San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
These standouts offer delicious drinks, a fun vibe plus a little something extra
One way to look at the year 2021 in the Bay Area is by looking at the plight of its bars.
When the year started out, virtually all bars were shuttered. It was a dispiriting time, as California trudged through a new lockdown. Unlike restaurants, bars — unless they served food — couldn’t offer in-person service, or even sell takeout cocktails. they dance to DJ sets under the dance floor’s purple-lit disco ball. You won’t find any of that fancy, ultralight-crystal stemware here; wines are served in tiny Bar Part Time-branded glasses and, in a cheeky move, bartenders pour all the way to the brim. All the wines served here are strictly “zero-zero,” the most extreme form of natural winemaking in which no chemical inputs — not even the commonly used preservative sulfur dioxide — are added to the wines. Those who appreciate this approach and welcome the tangy, wild, fermented flavors that often attend zero-zero wines will find plenty to love.
Slowly, the situation improved. By the time California announced open season for all adults to receive COVID-19 vaccines in April, the bar scene here was creeping back to life, with neighborhood haunts welcoming back their regulars. As summer approached and we began to reacquaint ourselves with our social lives, a crop of new, exciting drinking destinations had opened their doors, showcases for the creative talents of many of the Bay Area’s best bartenders.
Surveying the year’s openings now, it’s clear that 2021 was a banner year for the region’s bars. Some established ownership groups expanded — the team behind Drexl opened Sandbar; the Trick Dog folks opened Chezchez — and some long-promising figures finally got a spot to call their own, like Elmer Mejicanos at Red Window. Several trends appeared throughout the roster of newbies, all of them positive. There were tons of low-alcohol spritzes. Plenty of natural wine. A of mezcal (and just about every place has its own take on a paloma). Tinned fish, like anchovies and sardines, continue to be the bar snack du jour. It’s also getting less embarrassing to order a mocktail.
The year is ending on a high note — for bars and, let’s hope, for everything else.
Among the many exciting spots that opened this year, 12 stood out, with exemplary drinks, fun vibes and each in its own way with some unexpected touch. Here they are, in alphabetical order: the best bars that opened in the Bay Area in 2021.
Berkeley’s Comal restaurant has always had a strong cocktail game, so it’s no surprise that its new bar is excellent, too. Bar Comal opened in early December near Lake Merritt in Oakland, adjacent to the group’s casual Comal Next Door outpost. Acclaimed bartender Simone Mims is responsible for the drink menu, which consists entirely of Tequila and mezcal concoctions. Ask for the El Burro ($13), a mule variation with intensely spicy ginger; better yet, ask for it with mezcal instead of Tequila. And the house margarita ($12) has an irresistibly tasty spicy salt rim that you’ll wish you could sprinkle on food.
A great cocktail bar in Livermore? Yes — that’s not a typo. This mezcal and hot dog specialist opened in the East Bay city early this year, run by alumni of Range Life, one of Livermore’s other coolest destinations. Named for the tall stock that shoots out from an agave plant when it’s mature, Quiote strikes a casual, easygoing mood, with honkytonk touches like a midcentury jukebox, vintage arcade games, old movie posters for Sam Peckinpah Westerns and, at this time of year, kitschy Christmas decorations.
Unlike some cocktail bars these days, it’s the sort of place where you truly can stop in without any planning for a quick drink. Try the Dusty Diablo ($12, or $8 during happy hour), which tastes like a Jamaica agua fresca, made with reposado Tequila, hibiscus juice and mint; there’s black lime powder sprinkled on top, which you should definitely try to mix into the drink. Hibiscus also appears in the Zicatela Sun ($13), where mezcal and pineapple juice get a potent kick from arbol and ancho chile salt. Many cocktails are on draft, which makes for speedy service.
Natalie Lichtman behind the bar at Red Window, a tapas and cocktail bar in North Beach with a menu oriented to Sherry and vermouth.
($12), a riff on a classic Sherry cocktail that gets extra botanical flavors from the addition of grapefruit, blackberry and lavender. Buddy is also very soberfriendly, offering a tasty virgin spritz and multiple nonalcoholic wines. Don’t forget to snack on some of the gougeres topped with trout roe ($11) or the gilda dip — a kind of Basque take on a sevenlayer dip with olives, anchovies and pickled peppers.
The owners of Trick Dog, one of San Francisco’s most acclaimed bars, are not known for simplicity — they’re famous for their high-concept menus and zany drink ingredients like kelp, salsa and mushrooms. So it was notable when they opened Chezchez in the Mission in August, a bar that embraces classic recipes and straightforward techniques. Inspired by European aperitivo culture (so hot right now), the menu here emphasizes low-alcohol spritzes, Bloody Mary variations and, of all things, the martini. Tinned fish and veggie-forward drinking snacks round out the satisfying food menu.
