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…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Drink adventurously with ingenious cocktails inspired by local obsessions: San Francisco muralists, Chinese diners or conspiracy theories. Every six…
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…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
It's been called the best gay bar in the world, and who are we to argue? Once a humble coffeehouse, the Abbey has expanded into the bar/club/restaurant of…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
'Don't even think of asking for a cosmo' reads the House Rules at this Prohibition-era speakeasy, recognizable by its deliciously misleading Anti-Saloon…
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?…
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…
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…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
San Francisco probably didn't need anymore tiki bars, but we're certainly not going to complain about Zombie Village, the latest from Future Bars Group,…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
On the roof of the Intercontinental Hotel, Spire 73 proclaims to be the tallest rooftop bar in the western hemisphere. From its spot on the 73rd story,…
Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood & Westwood
For a classic LA experience, dress up and swill martinis in the Beverly Hills Hotel's legendary bar. Charlie Chaplin had a standing lunch reservation at…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
This cool, influential Copenhagen import puts a contemporary spin on the old beer hall. Fitted out with booths, communal bar tables and cartoon artwork by…
Long Beach & San Pedro
Adjacent to Retro Row, this nautical-themed dive bar, owned by Chris Reece of the band Social Distortion, brings in the cool kids for live-music acts…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
Opened in 1935 and back after a $10-million renovation, multilevel, mixed-crowd Clifton's defies description. Order drinks from a Gothic church altar amid…
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…
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…
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',…
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…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
Cocktails, pinball machines and arcade games makes for oh-so-retro good times at this graffiti-soaked warehouse bar. Named for 1982 (the height of the …
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
Accessed through easy-to-miss Harlem Pl alleyway, this extraordinary basement lounge sits in a century-old power plant. It's like a dimly lit, steampunk…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
Don't be fooled by the unceremonious grey exterior. Behind that wall lies a hopping Arts District hangout, with a buzzy, bulb-strung outdoor patio. The…
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…
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…
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…
Silver Lake & Echo Park
An atmospheric, vintage-styled neighborhood hangout serving quality cocktails to local hipsters and arty types. A stocked calendar of entertainment…
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,…
Newport Beach
Hidden on a side street, this cozy coffeehouse in a beach bungalow with a covered patio lures locals with live music and poetry readings, art on the brick…
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…
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…
Santa Monica
A creative speakeasy, housed in the basement of the Victorian, and our favorite well in Santa Monica. We love it for its craft cocktails, cozy booths,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
