North Beach & Chinatown
During this 1907 saloon's heyday, patrons relieved themselves in the marble trough below the bar – now you'll have to tear yourself away from Comstock's…
Must-see nightlife in California
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
You've got two seconds flat to order from tough-gal barkeeps used to putting macho bikers in their place – but with 48 beers on draft, you're spoiled for…
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The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Drink adventurously with ingenious cocktails inspired by local obsessions: San Francisco muralists, Chinese diners or conspiracy theories. Every six…
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San Francisco
Dangerous dames lure unsuspecting sailors into late-night schemes over potent hooch at this art-deco bar straight out of a Dashiell Hammett thriller…
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The Haight & Hayes Valley
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum…wait, make that a Dead Reckoning (Nicaraguan rum, port, pineapple, bitters), unless you'll split the flaming Scorpion Bowl?…
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North Beach & Chinatown
Beat a hasty retreat to red-vinyl booths where Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac debated the meaning of life under a golden Buddha. Enter the 1937 faux…
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North Beach & Chinatown
The walls here are plastered with merchant-marine memorabilia, and you'll be plastered too if you try to keep up with the salty characters holding court…
Northern Mountains
Locals' favorite and welcoming to everyone, the Blackbird is the social hub of tiny Clio (a short drive from Graeagle). Housed in a former hotel and…
Oakland
This Blue Bottle cafe is inside the beautiful WC Morse Building, a 1920s truck showroom. Communal tables, lofty ceilings and minimalist white decor invite…
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The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
At this industrial-chic, champagne-focused Dogpatch wine bar, you can't launch a cork without hitting a sommelier. The married owners are both sommeliers…
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The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
So, imagine a 1950s traveler who sets out to experience Southeast Asia and Africa, picking up art and curios along the way. Now think about this traveler…
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The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
For those who identify as ladies and also like others who identify as ladies, there's a shiny new bar. A huge neon sign announces 'you are safe here',…
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The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Designed to stimulate discussion of philosophy and art, the Interval is a favorite spot in the Marina for cocktails and conversation. It's inside the Long…
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San Francisco
The vintage rainbow neon sign points the way to a local landmark – Twin Peaks was the world's first gay bar with windows open to the street. If you're not…
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Santa Barbara
Grab a cocktail at the beautiful, blue-tiled bar, then grab a book from the shelves and settle into a leather banquette in this petite place that has a…
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Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
Venice's only rooftop bar is quite an experience, with 360-degree views from the shore to the Santa Monica Mountains – if you can take your eyes off the…
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Hollywood
This tastefully frayed, reservations-only rum and cigar lounge is a revelation. Behind the marble bar sit more than 100 types of rum from Haiti, Guyana,…
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Greater Palm Springs
If you worship at the altar of Bacchus (the Roman god of wine), you'll be singing his praises in this dimly lit clandestine boite at the Parker Palm…
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San Francisco
Here's another neighborhood cocktail bar that doubles as a delectable brunch and dinner spot, but the drinks are really where it's at. Case in point, the…
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Los Angeles
Step out the back door of restaurant Cafe Birdie and you'll find this red-brick speakeasy. A neighborly oasis of tealights, leather booths and competent…
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The Haight & Hayes Valley
Drinking becomes an art form at this Victorian parlor crammed with graffiti installations and absinthe fountains. Motown Mondays feature the Ike Turner…
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Santa Barbara
Father and son brewers have brought their gold-medal-winning hoppy IPA, Danish red lager and potent stout from Santa Barbara's Wine Country to the Funk…
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San Francisco
Since 2014, Andytown Coffee has spread like afternoon fog, unstoppable thanks to its yummy drip coffee, Irish-inspired soda bread and one-of-a-kind 'snowy…
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San Diego
With a French-bistro feel and plenty of old-world charm, Polite Provisions' hip clientele sip cocktails at the marble bar, under a glass ceiling, and in a…
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Central Coast
Joining the tangle of breweries, distilleries and wine-tasting rooms in Paso Robles' Tin City neighborhood, Tin City Cider's thoroughly modern tasting…
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Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Lounge
Disneyland Resort
It's tiki to the max and good, clean fun inside this faux-grass shack by the Disneyland Hotel's pool. Look for strong, sweet cocktails like the Shrunken…
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San Francisco
On a chilly evening, squeeze into this narrow, cozy craft-beer bar and give some inventive brews a try. The brewmasters are known for throwing unusual…
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North Beach & Chinatown
Potent potions and lipsmacking quack cures are proudly served at this apothecary-style Barbary Coast saloon. Tartly quaffable Lachlan's Antiscorbutic …
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Hollywood
Less a hotel rooftop bar and more lush, tropical-like oasis with killer views of the Hollywood sign and LA skyline, multicolored daybeds and tongue-in…
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The Haight & Hayes Valley
Glory hallelujah, beer-lovers: your prayers are answered. Genuflect before the chalkboard altar that lists 40-plus beers on tap and hundreds more bottled,…
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The Haight & Hayes Valley
Persian arches, One Thousand and One Nights murals, 1930s jazz on the jukebox and top-shelf cocktails at low-shelf prices have brought Bohemian bliss to…
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Hollywood
With daily rotating craftsman whiskey, bourbon and cocktail specials, Harvard & Stone lures peeps with its live bands, solid DJs and burlesque troops…
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San Diego
This Gaslamp hot spot serves sushi and Asian bites five nights a week and turns into a steamy dance club (EDM, minimal, deep house) on Fridays and…
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Monterey
Vintage beer advertising punctuates Alvarado Street's brick walls, but that's the only concession to earlier days at this excellent craft-beer pub…
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Los Angeles
Clippers and cocktails conspire at this winning speakeasy. The front section is an actual barbershop, complete with vintage barber chairs and inked…
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Hollywood
If you prefer your cocktail sessions with plenty of wow factor, make a reservation online, style up (no sportswear, shorts or logos) and head to this old…
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Santa Cruz
This locally beloved cocktail parlor is the perfect place for a night of dapper drinking. Settle into a huge armchair amid the vintage-chic decor to…
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San Francisco
An airplane crashed on a desert island, and out of the wreckage came this killer Castro tiki bar. Enter through the airplane door to discover a long-lost…
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North Coast & Redwoods
The kind of coffee shop you dream of finding in a small town like this with a library of intriguing books, local art on the walls and sturdy leather…
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The Haight & Hayes Valley
Who's there? Steampunk blacksmiths, anarchist hackers, trance DJs practicing for Burning Man, and other San Francisco characters straight out of an R…
