San Francisco is a city of geeks and boundary pushers, who study, love, and know their drink (and its history) inside and out. The city has birthed classic cocktails such as the Pisco Punch, movements like Tiki (where the first Trader Vic’s opened in neighboring Oakland in the 1930s), and the famed Tommy’s Margarita. San Francisco has been a drinking town since its inception, host to a silly wealth of incredible bars, including a few dozen legendary dive bar classics from 1851 (Old Ship Saloon) to 1968 (Specs’ Twelve Adler Museum Cafe). Here are recommendations for five standout bars, delicious places to eat, distilleries to visit, and places to stay in San Francisco, showing us how hospitality is done.
5 PLACES TO EAT
DALIDA
The Presidio is one of those only-in-San Francisco parks: eucalyptus forests you can get lost in, former navy barracks turned into stately homes, 1,491 acres of manicured parks and wild nature right in the city with killer views of the bay and Golden Gate Bridge peeking through the trees. In the middle of all this is the city’s best Turkish restaurant, Dalida, serving modern takes — with local ingredients — on dishes from chef Sayat Ozyilmaz’s Istanbul roots. He runs Dalida with wife and chef Laura. Garden-fresh spice market cocktails, wines, and a rare anise spirit collection, including Turkish raki, round out the feasts in this warm, inviting space.
HK LOUNGE BISTRO
When Hong Kong Lounge II
