The 15 Best and Most Unique Bars in San Francisco
If you’re going out in San Francisco, there are hundreds of great bars in the city to choose from. You’ll have your classic dive bars, nightclubs, and then the one-of-a-kind bar with a cool vibe that’s unique to San Francisco. As a resident of San Francisco, these are my favorite bars with my top recommended drink to order from each of them. See below for the top 10 most unique San Francisco bars I’ll be calling out:
1. Arcana
Mission District: 2512 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Arcana is a plant shop turned wine bar at night, located right in the heart of the Mission. They typically have a live DJ on Saturday and Sunday night; they keep their events page updated each week. The energy here is usually really high with lots of small friend groups or dates chatting away. You won’t find cocktails but they have a fun wine selection.
Drink Recommendation: Any of the white wines! I personally wasn’t a huge fan of their glasses of red.
2. Cold Drinks Bar
North Beach: 644 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133
This is one of the coolest bars in San Francisco, located on the 2nd floor of China Live after you walk through a hidden golden door with a painted dragon. Upon entering, you feel like you’re in a New York City bar with dark lighting and leather seating around the bar. The selling point of this bar is truly the cocktails, which have the following accoldates: “Six Best Cocktail Bars in San Francisco” by Newsweek Magazine and one of “The Best Bars in San Francisco” by TimeOut San Francisco.
Drink Recommendation: We got the Silk’s Degrees and Rabit Year’s Resolution that were both so unique and carefully crafted. These were also the recommendations from the bartender we had.
3. Woods
Lower Haight: 530 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117
Woods has a more local feel than some of the other bars on this list. They have all natural wines and beers on tap which are unique to Woods itself. The bar has both indoor candlelit seating and a back outdoor patio. This is a great spot for an after-work happy hour for either a date or catch up with friends.
Drink Recommendation: Local Honey Beer on tap! This is my favorite drink of all time (and I don’t usually even like beer).
4. Cavaña
Mission Bay: 100 Channel St 17th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94158
Cavaña is a rooftop bar in Mission Bay, less than a 10 minute walk from Oracle Park. They have an outdoor patio with stunning views of the Bay and Downtown with firepits, plus a very cute indoor area if it’s a bit chillier. The atmosphere here is more relaxed and great for a catch-up or pregame spot before a Giant’s or Warrior’s game.
Drink Recommendation: GUAYABA which is a tequila-based cocktail with guava, rose, and vanilla notes.
5. Rise Over Run
SoMa: 33 Turk St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Rise Over Run is the rooftop bar on top of the LINE hotel in Downtown SF. There is both an indoor part which resembles a greenhouse with a glass roof and a patio that is well heated even for chillier days. The interior design here is beautiful with well crafted drinks, landing this a top bar in the city
Drink Recommendation: Latitude, which is a mezcal cocktail done really well. For those who don’t like mezcal, this is a more subtle one which tastes great.
6. Bar Jambroni
Lower Haight: 698 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117
Bar Jamborni is a wine bar and restaurant in the lower haight that is the perfect spot for a more casual hang out after work. Their food options are a bit limited but they have a great wine menu. While I love the vibe, I will callout that I have found the staff to be on the ruder side here on multiple occasions if you don’t order food despite it being more of a bar. Keep this in mind if you are just going for drinks.
Drink Recommendation: A glass of the Merlot-Cab Franc from their wine glass list.
7. Natoma Cabana
SoMa: 90 Natoma St, San Francisco, CA 94105
Natoma Cabana is a more funky bar in SoMa which has teak cabana’s to sit in along with an upstairs area you can rent out for events. The bar itself has some of the best cocktails in the city and is a great place to grab a drink after work downtown.
Drink Recommendation: Queen’s Bikini!
8. Left Door
Marina: 1905 Union St, San Francisco, CA 94123
Left Door is a speakeasy in the Marina, where as the name suggests, is disguised behind the left door of this building on Union St. After ringing the doorbell, you’ll walk up the stairs and enter the dimly lit home converted into a bar. I recommend making a reservation ahead of time if you’re going during a peak time.
Drink Recommendation: The Mez Negroni, which is a fun twist off the classic Negroni with mezcal.
9. Flores San Francisco (for happy hour)
Marina: 2030 Union St, San Francisco, CA 94123
Flores is more typically known as a restaurant in San Francisco’s Marina district, but they have a really great happy hour menu that offers margaritas for just $8 and some of their classic small plates. Their happy hour runs Monday through Friday 3-5pm.
Drink Recommendation: Guayavita and their Classic Margarita on the Happy Hour Menu
10. Arbor (for happy hour)
Hayes Valley: 384 Hayes St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Arbor is a wine bar and restaurant in Hayes Valley that has a hidden back patio filled with trees, string lights, and the overhang of upstairs balconies. It’s a really cute space to grab a bite and enjoy a drink. Their happy hour menu is incredible with their spritz’s only being $5. Note that they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays to their happy hour runs just Wednesday through Friday 4-6pm.
Drink Recommendation: Lillet Rose Spritz
11. Local Edition
SoMa: 691 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105
Local Edition is my favorite speakeasy in the city for numerous reasons – candlelit atmosphere, live musicians performing each night, and the best cocktails in the city. You can check their music schedule here – I highly recommend going on a night where they have live jazz music.
Drink Recommendation: Ava Gardner. This is hands down the best cocktail I’ve ever had anywhere in the world and anyone who tries it agrees! This is a must if you come here.
12. Anina (for a sunny afternoon)
Hayes Valley: 482 Hayes St, San Francisco, CA 94102
While in Hayes Valley, Anina is one of the best spots to stop at to share a drink or punch bowl with a group of friends. The real selling point of this bar is the ceiling-covered outdoor patio. On a warm day, this is usually packed and such a fun way to have an afternoon drink. In the winter, this area is also heated but closes on the early side at 10PM.
Drink Recommendation: Seafoam and A.P Spritz which are fun spin offs they curated of aperol spritz.
13. The Pawn Shop
Civic Center: 993 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94103
The Pawn Shop is what you may expect from the name – it’s a pawn shop when you first walk in. You will need something to pawn to enter the bar, which can be entered by dialing the gold phone. This can be one item for group, and can be as small or large as you’d like to pawn. The entrance is covered in knick knacks from prior guests. The host will help guide you into the speakeasy, which is a tapas and cocktail lounge. The food is amazing but we did find the cocktails to be on the lighter side.
Drink Recommendation: Their Uno cocktail which has both elderflower and grapefruit.
14. Wildhawk
Mission: 3464 19th St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Wildhawk is a very intimate bar in the Mission which is candlelit with comfortable seating. It’s quite small inside which has a very cozy feel compared to a lot of other bars around the city. They have great cocktails and the bartenders here are so friendly!
Drink Recommendation: Bianco Dil Rio.
15. Fool’s Errand
NOPA: 639A Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117
Fools Errand is a local favorite wine bar in NOPA which serves glasses of white, red, pinks, and beers on tap. They have both indoor and outdoor seating, which you’ll see is usually packed any evening of the week.
Drink Recommendation: A glass of their 2018 Irene Syrah red wine.
There are so many incredible bars in San Francisco but these are my recommendations for the best and more unique ones to visit.
