Hollywood
Under a cotton-candy-pink apartment block of no particular import is this funky den of musty odor, low ceilings, exposed pipes and good times. There's…
Must-see nightlife in California
Santa Barbara
Large glasses of wine and beer and a great grilled cheese make this cozy place, located up an alley off Anacapa (follow the murals), a worthy detour…
Hollywood
When established stars such as the Black Keys, and even movie stars such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt, decide to play secret shows in intimate environs, they…
Greater Palm Springs
Crimson light bathes even pasty-faced hipsters with a healthy glow, as do the pretty crafted cocktails at this teensy tiki bar with blowfish lamps and…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
Elegant, but not stuck up; been around, yet still cherished. With high ceilings, molded walls and terrific martinis, the famous and the wish-they-weres…
Santa Monica
Set in the old Zephyr surf shop headquarters, where skateboarding was invented during a 1970s drought that emptied pools across LA, it brews great coffee…
Along Highway 101
The kind of intimate, make-instant-friends, small-town bar you dream of stumbling across while traveling, full of intellectual puzzle games, excellent…
Hollywood
Evoking an old hunting lodge with its timber panels, Chesterfield sofas and mounted antlers, this handsome hideaway sits off the Roosevelt Hotel's…
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,…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
Tucked into the back of Cole's is this cubby-hole-sized speakeasy, an essential downtown bar since it won the Tales of the Cocktail competition in 2012.
Russian River Area
Santa Rosa's justly famous brewery crafts a wildly popular double IPA called Pliny the Elder, plus top-grade sour beer aged in wine barrels. Good pizza…
Pasadena & the San Gabriel Valley
High tea ($37) at the Rose Garden has been a grand tradition at the Huntington for generations. Try your choice of herbal and fair-trade teas (including…
West of I-5
Try one of the standard brews like the complex and malty Mossback APA (its most popular) or go lighter with the yummy wheat and fruit Blackberry Blond…
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…
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,…
Long Beach & San Pedro
This converted, historic bank with its weighty granite bar, crystal chandeliers and burly wooden columns offers a good selection of craft beers and booze…
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…
Mono Lake Region
A top regional draw, June Lake Brewing's open tasting room serves around 10 drafts, including Deer Beer Brown Ale and some awesome IPAs. Brewers swear the…
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…
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…
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…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
The murder of crows painted on the ceiling is an omen: nights at Bloodhound often assume mythic proportions. Vikings would feel at home amid these antler…
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…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Volcanoes erupt inside Pagan Idol every half hour. Order your island cocktail and brace for impact – these tiki drinks are no joke. Flirt with disaster…
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…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
The Victorian tin ceilings are hammered, and you could be too unless you sip these potent concoctions slowly – all expertly crafted from 250 specialty…
San Francisco
For a night of exoticism, gluttony, intoxication and utter abandon, look no further than Grand Hot Pot Lounge, the Inner Richmond's gift to spicy-food…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
As kindred spirits will deduce from the name (the abbreviation for 'percent alcohol by volume'), this bar is backed by cocktail crafters who know their…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Finally, someplace where introverts and extroverts can drink, flirt shyly over shuffleboard and fight off nefarious ninjas together. Pinball wizards…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
There aren't many places around Fisherman's Wharf that can be described 'elegant.' Okay so there's only one...and it's this new wine bar. There's a lovely…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
The Gold Dust is so beloved by San Franciscans that when it lost its lease on the Union Sq building it had occupied since the 1930s, then reopened in 2013…
Santa Monica
Santa Monica's only indoor-outdoor roof bar has a swinging-'70s, Studio 54 vibe – brass-plated fireplace, hexagonal ceiling tiles – a bar made of a giant…
Long Beach & San Pedro
If you like your cocktails with a sidecar of history, the main bar on the Queen Mary is the place to be. The ocean liner's one-time 1st-class lounge still…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Drink your way to a history degree with well-researched cocktails: Whiz Bang with house bitters, whiskey, vermouth and absinthe scores high, but El…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Forget Golden Gate Bridge – once you EndUp watching the sunrise over the 101 freeway ramp from this rollicking dance club's backyard oasis (complete with…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Follow cult coffee aromas into this sunny SoMa warehouse, where family-grown, high-end coffee is roasted daily. Aficionados sip signature Owl's Howl…
San Francisco
After zipping around Golden Gate Park and touring a museum or two, relaxing with traditional English afternoon tea ($29 per person) is just the thing…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
SF's best bars are distinguished not just by their drinks but by the conversations they inspire – by both measures Dalva is top-shelf. Over ice-cold mugs…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
You never really know your friends till you've seen them belt out A-ha's 'Take on Me' at Class of '84, Cat Club's Thursday-night retro dance party, where…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
A pair of mounted bull heads and lucha libre (Mexican wrestling) masks create an over-the-top, ‘Tijuana North’ look and pull in an industry-heavy crowd at…
