San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)

The House of Shields

- 39 New Montgomery St., San Francisco. 415-769-8109

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.

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