The Lush

In one of the more resilient stories of the year, bar owner Kevin Diedrich still managed to open his new bar project, KONA’S STREET MARKET just days after a devastating electrical fire at his other bar, Pacific Cocktail Haven (PCH). When I saw the opening on Instagram, I was…

We had quite a bit of news swirl around in the bar world this past week, some good, and some terrible, like the fire that struck PCH very early Monday morning (three businesses on the 500 block of Sutter were damaged in the electrical fire). Fortunately, no one was harmed,…

A moment has arrived that many of us have been dreading for years: THE STUD is ending its 33 years of residence at 399 9th Street and Harrison, a victim of COVID-19’s harsh sentence for all bars and clubs in our city right now, a pandemic-related closure that has…

Call it a booze miracle: California’s Alcoholic Beverage Control just lightened up on some regulations during this stay-at-home order, and I can assure you a number of SF Bay Area bartenders are about to launch some very clever beverage service, coming to a takeout window or delivery service ASAP.…

¡Hola, hermosa! Chef Nelson German of alaMar Kitchen & Bar has just opened SOBRE MESA in downtown Oakland, an Afro-Latino cocktail lounge that is a spacious, tropical oasis inspired by the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and other Latin countries. Chef German says he wants guests to feel like they’…

I am SO excited to go check out this new bar in Oakland, VIRIDIAN, which is like a mymilligram neon dream bar come to life! Soon and Soon Studio (Anna Lee and Brandon Jew, of Mister Jiu’s, Moongate Lounge, and Mamahuhu) designed the space, reminiscent of Wong Kar-wai’s…

I’ve been admiring the disco fern bar aesthetic of NIGHTINGALE on Instagram for a few weeks, and this new bar from Future Bars (Bourbon & Branch, Pagan Idol, Local Edition, Rickhouse, The Devil’s Acre) is now open in the former Gitane in the Financial District. The two-level bar…

There are some new bars where you can get your holiday cheers on: now open on Polk in the former Bullitt is MACONDRAY from Aaron Paul (previously Daniel Patterson’s Alta Group) and Jake Roberts (Harper & Rye). Look for cocktails and New England-inspired seafood and bar bites (there are…

Just before I went down the rabbit hole of pure work insanity for a month, I had a farewell to my life night of cocktails at the new incarnation of OVER PROOF, the intimate bar above ABV in the Mission. You may recall the owners kept rebooting the theme and…

Last Friday, I attended a preview of the new Fort Point Beer Company taproom, FORT POINT VALENCIA, and it’s quite a looker (and taster). You won’t recognize the former St. James Brasserie space—Fort Point Beer Company’s creative director, Dina Dobkin, created a sleek, stylish place, with…