The best cocktail bars in San Francisco

Valencia Street patio, DJs plus a Wednesday salsa band

speakeasy + escape room hybrid, Middle Earth-inspired

Irish pub with reclaimed-parking-lot patio (AstroTurf, plants, murals), staggering single-malt whiskey list

hidden behind a door in the back of Dalva bar — door is only unlocked Thursday through Saturday, front bar (Dalva) has a desert-inspired aesthetic; the back room is textbook speakeasy

occupies the iconic Elbo Room space — 30-year history preserved (closed Dec 2018 as Elbo Room, reopened as Valencia Room), kept the original church-pew booth seating and pinball machines

from the Bon Vivants (Trick Dog) team — Scott Baird and Josh Harris, unassuming exterior, impeccably designed interior

Mission corner dive at 17th & Guerrero with the iconic neon martini sign, huge red 'COCKTAILS' sign — landmark in every Mission photo

a retro late-night SoMa lounge, craft cocktails and gourmet bar bites

steampunk decor, housemade cocktail ingredients

small-batch experimental brewery, Strata Premium and Mendo Sleigh Ride IPAs

members-only — $10 one-day membership or monthly, reservation only via Tock

a newer Grant Avenue cocktail bar, turntables and welcoming bartenders

down a hidden alley off Broadway, former speakeasy and brothel space

opened 1933, the day Prohibition ended — three generations of the Nicco family, tiny North Beach lounge — leather banquettes, mirrored back bar, no TVs

large selection of flavored whiskeys, pinball machines and darts

opened December 2025 in the Old Spaghetti Factory landmark (1908 building), California-Mexican cocktails — agave spirits and housemade infusions

Future Bars group — apothecary-style bar paying tribute to the Barbary Coast era, cocktails made with extinct and revived ingredients

a hidden speakeasy inside Son & Garden, an opulent flowers-and-velvet room

password-entry speakeasy, 90-minute time limit

detective agency theme inside Bourbon & Branch, Scotch flights

walk-in side of Bourbon & Branch, password is 'books'

beautifully lit second-floor hidey-hole, where 'furtive making out is tacitly accepted'

immersive tiki paradise — full-room theming with thatched roofs, idols, shrunken heads, homage to mid-century Oakland's Skipper Kent's Zombie Village

recessed below street level — easy to walk past the door entirely, dim, leather, low ceilings — the platonic Tenderloin cocktail-bar setting

WWII-inspired space, long beer list

below-street former speakeasy, indie music venue

a password-required speakeasy, TLC cocktails (and ~$18 prices)

in the former Hemlock Tavern space, two levels: open karaoke bar upstairs, DJ dance floor in the basement

chandeliers and gold-accented lounge, a serious sound system

glamorous lounge in the Beacon Grand, all-vinyl DJ sets

authentic Irish pub decor, multiple small enclosed nooks

tucked down a Union Square alley, intimate dim digs designed in the Japanese kissa tradition

a posh FiDi cocktail lounge, a dramatic interior

sister bar to Bourbon & Branch, opened by the same team, walls lined floor-to-ceiling with whiskey barrels (it's named after the warehouse where bourbon ages)

max capacity ~15 — genuine speakeasy scale, not a gimmick, cocktail program by Patrick — ask for his off-menu favorite

surfer-cool Outer Sunset cocktail bar, craft cocktails, beer, and slushies

a gritty Inner Richmond Irish pub, an extensive whiskey selection

Persian-styled bar, cash only

SF's best neighborhood jazz bar since 1989, blondewood 1950s look

wines on tap and craft cocktails, snazzy light fixtures

a tiny Lower Nob Hill dive, a great dirty martini

a 1930s art-deco room, vintage craft cocktails

underground basement bar — descend a staircase under a neon Persona sign, inspired by SF's erotic cinema culture of the 1960s–70s: dark textures, metallic accents, neon

an intimate Divisadero lounge, contemporary art on the walls

named after Johnny Cash's 'I'm A Drifter' and Taoism's concept of the sage, opened 2021 by three Hockey Haven veterans

European soccer fan HQ, opens 7am for big matches

hotel-lounge meets mid-century living room, Japanese-inspired cocktails

red lanterns and icicle lights year-round, wall-spanning Buddha mural

open since 1967 — San Francisco Legacy Business, originally owned by Henry 'Mr. Bing' Grant until 2017, now Irish-owned

multiple pool tables, fernet specialty

roomy back patio (rare for Marina), coastal-chic interior

opened 2025 — owner-operated by Susie and Kash who work the floor, famous Kash Smash Burger (American wagyu)

opened March 17, 2026 — from the team behind Bar Darling, April Jean, Harper & Rye, and Peacekeeper, name derived from Latin for 'she-wolf' — symbolizing feminine strength

a tiny, cute Outer Richmond dive, a sweet bartender who'll hand you a puzzle

a small Chinatown-edge bar, a great whiskey selection

original 1909 Maxfield Parrish 'Pied Piper of Hamelin' mural, inside the Palace Hotel

a revamped historic Dogpatch bar, pool tables and a jukebox

a real jazz kissa — six to eight seats total, vinyl only — 'we will never stream music'

on Pier 28, Bay views

a big sunny back patio, ping-pong, pool, and video games

SF's version of Cheers, 22 beers on tap

pool tables, cheap drinks