Alongside cocktails at new restaurants like Bar Sprezzatura, Rosemary and Pine, Montesacro Marina, La Société and Tenderheart — or these 5 earlier this year, these seven bars are worth visiting now and into the new year…and some currently offer special holiday decor & drinks:
New Chinatown Cocktail Haven: Blind Pig Speakeasy Lounge, Chinatown
Derrick Li’s Blind Pig Speakeasy opened October 15, 2022, in an expansive second floor space on a prime Chinatown corner of California and Grant. In 2023, it will be Martin Yan’s new location for MY China restaurant, which closed 2020 in the Westfield Mall in the height of pandemic. Once MY China opens in the historic space, the bar will move to the third floor. The huge former Cathay House is over 80 years old, it’s roomy floors evoking 1930s Shanghai-meets-historic-SF-Chinatown with a speakeasy-esque unmarked entrance. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer dramatic views over Chinatown with cable cars passing by, with cozy couches and individual seating sections flank a half circle bar.
Li bartended at Cold Drinks at China Live and is bar director at Sushi Sato, having been a graphic designer in China, but taking quickly to bartending, recently winning the West Coast regionals at the U.S. Bartenders’ Guild World Class competition, placing 15th in the nation. Asian-inspired ingredients weave through all of Li’s cocktails while he has future plans for many of the cocktails to feature Chinese baijiu, as a couple drinks do now. Trying all 10 drinks on the initial menu, there is a little something for all, veering from spirituous and smoky (the mushroom-tinged Smoke Umami) to tart-yet-lush (TP Gimlet, rounded out with banana and salty taro pandan). Li’s Ming-Shi Highball is a refreshing yet baiju-forward standout featuring Ming River Baijiu, Van Gogh mango vodka, Cocchi Rosa, pineapple cordial, lime, basil and cucumber. It has a subtle sweetness evoking Japanese Hi-Chew candies with balanced baijiu funk. Another standout is the milk-washed Hot & Sour with soft aromatics of red pepper skins, Tanqueray Gin, Iichiko Shochu, Chareau aloe liqueur, rose, chili paste, basil, citrus and Peychaud’s bitters.
// 718 California Street; www.yelp.com/biz/blind-pig-speakeasy-lounge-san-francisco
Low Proof Christmas Delights with Spanish Tapas: Red Window, North Beach
I’ve been writing about Elmer Mejicanos drinks a long time, from his 11 years with pizza master Tony Gemignani at his various pizza mecca restaurants to his world traveler menus at 25 Lusk. I certainly wrote about Red Window when it opened, with Spanish tapas and beyond from chef Adam Rosenblum (also chef/owner of Causwells), Mejicanos cocktails and a wonderful GM and team who keep it festive.
Running through December 31 is their holiday menu with a beautiful run of low-ABV drinks (Mejicanos has long had a hand with sherry and the like), like a blessedly savory 50/50 Martini amped up with juniper tincture and an olive oil wash. There are mini-shots, like Boozy Egg Nog, and a striking Blue Christmas cocktail served in a clear Christmas ornament ball glass on ice. But of the six cocktails I tasted, I was mesmerized by three in particular:
— Nutcracker is for all us Trinidad Sour fans, lovers of beautiful bitter and holiday spice. It’s a heavy Angostura bitters-based cocktail (and thus rosy red), balanced by bourbon, lemon and orgeat (almond syrup).
— Santa’s Gin Fizz: don’t let it’s placement at the bottom of the menu let you glance over this beauty. It’s for all Ramos Gin Fizz-obsessed (and who in their right mind — having tried a proper one — isn’t?) Bartender Emma Mahoney nailed this one. It’s essentially a classic gin fizz but praline syrup and pecans. No, it’s not a sweet, cloying bomb like some lovely pralines can be. Its subtle, nutty, only whispers of sweet, letting that soft, seltzer-lazed citrus creaminess shine.
— Coquito is served in a coconut. Always a winner but much better if the cocktail is top-notch. And this melange of low proof spiced and coconut rum, manzanilla sherry, coconut milk, condensed milk, holiday spice mix and Angostura bitters is a light, creamy dream that tastes like xmas in Hawaii or on a tropical isle.
