Our required Indian Summer has finally thank god come to SF as of Sunday, and while it's a bit cooler today, the warmth is expected to spike back up to 80 this weekend (just in time for Folsom Street Fair). Who knows how long it will stick around, but now is the time to take advantage of our city's plethora of great cocktail spots and enjoy a frozen cocktail or five.
Not being known as a particularly warm and sunny part of the world, we are sadly short on outdoor and rooftop bars at which to sip these drinks in the sun though there are a handful, as well as some to the north and east. But when you leave work upset that you spent one of our precious few, gorgeously summery days indoors, you can make a beeline for one the drinks below to set you right and back in a summertime mood.
Brewcade
Guys: It's called the Grape Drank, and if you've been to New Orleans, that should get you excited. Although, unlike the New Orleans version made with Everclear that is the preferred breakfast of many a bachelor party, this one is low-octane, made in the slushy machine with a combination of red and white wine (sparkling grapefruit wine, dry Riesling, and Brachetto). Better to keep your wits about you as kill at Altered Beast. Jay Barmann
2200 Market Street at Sanchez
El Techo de Lolinda
Before I met my husband, I turned my nose up at piña coladas in favor of what I imagined to be more "grown-up" or "sophisticated" fare. On our second date, he ordered a piña. When I snickered, he looked at me and called me a "too-cool poser," because, he said, "piña coladas are fucking good." That ability to cut through bullshit and see truth is why I married that weirdo — and piña coladas are fucking good! My favorite is at El Techo — it's got roots in the same classic blender drink you pay too much to have delivered poolside in Vegas, but a trio of "aged rums" replaces the usual crap rum you find in these types of drinks, their coconut cream is cut with coconut milk to make the drink a little bit lighter, and the pineapple juice is more of a whisper than its typical shout. And you get to drink in a lovely rooftop setting! -- Eve Batey
2518 Mission Street between 21st and 22nd Streets
Liholiho Yacht Club
This sorta Hawaiian sister restaurant of Nopa, led by chef Ravi Kapur, delivered on lots of anticipation when it opened in 2015. But what's the best way to wash down stuff like beef tongue steam buns and housemade Spam? A broad selection of tropical drinks, a favorite thereof being the frozen Skipper. That's Rhum Barbancourt 8yr, Skipper Rum, Lazzaroni Amaretto, pineapple and lemon. It's as tart and boozy as it looks. Caleb Pershan
871 Sutter Street between Jones and Leavenworth
The Last Mango in Paris. Photo courtesy of the restaurant
Louie's Gen-Gen Room
The fun new cocktail and snack lounge in the basement of Liholiho Yacht Club, which features some creative drinks and really delicious food (you can make dinner of it so long as you like cold seafood, and waffles), also has a wall mural of palm trees in back to add some tropical flair. Among the cocktail offerings is the Last Mango in Paris, which combines Lillet, Pierre Ferrand cognac,
mango, and lemon, and is served over crushed ice. Jay Barmann
871 Sutter Street between Jones and Leavenworth, downstairs
Pagan Idol
The still newish Tiki bar venture from the team behind Bourbon & Branch and Tradition has brought rummy goodness to the FiDi, with plenty of crushed-ice and frozen blended drinks to remind you of that fictional Polynesia upon which Tiki is based. Pictured above are the Banana Life and the Bird of Paradise, but go ahead, try anything that sounds cooling enough. Just don't have more than two, because: headache. Jay Barmann
375 Bush Street
Photo: Facebook
Palm House
The Marina's newest tropical-drinks spot, Palm House, does a piña colada and a five-spice Dark and Stormy, but you have to try the adult beverage that comes out of their slushy machine. It's a daiquiri, with white and spiced rum, lime juice, and your choice of passion fruit, prickly pear, or strawberry, and because it's the Marina you can opt for an extra float of Kraken for $3. Jay Barmann
2032 Union Street
Smuggler's Cove
There are a lot of drinks served over crushed ice at Smuggler's Cove, including their proper piña colada, which could belong on this list. But how about one of the strongest and most classic Tiki drinks, the Zombie, made with three different rums, falernum, absinthe (or Pernod), grapefruit, lime, grenadine, and cinnamon syrup. It's one of the shining examples of how Smuggler's Cove does Tiki perfectly right, and never too sweet, and on a freezing cold summer evening in San Francisco you can hide away in there, sip on a Zombie, and pretend you're in Waikiki in 1955. Just don't drink more than two. Jay Barmann
650 Gough Street at McAllister
The Treasury
One of the Financial District's newest watering holes is this high-ceilinged, kind of fancy spot in what used to be home to a bank, and a high-end menswear store. The Treasury offers an ever-changing adult slushy option from their slushy machine, which could be anything from a guava daquiri to a Spanish Fly (gin, lemon, honey, rosé). And the place has big windows to let the remaining daylight in when you rush over here at happy hour to begin erasing the day. Jay Barmann
200 Bush Street at Sansome
The horchata shake. Photo: Facebook
Wes Burger 'n' More
You may not want anything too strong to wash down your burger and fries at this new Mission burger depot, but they've got a low-octane boozy milkshake option: the Strawberry Buttermilk featuring Lo-Fi gentian amaro, and the Horchata milkshake, which can also be spiked. (They also do a boozy version of a cherry-lime rickey, if you don't want dairy.) What better way to have a burger and shake while still getting a buzz on, post-park day. Jay Barmann
2240 Mission Street at 18th
Related: The 16 Coolest Outdoor And Patio Bars In SF
