San Francisco always has been a drinking town, and 2024 brought a collection of cool new watering holes in which to wet one's whistle — and one where you can also get your dance on.
While some folks may be trying out healthier lifestyles or opting for lower-ABV imbibing these days, neighborhood bars are and always will be essential "third spaces" for gathering and unwinding. And around the city we saw some great new spots debut in 2024, five of them with food that's as good as the drinks. Check out our top picks of the year below.
Bar 49
Taking over a corner spot in the Castro that has been long cursed with high turnover, Hi Tops alum Colm O'Brien appears to have staying power with Bar 49. The bar-with-food debuted this summer as a wine and beer bar, but it will shortly become a full cocktail bar, with a liquor license that is days or weeks from coming through. The beer and wine selection is thoughtful and on-trend, and the food — especially the beer-battered fried fish, either in slider form or as fish and chips — is solid. This flatiron-shaped space at Market and 16th, once the longtime home of Bagdad Cafe and it's been a dozen things since, has begged for something like this to come along for years, giving the neighborhood another watering hole but with a mature adult vibe.
2295 Market Street
The Bar at Prelude
Tucked in to the gorgeously designed space at Prelude, in the renovated hotel The Jay next to Embarcadero Center, is an equally well designed and cozy cocktail spot that is destined to become a downtown oasis. Bar Director Franco Bilbaeno, who was previously part of the opening team at Angler, has created a cool list of house cocktails that places a selection of zero-proof drinks front and center (don't miss the Sugar Cane, which is a decent approximation of agricole rhum). In a nod to the restaurant's Southern bent, Bilbaeno has featured a Sazerac and a Vieux Carre, and under the House Imagination section, he's got some whimsical creations, like the Shortstack (pancake-washed Old Forester Rye, Park VSOP, pecan, maple, and absinthe), and the Ramos gin fizz-inspired Magnolia Fizz, with gin, roasted banana, citrus, dairy, egg white, and soda.
333 Battery Street
Saison Cellar & Wine Bar
Sommelier Mark Bright's beautiful, Burgundy-inspired wine bar offshoot of his restaurant Saison, down the street on Townsend, is both a great date spot and has become a clubhouse of sorts for wine lovers in the neighborhood (an actual membership "cellar" is also a couple doors down). The glass and bottle lists run the gamut from very affordable Alsatian whites to baller flights of big-name Bordeaux grand crus and Burgundies. "Affordable luxury" is the aim here, and the food menu even includes an ode to Michael Mina with his signature caviar and avocado parfait.
234 Townsend Street
The Halfway Club
Early this year, industry veterans Ethan Terry and Greg Quinn (Annabelle’s Bar and Bistro, The Alembic) debuted The Halfway Club at the egde of Crocker-Amazon, in the former Broken Record space on Geneva Avenue. It's now the coolest of neighborhood haunts, with some 70s-inspired decor and craveable bar snacks (mmm, toasted ravioli and Cincinatti chili fries), with a name that harkens back to the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, when construction workers who fell from the bridge but were saved by safety nets became part of an informal group called the Half Way to Hell Club. Also transcending its dive appeal: some very good drinks, including, for the winter months, mulled sangria.
1166 Geneva Avenue
Lilah
Low-ABV and no-ABV cocktails are having a moment, and Lilah — the new offshoot of Causwells in the adjacent space in the Presidio movie theater on Chestnut Street — is meeting that moment with style. Bar manager Elmer Mejicanos has crafted a menu that's both inventive and cheeky, utilizing the latest in low-ABV spirits and quality ingredients to craft cocktails that would fit in on any regular-ABV menu. And for anyone who loves a slushy or shaved ice dessert, there's a whole section of the menu devoted to kakagori drinks — basically shaved ice with booze on top, but these are well balanced and unique, and never sickly sweet. There's also a great menu of Asian-inspired snacks from Causwells chef Adam Rosenblum, including some yummy spiced lime-leaf peanuts and a traditional pork and pate banh mi.
2336 Chestnut Street
Zhuzh
It feels like forever since a new dance bar opened in San Francisco, and Zhuzh scratches that itch in a part of town that could use a break from bro-tastic watering holes. Zhuzh debuted earlier this year off of Polk Street on California, and it's quickly become a go-to spot for those nights when you don't want a quiet cocktail but you don't want to be in a big club either. A selection of tap cocktails make for quick pours when the bar's packed, and inspired by little neighborhood spots in Europe, there will often be a DJ spinning in back, whether it's a Thursday night or a Sunday afternoon. Add to all that it's a laid back, mixed crowd where straights and queers party together (Sundays feature a drag party called Too Gay to Function), and that's as it should be in modern SF.
1548 California Street
Related: The 10 Best New Restaurants In San Francisco of 2024
