Best bars in … San Francisco
After a century-long love affair with the crafted cocktail, San Francisco bartenders are going back to basics, learning sometimes that purity is preferable, BarChick discovers
Bar Chick uncovers the best bars in San FranciscoSan Francisco is a city with a serious cocktail history. As far back as the Gold Rush in the 1840s, bartenders in the seedy red-light district, the Barbary Coast, began creating some of the world’s earliest cocktails to cater to the newcomers, greedy for wealth and wild times. It has even been said that the classic Martini hails from the City by the Bay, potentially first served as a Martinez in the Occidental Hotel in the 1860s.
Since those early days of cocktail craft, even throughout the police raids of Prohibition, there has been no shortage of experimentation with each fad more creative than the last. The quest for novelty has pushed our palates and broadened our drinking horizons. However, both bartenders and drinkers have started to tire of drinks so complex that they require a degree in physics to create. We still want a damn fine drink, but is all the fuss really necessary?
“There has been a bit of a backlash against complicated drinks,” Thad Volger, cocktail guru and owner of Bar Agricole, says. “Many people are over mixology. They want a bar in which they don’t feel self-conscious ordering a draft beer.”
Emeryville’s Prizefighter was started by two bartenders including Jon Santer, who was on the opening team for world renowned Bourbon & Branch. They wanted to get away from the excessive ceremony involved in cocktail making, and most of their drinks only have three, albeit often unusual, ingredients. They do lots of pitchers and their entire attitude screams ‘approachable’. They also have a Soda Fountain section on the menu filled with easy, alcoholic fizzes that tickle your nose without tipping you over the edge. Simplicity does not need to sacrifice style or substance.
Cocktail writer and publisher of Alcamedics.com, Camper English, explains that “there is a movement towards simplicity. Bartenders are reducing the number of ingredients and length of menus. They’re going for quality over quantity, so the flavours are still bold, like using Armagnac instead of Cognac or individually-created bitters.”
Cocktail bars had started to suffer from an image crisis, people don’t want pretensions or haughtiness, they want to feel comfortable and enjoy good drinks. The new cool kid on the cocktail block, Big, appeals to the more chilled out cocktail crew. With no menu, just chat to the bartenders and within minutes a beverage perfectly suited to your tastes is delivered to your hands. Nice and easy. The attention to detail here verges on geeky, but without the fussiness. With queues around the block the concept is clearly popular, and better still they’re quick on their feet with short wait times.
Cocktail craft takes time, but people are over waiting empty-handed while their bartender sculpts the Mona Lisa from cucumber shavings. “The idea of having something premade and ready to serve seems to be the next driving force,” Shady Muleady, who slings drinks at Soma’s Monarch, says. “A lot of bars are bottling their own concoctions, as well as drinks appearing on draft.”
Jaspers Corner Bar and Tap in the Tenderloin has completely embraced the need for speed. Not only do they have Negronis and Grand Promenade on tap, they also have the popular Here Comes the Fuzz pre-bottled and ready to pop. Other bars are making bulk drinks, putting cocktails on tap (carbonated or not), barrel-aging drinks that only need to be stirred or batching ingredient sets for popular orders. These changes don’t seem to leave people pining for the lost art of mixology.
Like so many fads from secret passwords to steaming drinks, this impetus towards speed and simplicity may come and go. But, we’re happy to hark back to San Fran’s heady days of the first Martini and enjoy shorter queues and shorter menus. Keep it simple San Fran, we like it.
Flick through the next few pages to discover the best bars in San Francisco, and get the low-down in the city from one of its resident bartenders.
For more global bar recommendations, visit BarChick
6702 Hollis Street
Situated in Emeryville, this laidback neighbourhood bar is worth a trip across the Bay. The super friendly service lets you get as involved as you want in bar chat about what you’re sipping. Go big from their massive back bar selection or keep it cool with any of their awesome list. When the sun is shining, this is a super spot to grab a pitcher of cocktail goodness with a few friends and sit outside in their industrial cool patio.
355 11th Street #100
Behind a dark wooden wall, wedged among some of the busiest and grimiest clubs in the city, is an L.E.E.D gold-certified modern tavern, bringing farm fresh food and innovative takes on classic cocktails to a whole new, eco-friendly level. Come here to kick off a night out and end up staying all night. The crowd is pretty dolled up, with a fair number of suits and heels knocking back drinks and comparing office gossip. Be warned: the high ceilings make for bad acoustics so when the bar gets busy it’s not great for a big catch up.
401 Taylor Street
With 18 beers, Negroni on tap and a load of rocking cocktails, Jasper’s is the perfect landing spot on the edge of the Tenderloin for anything from an all-day-er with mates to late night munchies. Service is fast and easy here, so no worries if you’re in a hurry – just grab a pre-bottled cocktail and let the good times roll.
1015 Geary Street
Inventive cocktails, plush couches, live jazz and a contortionist spinning from a hoop suspended above the bar, set the pace on the ground floor. The bartenders here know their stuff and love a challenge; just don’t let the mix of savory ingredients and aromatic liquors catch you off guard. Can’t decide? Just tell them what you like and they will surprise you with something exciting. Downstairs they have a club with an epic sound system and speakers, drawing some world class DJs. It’s easy to lose yourself down here.
Next page: Shady Muleady of The Monarch gives her recommendations for the best bartender bars in San Francisco.
Shady Muleady, bartender at The MonarchBarChick meets… Shady Muleady
What’s your after-work bar?
If I fancy a cocktail, I go to BlackBird near the Castro. They have a great list that changes every few months. But I also love a great dive bar. Standards like Lucky 13, the Hemlock and Tempest are a few favourites. Tempest may be divey, but it’s full of quality products, as well as cheap beers and shots. There are sports on all the TVs, pool tables, loud rock and punk coming from the speakers and an amazing little kitchen with great food served through a window.
What is your favourite spirit?
As far as where I like to go and what I like to drink, being a bartender I tend to be a purist. I like tequila or mescal.
What do you look for when looking for a new job?
After 17 years of bartending, I shop for a great place to work as much as they shop for a good employee. I love working at Monarch as well as Wish. Both places provide quality cocktails and products as well as great entertainment in a comfortable environment. Exactly the level I like working in.
What’s the next big thing on San Francisco’s cocktail scene?
Bars are bringing more of the kitchen into the bar. By that I mean I’m noticing bars carrying and using chocolate, hot sauces, spices, vegetables, coffee, bacon and duck fat. Some of these things are used behind the scenes and some right in front of the patron.
