San Francisco Bar Tour

I’ve been living in San Francisco for about 20 years and visited over 350 bars during that time. I actually made a list of every bar that I can remember and that is a fairly accurate number. Many of those have closed, even before this pandemic, and most have changed over time. On July 3 last year I rode my bike to some of the bars, or the locations where they used to be, that I liked at one time or another. It was just to break from the usual routes I ride in the city and to collect photos of the state the bars were in 4 months into the pandemic.

A few blocks to the southwest of my apartment, I made my first stop.

The Geary Club is, or was, one of the true dive bars in San Francisco. It’s a small cave-like place with no sign. Depending on when you visit or who you are, you’ll think this is the best bar you’ve ever been to or the worst. June, the woman who had owned this bar for decades, sold it in 2019. It opened under new ownership just a few months before the pandemic.

Then I rode southwest on Market Street. I used to come here for a short while during its early days in 2010.

And around the corner from Churchill is Blackbird. I keep a database in my head of all the bars that don’t have TVs and this bar is on that list. No TV = no sports.

Then just a few steps farther down Market St is Lucky 13. I don’t remember my very first San Francisco bar but this place was definitely one of the first. They have a great beer selection, free popcorn, and you can still get most pints for $5 or less. It still feels like it’s the 90s inside.

Now on Haight St. Toronado probably has the best beer selection in San Francisco. I used to get haircuts at a salon around the corner and I would have a pint of Pliny the Elder before my appointment which would make me just sociable enough to make it through the haircut.

Few blocks away on Page St. This bar used to be called Chances. I remember their ads in the SF Weekly — “Not every neighborhood bar is in your neighborhood.”

Back on Haight St.

Farther west on Haight St, near Golden Gate Park. This was one of the bars I could bring my bike into.

Stopped to eat a sandwich then rode through the park and out to Judah just a few blocks from the beach.

This dive looks and feels like I am in another place and time.

Then across Golden Gate Park to the Inner Richmond. This is another one of the first bars I visited when I moved here in the 90s.

In the Mission district. This used to be called Albion. I used to come here sporadically, whenever I was in this neighborhood and wanted to bring food into a bar where the beer is cheap and nobody knows my name. Then one day the bartender started pouring a beer as soon as I walked in and had it ready by the time I reached the bar, taking away my anonymity.

Just a few steps from Delirium.

After my first trip to New Orleans in 2009, Abita Amber became my favorite beer. Dalva was the only bar in SF that had it on tap. Once I found that out, this became my go-to bar for several years. And they were doing the bar-within-a-bar thing way before it became a thing.

Uptown is another bar that reminds me of 90s San Francisco.

On the corner of 19th and Lexington is Wildhawk which opened in 2016 in the space that used to be Lexington — one of the last SF lesbian bars.

On the Corner of Shotwell St and 20th.

The story goes that there used to be a phone company across the street and this is where its employees would go after work. Nice mellow dive with a good CD jukebox.

The Phone Booth, 1398 South Van Ness Ave

Farther south on Mission St near 29th is where Iron & Gold used to be.

I’ve only been here a few times during its last days near the end of 2018. The building owner did not renew the lease because they no longer wanted a bar in the building. Now there’s a hideous nail salon.

I really enjoyed my few visits here. All of the drinks on their cocktail menu are named after their regulars.

Across the street from Iron & Gold is Royal Cuckoo.

A nice dark bar with a turntable and sometimes a keyboard player.

About a mile south on Mission St is St Mary’s Pub. I first visited about 10 years ago then forgot about it. It has a new owner now and looks a lot nicer. And the pints are cheap.

About 3 miles farther south on Mission St, just before crossing into Daly City, is The Connection.

This is another dive bar that makes me feel like I’m in another place and time.

Few blocks back up Mission then a right on Geneva is Broken Record. If I lived nearby, I probably would’ve been a regular here.

Several miles away near the eastern shore of the peninsula is The Sea Star.

The first time I was here, I liked the light of the setting sun coming in through the front windows. Additional floors have been added onto the buildings across the street which now completely block the sunlight of this hour.

Another nice dive that reminds me of the 90s. I can bring my bike inside.

Now on Grant Ave in Chinatown. I’ve been here a few times about 15 years ago. It was a mellow place with older Chinese bartenders and mostly Asian patrons. Anthony Bourdain changed all that.

For many years until about 2008, there used to be a bar here called the San Francisco Brewing Company. They had rotating taps of beers they brewed in the basement and almost all of them were awful. I don’t know how they lasted so long.

Comstock opened in 2010 shortly after my first trip to New Orleans and it is the first place in San Francisco where I had a good sazerac.

Despite its fame, Vesuvio is a surprisingly pleasant place to visit once in a while. It can get touristy but it’s still popular with locals.

I only know about Sweetie’s because I used to work nearby. It’s somewhat hidden on a residential street few blocks away from Fishermans Wharf. Mostly locals.

Another hidden place on a residential street near the Marina is The Brazen Head. It’s a restaurant with a small bar populated with regulars who “haven'’t been east of Van Ness in 2 years.”

This place has closed, reopened, closed again, reopened… several times. It has many gaudy couches none of which are comfortable.

Since its opening in 2012, Hi-Lo has been my go-to bar for every purpose. It has appeared on several Best SF Bars for First Dates lists. This is the last bar I visited before all bars were ordered to close on March 15, 2020.

On Bush St near Taylor St is Peacekeeper which opened in 2019.

A dive bar called Bacchus Kirk used to be in that space. It looks totally different now and you’d never know there used to be a dive bar. Although I like the new bar with its retractable ceiling, I would prefer to have Bacchus Kirk. Just about every new bar is a bespoke cocktail bar and dives have become a rarity.

There used to be a bar called Yong San Lounge on this corner of Bush and Taylor. Stookey’s opened about 6 years ago. It was a nice addition to my choice of bars in the neighborhood. The look is art deco and they specialize in post-Prohibition era cocktails. No TVs.

Used to come here occasionally on my way home from work when I moved to this neighborhood in 2007.

This is just a block from my apartment. The kitchen was closed for many years. I preferred it that way. Back then you could either sit at the bar or the dining room. And before they built restrooms in the hotel lobby, the restroom inside an empty hotel room was set aside for customers. The bar had an interesting crowd — a mix of European tourists and local art school students.

And that was the end of my ride.

I have ridden past many of those bars since that day last July. Some of them have closed permanently, some remain closed indefinitely, and some have done cocktail-to-go and/or built outdoor seating areas.

I hope to step back inside someday.

San Francisco Bar Tour

Year of the Raven

March 17, 2020

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