Favorite Drinks

I don’t include bars in my list of monthly restaurants (even if some of them serve food), so I thought it might be helpful to include a separate list of my go-to drink spots. I’ll update this list as I find more favorites.

• Union Street Larder (Russian Hill — for wine and charcuterie)
• China Live (North Beach — for bar seating and cocktails with a few dumplings on the side)
• The Riddler (Hayes — for champagne and chocolate pot du creme)
• Anina (Hayes — for the most sophisticated punch bowls)
• Wildhalk (Mission — for when you want to be able to hear your friends talk — but order a g&t, their special cocktails are bad)
• Trick Dog (Mission — for inventive cocktails in an overly crowded room)
• Third Rail (Dogpatch — for a dark room with delicious drinks)
• R.I.P. Two Sisters Bar & Books (for the best cocktail classes ever, sadly closed at the end of May)