Must-see nightlife in Northern California

  • Comstock Saloon

    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…

  • Zeitgeist

    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…

  • Trick Dog

    The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill

    Drink adventurously with ingenious cocktails inspired by local obsessions: San Francisco muralists, Chinese diners or conspiracy theories. Every six…

  • Stookey's Club Moderne

    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…

  • Smuggler's Cove

    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?…

  • Li Po

    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…

  • Specs

    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…

  • Blue Bottle Coffee Company

    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…

  • Ungrafted

    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…

  • Bon Voyage

    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…

  • Jolene's

    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',…

  • Interval Bar & Cafe

    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…

  • Twin Peaks Tavern

    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…

  • Violet's Tavern

    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…

  • Madrone Art Bar

    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…

  • Andytown Coffee

    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…

  • Woods Outbound

    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…

  • Devil's Acre

    North Beach & Chinatown

    Potent potions and lipsmacking quack cures are proudly served at this apothecary-style Barbary Coast saloon. Tartly quaffable Lachlan's Antiscorbutic …

  • Toronado

    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,…

  • Aub Zam Zam

    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…

  • Alvarado Street Brewery

    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…

  • 515

    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…

  • Last Rites

    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…

  • Mind's Eye Coffee Lounge

    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…

  • Noc Noc

    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…

  • Caffe Trieste

    North Beach & Chinatown

    Poetry on bathroom walls, opera on the jukebox, live accordion jams and Beat poetry on bathroom walls: Caffe Trieste remains North Beach at its best,…

  • Vesuvio

    North Beach & Chinatown

    Guy walks into a bar, roars and leaves. Without missing a beat, the bartender says to the next customer, 'Welcome to Vesuvio, honey – what can I get you?'…

  • El Rio

    The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill

    Work it all out on the dance floor with SF's most down and funky crowd – the full rainbow spectrum of colorful characters is here to party. Highlights…

  • Tonga Room

    San Francisco

    Tonight's San Francisco weather: partly foggy, with 100% chance of typhoons every 20 minutes inside the Tonga Room. No need to duck for cover – rain only…

  • Cafe Van Kleef

    Oakland

    Order a greyhound (with freshly squeezed grapefruit juice) and take a gander at the profusion of antique musical instruments, fake taxidermy heads,…

  • Buena Vista Cafe

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    Warm your cockles with a prim little goblet of bitter-creamy Irish coffee, introduced to America at this destination bar that once served sailors and…

  • Redwood Curtain Brewing Company

    North Coast & Redwoods

    This tiny gem of a brewery has gone through a major expansion thanks to its varied collection of rave-worthy craft ales. The taproom is family-friendly,…

  • Fieldwork Brewing Company

    Sacramento

    Bustling with activity, this brewpub has 22 rotating taps of excellent draft beer. Playful variations of hoppy IPAs are the specialty, but it does lighter…

  • Iron Door Grill & Saloon

    Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada

    Claiming to be the oldest bar in the state (established in 1852 when it served liquor to thirsty miners), the Iron Door is a dusty, atmospheric place,…

  • Alley

    Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada

    Small batch, Californian boutique wines and 16 craft beers are served in a sophisticated, contemporary space. But it's the lovely backyard beer garden…

  • 20 Spot

    The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill

    Find your California mellow at this neighborhood wine lounge in an 1885 Victorian building. After decades as Force of Habit punk-record shop – note the…

  • Swirl

    San Francisco

    Come as you are – pinstripes or leather, gay, straight or whatever – to toast freedom with sublime bubbly after GLBT History Museum visits, or find liquid…

  • Elixir Saloon.

    Elixir

    The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill

    Do the planet a favor and have another drink at SF's first certified green bar, in an actual 1858 Wild West saloon. Elixir blends farm-fresh seasonal…

  • Blue Bottle Coffee Company

    Oakland

    Java gourmands queue at Blue Bottle's original warehouse location for single-origin espressos and what some consider the Bay Area's best coffee. Single…

  • Obispo

    The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill

    This is no tiki bar. The setting is austere and designed to keep patrons focused on the origin and quality of the small-batch rums that the owner…