Summer is at its apex in August with a wealth of notable new and longtime bars around San Francisco. Here are six under-the-radar bars to visit now, ranging from a reborn dive bar to craft Peruvian cocktails. Read more →
Tag: Cocktails
Colombian, Italian, Xian Chinese, Nikkei Peruvian & More: 10 SF Restaurants Standouts of the Month
KAIYO Restaurant & Bar’s nigiri. Photo by Virginia Miller. These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from modern Colombian to an Italian tavola calda/osteria. Alongside my latest restaurant reviews — Alora (Mediterranean), Sonoma County eats, five fine dining standouts — these ten are also worth visiting, with last month’s standouts here. As always, I’ve personally vetted and visited each: Prospect’s whipped feta garlic dip.… Read more →
American Whiskey Magazine 20 City Guide: Restaurants, Bars, Hotels & Distilleries
Published in American Whiskey Magazine Spring 2024 in the print issue, a glimpse of the article: Read more →
Stookey’s New Blue Room: A live music retro bar duo that ties together SF’s past and present
Stookey’s Blue Room cocktail. Photo by Virginia Miller. Weaned on films of the 1930–1960s as a child, I was a martinis and jazz girl long before I could drink. I dreamed of the kind of 1930s bars and 1940s supperclubs I saw in those movies, teeming with icy martinis, jazz and a beautifully-dressed clientele. When Tim Stookey, his wife Leslie Cole… Read more →
With shimmering SF views, the iconic Starlite is reborn atop the 21st floor of The Beacon Grand
Starlite pre-sunset. Photo by Virginia Miller. Since 1928, San Francisco has sparkled and shimmered from the 21st floor of Starlite, an iconic San Francisco bar reborn February 2, 2024, atop The Beacon Grand. Formerly the historic Sir Francis Drake, the hotel got a massive remodel and rebrand in 2022. Its shining star until 2011 was the legendary Harry Denton’s Starlight Room.… Read more →
Meals for a Winter’s Day: 7 Restaurant Standouts of the Month
These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from dim sum to traditional Irish or Russian food. Alongside the latest full restaurant reviews — why SF is the U.S.’ best food city, The Halfway Club, Nick’s Cove, Movida/Bar Gemini/Stoa, Canela, Chotto Matte, 2023’s top new restaurants and bars — these seven are also worth visiting, with last month’s standouts here (as always, I’ve personally vetted and visited each one): Read more →
A new neighborhood hang comes to San Francisco: The Halfway Club
Many a happy night was spent at Broken Record over a decade ago with my friends and family, playing pool, sipping a dram from their affordable whiskey list, and filling up on excellent bar food. After closing in September 2022, I couldn’t have predicted that friends Ethan Terry and Greg Quinn would end up taking over the space and opening The Halfway Club, their dream long in the making. Read more →
Cocktail lounges with killer food are on the rise: Movida, Bar Gemini, Stoa
Movida Lounge’s prettiest cocktail, the Chilosa: green chile-infused gin, cilantro, lime, coconut, gol gav zaban borage blue flowers. Photo by Virginia Miller. San Francisco has long been rife with world’s best cocktail bars: it was one of three cities, alongside New York and New Orleans, that introduced the world to cocktails in the 1800s, after all. Then SF and NYC led… Read more →
Where to Eat & Drink Now: 5 Newcomers or Reborn Spots for Food & Cocktails
Prik Hom’s miang grilled shrimp. Photo by Virginia Miller. These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from cocktail havens to SF’s first Georgian restaurant. Alongside October’s full restaurant reviews — SSAL (Michelin-starred Korean), Molti Amici in Healdsburg, modern Turkish Dalida in the Presidio, Absinthe turns 25, all-day Mexican breakfasts and homey meals at El Mil Amores — these five are also worth visiting, with… Read more →
Yokai: Japanese food and vinyl records come to life in SoMa
Yokai is an ode to jazz with quality 1970s JBL Pro Series studio speakers and sound-proofing, making music the soul of the lofty space that was home to Salt House for years. The steel, brick and wood-lined bar and restaurant on Mission Street opened just last month, adding a feather in the caps of Marc Zimmerman, Ben Jorgensen and team behind Gozu, one of the great modern Japanese restaurants in the nation since 2019: Read more →