San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
The House of Shields
Downtown San Francisco’s requisite stop for a classy drink
Walking into the House of Shields feels like entering into a different era of San Francisco, when bartenders wore black ties and light fixtures were a little more grandiose. The watering hole has stood strong on New Montgomery St. since 1908, and during its lifespan, it’s acquired more than a few myths — including a rumor that President Warren Harding might have been poisoned here (then whisked away in an underground tunnel to the Palace Hotel, where he died). Since 2009, it’s been owned by veteran restaurateur Dennis Leary, who has maintained its quirky charm. The cocktails are oldschool classics: This is where you order a Bee’s Knees (gin, honey, lemon), a Pisco Punch (Pisco, pineapple, lemon) or a Hemingway Daiquiri (rum, lime, maraschino liqueur). Familiar, tried and true and unfailingly well executed: that’s the House of Shields’ enduring appeal.