The best bars and cafés San Francisco & Bay Area

In front of the BART station, a brick building where you can come for a drink or a very good pizza or a big salad while listening to a live band. The program extends all week long, and is rather jazz oriented. Its main asset? The beer garden style outdoor patio, heated in winter and sunny in summer. The best place to remake the world while sipping your glass. On the menu: delicious craft beers, alternative drinks and good bottles of wine.

On Hayes Valley's bustling square, you'll find this little wooden shack that offers a wide selection of cold-pressed juices (often from vegetables), and is a must for locals. After a jog or for an energizing and sunny break, succumb to the delicious green elixirs, cleverly dosed and packed with vitamins. Ginger, turmeric or even celery juices are yours! Last but not least: in addition to being good, these juices are excellent for your health. They are even particularly recommended for people with a fragile liver.

It is a real institution in San Francisco and one of the favorite bars of the locals. The specialty of the Buena Vista is theIrish coffee, invented here in 1952 by the bar's owner Jack Koeppler and Stanton Delaplane, a journalist from the San Francisco Chronicle. A mixture of hot coffee, whiskey and cream, the recipe has never changed, but has spread all over the world. And the waiters of the Buena Vista Café have served, according to the house accounts, more than 30 million Irish Coffee. To be tasted in its original version!

This is the historic North Beach bar, located next to Lawrence Ferlinghetti's legendary City Lights Bookstore. Founded in 1948, it was frequented by a number of Beat Generation celebrities including Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Neal Cassady, as well as Bob Dylan and Francis Ford Coppola. Cosy decor with walls lined with paintings, posters and photos. Perfect to immerse yourself in the bohemian atmosphere of the early 60s. To complete the picture, the pedestrian alley shared with City Lights is called Jack Kerouac Alley.

Opened in 1956 by the Giotta family, Caffe Trieste is a must in North Beach. The coffee is roasted on the spot in the purest Italian tradition, it is certainly one of the best espressos in the city. Jack Kerouac and Allan Ginsberg frequented the place in the 60s and it was here that Francis Ford Coppola wrote the script for the movie The Godfather. San Franciscans take Trieste by storm day and night, so try to sit among them to share the Italian atmosphere of the neighborhood!

Bourbon & Branch is a cocktail bar. It offers a unique experience, immersing you in the atmosphere of the 1920s, during the Prohibition era. This speakeasy, which operated illegally at this address from 1921 to 1933, transports you back in time with its period decor and atmosphere. Please note that Bourbon & Branch has a few rules to maintain the "speakeasy" atmosphere: it's forbidden to use your cell phone, stand at the bar, ask for a "cosmo", take photos and make noise when leaving the establishment. Cocktail enthusiasts will be delighted to discover the bar's selection of quality spirits, as well as the mixology courses offered at the Drinks Academy.

Here is a bar as we like them, in the heart of Haight. Discreet entrance that opens on a sea of red around a horseshoe-shaped bar. The decoration is old-fashioned but funny, a surprising mix of old Persian fresco and American style juke-box from the 1950's very well supplied with old school sounds. Finally, a relaxed atmosphere perfect to have a cocktail, then another one and to mingle quite naturally with the regulars of the house... Bonus: a real old school jukebox full of good old pop/rock classics!

Other North Beach institution, Tosca Café is a old school bar with white catering, jukeboxes and retro cocktails. Apparently Sean Penn is a habit when he is in San Francisco, just like Coppola. A history-steeped establishment that would imagine being the headquarters of the North Beach mafia.

A must in San Francisco with an extraordinary panoramic view of the city! On the 19th floor of the sumptuous Mark Hopkins Hotel (Intercontinental), 100 martini-based cocktails, with a jazz and blues concert background. On Sundays, an excellent brunch with champagne and music (prices are also high). This is where the wives of the sailors of the Pacific fleet used to come to see the departure of the ships in the bay when they were leaving for the war against Japan. Today, it is a famous place for marriage proposals.

A relaxed atmosphere in this bar, which is not a trendy bar in Marina (no evening dresses and last night-phone). Relatively young clientele.

This small facility with a soapweed bar is actually one of the typical places of night at Mission. A young and artist, a relaxed relaxed atmosphere, old black and white films on old televisions and it's the mission underground that reappears. Happy hour from 16 am to 18 pm.

A charming little café where the local surfers come to enjoy the free Wi-Fi, with roasted coffee on site.

In this tiny coffee you will find fresh fresh fruit juices. Some tables outside, and some chairs inside: mainly to take.

The red window of this lovely café houses a few tables on the terrace where you can enjoy a drink in the afternoon. Just a short distance away from the Bandwidth streets of North Beach, Caffè Capriccio offers calm and quiet in the area. Free Wi-Fi.

Adjacent to the Foreign Cinema restaurant (see «Dining» in San Francisco), Laszlo Bar welcomes a different DJ every evening. A young and trendy atmosphere in a chic industrial setting. On the mezzanine, small tables and chairs ideal to take a look at the manga projections that move on the bottom wall.

Champagne lovers are here for a sparkling evening in an intimate and chic setting. More than 30 vintages served by glass, bottle or cocktails. A young and trendy atmosphere is not too late on the weekend because the tail is long.

This tea salon will delight amateurs caffeine in the area. A quiet establishment, slightly far away from the go-ahead on Castro. There are all kinds of delicious teas. A little expensive, however.

Popular coffee on Fillmore, Royal Ground Coffee serves as a café in the corner. It takes a few hours to surf the Internet (free) and take a quick break before continuing the day.

A trendy and very popular cafe from the locals who buy their favourite coffees locally. It comes from everywhere (coffee): Ethiopia, Kenya, Honduras, Brazil, etc. You'll only have an embarrassment of choice. All in a young, very new mission.