Chezchez may also be the best spot in the city for mocktails, which are incorporated into the main menu rather than separated into an afterthought section. Bitter lemon, aperitifs and nonalcoholic rosé combine to form a virgin take on a negroni in one excellent example.
concept: drinks inspired by street markets around the world, using ingredients that you’d find in a food stall in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and other regions.
The menu’s signature drink has become the Red & Blue ($15), which basically tastes like an ube pina colada, topped with a salty jackfruit whipped cream that’s reminiscent of Dole Whip. In the Save Me a Piece of that Corn ($15), Tequila mixes with horchata and atole de elote, a masa beverage, creating a creamy, savory, nutty effect. Neon-lighted signs illuminate the bar seats in this otherwise dark, appropriately moody space.
Big, light-filled windows and bright teal walls make Low Bar an especially inviting spot for afternoon drinking. Open since April, the Oakland establishment identifies as a Chicano bar, and it offers lots of mezcal and Tequila drinks. You won’t be sorry if you order the Oaxacan Green Machine ($13), which adds piquant poblano chile to the earthy flavors of mezcal and chartreuse. But there’s also an emphasis on familiar tunes ($12) in a section of the menu dedicated to standards like a gimlet, Sazerac and Martinez. One of the best options is a house recipe called Shiso Lovely ($13), blending floral vermouth, shiso tincture and fruity Walter Collective vodka.
This expansive tapas and cocktail bar in North Beach has a festive, jubilant feeling to it, with groups of friends clinking sangria glasses in the outdoor tables along Columbus Avenue. Like Buddy, Red Window does not have a full liquor license, but that hasn’t stopped co-owner Elmer Mejicanos from creating a long menu of delicious, lower-proof cocktails, most of them using Spanish wine-based ingredients like Sherry and vermouth. A requisite order is the Red Window Cobbler ($14), which updates the typical Sherry Cobbler recipe with pureed figs and peaches and a bright citrus cordial. It’s just sweet enough. You also won’t miss the whiskey when you order the Fancy Things ($14), a sour that combines Sherry and blanco vermouth with subtle flavors from melon, ginger and basil.
There is indeed sand at Sandbar — in fact, it’s all over the place, lining the floors, so don’t be surprised if you get a little in your shoes. If that happens, it was worth it. This spunky bar, fashioned as a Caribbean beach shack, may make you feel like you left Oakland and went on a tropical vacation, thanks to the thatch umbrellas towering over the tables, the reggae wailing through the speakers and the decidedly laidback, unpretentious vibe.
The signature order is the Gorilla Milk ($12, or $18 for a double), dispensed from a slushie machine, satisfyingly boozy with rum, crème de cacao, banana liqueur and coffee liqueur. It’s exactly the sort of icy, potent treat you’d want to drink on a Caribbean beach. Speaking of which,
There’s a distinctly Parisian mood at Snail Bar, the stylish wine bistro that opened in July in Oakland’s Temescal neighborhood. Its checkerboard floors, scrawled menus on chalkboards and shelves of bottles recall France’s popular cave à mangers, wine-and-snack bars that serve cerebral, natural wines in casual settings. Natural-wine mainstays like chilled reds, coppery skincontact whites and foamy pink petnats flow freely here, accompanied by elegantly garnished plates of raw seafood, crudites and — the signature, must-order item — snails with kumquat and cashew miso. Though it’s unequivocally a natural wine bar, Snail Bar strikes a tone that would feel approachable to the funky wineaverse. Both its by-the-glass list and its retail shelves offer plenty of exciting, clean-tasting options, and its staff is exceptionally helpful and informative. Take advantage of their expertise and ask them to recommend a bottle.
San Mateo has not historically been a hot spot for furtive, sleek speakeasy bars — until November, when Wunderbar opened in the basement of the casual German-style biergarten Wursthall. Reservations are required, and you’ll have to follow instructions in order to find the bar, which reveals itself after you wave your hand in front of a white rabbit in a closet. (Pro tip: Aim for the bunny’s tummy.) You’ll then find yourself inside a swanky lounge with antique books, trinkets and framed photographs lining the walls.
The tarot card-theme menu is comprised of standard cocktails (like a martini) and proprietary takes on each of them (like a riff on a dirty martini with kombu dashi and sake; it’s delicious). Try the Sidewinder’s Fang, a San Mateo specialty of rum and passion fruit that originated with an old tiki bar called Lanai. It’s light, spritzy and less sweet than you’d expect; its riff, the Valiant Quest, is even better, made complex with savory Sherry and pickled plum.