I couldn’t make it out to all the holiday menus I wished to this year (especially Kona’s Street Market Sippin’ Santa and Miracle at PCH) but I’m sure glad I made it to Red Window’s. These are damn delicious cocktails and at least less guilty given the low proof nature. Happy holidays, indeed.
// 500 Columbus Avenue, www.theredwindow.com
Extensive Martini Menu: St. Regis Bar, SoMa
While I wrote about the St. Regis San Francisco’s gorgeous remodel and Bloody Mary menu (The St. Regis being home to the creation of the Bloody Mary in NY in 1934) earlier this year, it feels like the glowing new bar is now in full form with the launch of their extensive Martini Menu on November 18. Partnering with my beloved SF Jazz and cocktail garnish company, Filthy, they threw a big jazz shebang to roll out the menu, complete with cocktail demos by pioneering bartender and author Tony Abou-Ganim, who made his name in San Francisco in the 1990s at Harry Denton’s Starlight Room (below under the Beacon Grand), where he created his famed Cable Car cocktail.
While sampling comforting bar bites like muhammara dip or panko-crusted short rib bomba oozing Mt. Tam cheese, there is a martini to suit every palate, from gin (the OG martini) to those who prefer a vodka martini, lemon twists to olives, shaken or stirred. Whispers of London’s great Duke’s (arguably the greatest martini bar in the world) are on the menu, though there are no tableside carts. Marriott International’s director of beverage Gary Gruver created the menu with Abou-Ganim consulting, involved in training and education.
A range of London Dry or New Western gins are on offer, in degrees of dryness and “dirty” levels, including “Filthy” with a delightfully piquant hit of Filthy’s olive brine. I’m about many styles of gin, so there are multiple variations to love here, including lovely Japanese and Scottish renditions, while 50:50 martinis blessedly let you go lower proof as needed. The addition of this thoughtful, extensive martini menu makes the reborn St. Regis feel more like a destination bar for locals, too.
// 125 3rd Street, www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/sfoxr-the-st-regis-san-francisco/dining
Rooftop Delights with a View: Rise Over Run, Union Square/Tenderloin
In some ways, I’m reluctant to write about the fab new rooftop bar, Rise Over Run in the new LINE Hotel, because I don’t want it to be as mobbed as other rooftop bars (like nearby Charmaine’s or KAIYO Rooftop). But alongside the LINE’s new restaurant downstairs, Tenderheart (reviewed here), Rise opened October 14, 2022, on the hotel’s rooftop with brilliant views over downtown SF, heat lamps, intimate corners and open spaces punctuated by fire pits. Plants, trees and fruit trees grow in the center, imparting a lush feel. Even better, on my initial visits, it has been chill with space for all. I expect that may not last but hopefully standing crowds get relegated to an area they might use for standing patrons, ideally leaving tables and the indoor, glass walled atrium with bar for reservations and walk-ins.
I’ll get into chef Joe Hou’s shareable food later this month in my December Eats Checklist (have fun with Korean-spiced fried chicken thighs dipped in three different sauces). On the drink side — alongside some choice pours, like 2019 Forlorn Hope Queen of the Sierra Zinfandel/Barbera blend or gorgeous Sawahime Junmai Ginjo sake by the glass — Danny Louie’s cocktails are where it’s at. Some flavor profiles are super subtle, like dill-infused Lillet in The Connection (more dill, please!), playing with rum, amaro, pear, coconut and citrus. Tuk Tuk Julius is bold and playful, as if Orange Julius opened in Thailand and went gourmet with beautifully balanced rum, vodka, Thai tea, mandarin, citrus and cream.
// 33 Turk Street, www.thelinehotel.com/san-francisco/restaurants-bars/rise-over-run
Glowing New Dogpatch Bar & Agave Respite: Bar Piccino, Dogpatch
The glowing Bar Piccino opened in Dogpatch on the backside of Piccino restaurant August 2022. While I had a solid, if not memorable, brunch at Piccino since reopening a few months ago (I’ve dined there sporadically since it originally opened in 2006), I recently had a rich experience at Bar Piccino. Meeting new friends and old, it was a warm communal space gathering at the Carrara marble and Monterey cypress bar on Italian leather barstools (backed by a standing bar, a standing parklet and intimate, tiny lounge).
