, vintage décor, and literary ghosts remain.

San Francisco’s oldest bar has poured drinks since 1861, survived the 1906 earthquake (maybe), and still hosts live blues every night. The beers are cheap, the history is real, and the stories get better the longer you stay.