Service is key: I’d go wherever bar manager Andi Miller is bartending (more recently running the bar at Third Rail), while her love of agave spirits (recalling her days as lead bartender at Arguello, working with cocktail pioneer Enrique Sanchez) means again she has a back bar of unique and rare tequila, mezcal, raicilla, sotol, alongside a range of spirits. House cocktails (the integrated Cloudview is bracing and lovely with coconut-washed gin, apricot, lemon, bergamot, honey, bitters with a Champagne float) and amped up classics (like Andi’s Negroni featuring mezcal, her delicious house vermouth blend, pineapple rum, strawberry-infused aperitivo) showcase Miller’s balanced hand with drinks, while housemade syrups and shrubs feature produce from Piccino’s Healdsburg farm. I didn’t get to try any bites from chef Daniella Banchero, but changing crudo and local anchovy fritti dipped in pickled green tomato “piccata” aioli called to me. This is a win for the neighborhood and another destination Dogpatch bar.
// 1003 Minnesota Street, www.barpiccino.com
Whisk(e)y Library, Live Piano & History: Beacon Grand, Union Square
The historic (since 1928) Sir Francis Drake hotel off Union Square changed hands in pandemic and reopened earlier in 2022 as the Beacon Grand hotel. Thankfully, they’ve gone with a sense of history and beauty in restoring the grand staircase, opening Beacon Lounge, and a wood-paneled whisk(e)y library on the mezzanine under lofty, dramatic ceilings with live music around the grand piano. They also are working to restore the historic Harry Denton’s Starlight Room atop the hotel with its stunning views, wisely consulting with Tony Abou-Ganim, a pioneering barman who ran the bar at Harry Denton’s in the 1990s and created his famed Cable Car cocktail there. The last remodel gave it an odd, white, clubby vibe so here’s hoping for some of the dark charm of the OG Denton’s to return with those spectacular SF and Bay views.
Downstairs at the Beacon Lounge, beverage manager and “Whiskey Steward” Meg Benshalom is running the bar and house barrel-aged spirits program, something that can feel dated to longtimers in the cocktail renaissance. But she’s pushing it into fun territory beyond what has been trod the past 15-ish years: think global barrel aged cocktails like Mexican whiskey backed by clarified lime; milk and honey whisky from Israel with apricot, pomegranate, thyme and lemon bitters; a Route 66-inspired bourbon cocktail. Some of these spirituous cocktails run a touch sweet, but each are thoughtfully layered, while there is an additional list of drinks running beyond the booze-forward. The extensive whisk(e)y selection does not suffer from the markup necessary at most independent bars given its hotel backing, so Beacon is a “secret” tip for locals who want to sip whiskies at a good price in a historic setting, newly refreshed (another pro tip: don’t miss that black truffle dark chocolate popcorn, an ideal bar snack with whiskies).
// 450 Powell Street, https://beacongrand.com
Cheeky-Fun Christmas & Chill Space: Trade Routes, Polk Gulch
Remembering a winter’s punch this January at Trade Routes, which opened Summer 2021 on bar crawl mecca Polk Street, I returned this month for their Christmas cheer. Co-owners Ryan McCargar, Chen-Chen Huo and Jay Ryoo have taken to decorating the place themselves for a second year, leading to all manner of magical, fully-decked-out fun from stuffed reindeer to a super-cute, furry white owl on the bar. Tinsel and giant holiday ornaments dangle from the ceiling while house favorites include Frosty the Slushie. On the drier, less sweet side, From Cranberry, With Love goes the cranberry-mezcal-lemon route dotted with fresh cranberries, while Cheeky Cheer is an easy drinker of gin, Drambuie, rosemary and lemon. Drinks are straightforward but the setting and service are all good cheer in this welcoming neighborhood bar.
// 1750 Polk Street, www.traderoutesbar.com
