#2072 - Old Ship Saloon, San Francisco - 2/26/2013

The Old Ship Saloon is not a particularly interesting bar as it stands today, but it has one of the more remarkable histories of American bars. It's origins can be traced back to 1849, when the three masted whaling ship the Arkansas ran aground on Bird Island (now Alcatraz). The ship was towed to Yerba Buena Cove and set on a beach with several other ships abandoned in the gold rush. The area became increasingly landfilled, with the ship below what would eventually become the corner of Pacific and Battery -- one of any number of Barbary coast ships now buried under the San Francisco streets.

By 1850 locals had come to refer to it as "the old ship," and in either 1850 or 1851 Joe Anthony cut a door in the hull and opened the "Old Ship Ale House." A sign on the gangplank down to the Pacific Street Pier is said to have read, “Gud, Bad, and Indif’rent Spirits Sold Here!  At 25 cents each.” (1)  A rooming house for sailers as built on the deck in 1855 (by that time landfill had filled in the surroundings), and in 1859 this was torn down and replaced by a brick hotel, with a bar that continued under the name of The Old Ship Saloon. The hotel was destroyed in the great earthquake in 1906, and the current building was constructed in the space in 1907.

During the 40s it was notorious for the brothel upstairs, largely serving WWII servicemen. It is unclear exactly what names the bar has operated under for all of this time, but it was named "Bricks" for much of the 20th century and re-named the "Old Ship Saloon" in 1999 by Bill Duffy, who purchased the place in 1992.

Despite being able to trace its history to 1851 in some sense, given that it neither consistently retained the name nor is located in the same physical structure, I do not count it as quite the oldest bar in San Francisco (see my entry on The Saloon for a discussion). But it is nice to see that recent owners have restored the old name and revived the history with various old photos and artifacts on the exposed brick walls. The saloon now serves pretty typical cafe/pub food and drinks to a white collar working crowd.

298 Pacific Ave San Francisco, CA 94111 - (415) 788-2222
Est. 1851 - Building constructed: 1907
Previous bars in this location:  Bricks
Web site: oldshipsaloon.com
Reviews: examiner - sfgate - Attitude Adjustment Hour video - insidebayarea - thrillist - yelp - sfexaminer - atlastobscura

#2071 - Bamboo Hut, San Francisco - 2/26/2013

Along with the fine craft cocktails of Smugger's Cove, and the old school showiness of the Tonga Room, the Bamboo Hut, along with Trad'r Sam, complements the tiki options of San Francisco with the essential neighborhood dive style tiki bar. The drinks are okay, which is to say, substantially better than your average divey tiki bar, it is happily dark, and the menu and decor are fully invested in the theme. The dominant feature is a large tiki head that is said to have been from Sacramento's Coral Reef Restaurant and date back to the late 40s. Some might consider it a bit too nightclubby and a bit too young to be merit the description of "dive," but the various characters from the sketchy neighborhood clinch the matter for me. It's a fun place.

479 Broadway San Francisco, CA 94133 - (415) 989-8555
Est. 1999
Web site: maximumproductions.com - facebook
Reviews: critiki - yelp - The Swank Bastards video - sanfrancisco.com

#2070 - Specs, San Francisco - 2/26/2013

I don't know how you could really compare a place like this to a place like, say, Smugglers Cove, but this bar is probably my favorite in San Francisco. It is officially named Specs' Twelve Adler Museum Cafe. In various places I have read that it has been an Arab themed place with bellydancing, a Chinese joss house, a speakeasy, a lesbian bar, jazz club, a place made to look like a bull ring, and a bohemian art bar. In 1968 Specs Simmons, an old Boston sheetmetal worker cum political activist, took over the place and filled it with oddball memorabilia. It has a reputation for attracting a range of characters, although they no longer include the girls from the old strip club upstairs, and as if cued for some historical re-enactment on this slow Tuesday evening, one fellow set to playing the old stand-up piano while a Fagin sort of character nodded his beard and top hot sleepily at the corner table.

Simmon's daughter has made a nice little short film on Specs himself, and though I did not meet him, one imagines that perhaps Specs' gritty personality (along with the fairly inconspicuous entrance) keeps the place seeming genuine, rather than gentrifying into some overly precious tourist attraction. And while it seems to host various characters of modest means, it feels a bit too literate and worldly to be classified as a great dive. But like most of the very best of bars, it is both instantly welcoming and not exactly like any other bar in the world.

12 Saroyan Pl, San Francisco - (415) 421-4112                                  
Est. 1968
Best articles: thebolditalic - sfgate - foundsf - sfgate - sfweekly - sfweekly - sfbarexperiment - examiner - yelp

#2069 - Tony Nik's, San Francisco - 2/26/2013

Good cocktails in a bar that opened just after the depression (originally Tony Nicco's Café -- see history). The place had remodels in 1949 and 2000, and somehow came out of that with a swanky, late 60s, mid-century modern look.

1534 Stockton St San Francisco, CA 94133 - (415) 693-0990
Est. 1933
Web site: tonyniks.com
Reviews: blackbook - sanfrancisco.com - yelp

#2068 - The Saloon, San Francisco - 2/26/2013

Update: While stories abound about how The Saloon was saved from the 1906 earthquake, after I wrote the post below a commenter brought to my attention a fairly compelling bit of evidence, on the back wall of Spec's, no less, that these stories are in error. Given that the current building housing The Saloon appears to have been constructed in 1907, I now consider the Little Shamrock to be the oldest bar in San Francisco. This position is based on a somewhat arbitrary decision that to cout as the same bar, an establishment must have remained the same building, so there is certainly ample room for disagreement on my position, even if all my facts are correct. In any case, The Saloon is a fine, old establishment.

---

"The Saloon," Wikipedia says, "is the oldest bar in San Francisco, opened in 1863, and also the only bar to survive the 1906 Earthquake."  The bar itself says it was opened Oct. 8, 1861, apparently as "Wagner's Beer Hall" (sfweekly), and this seems to be the more reliable date. I've found no word on when it became officially named "The Saloon."  I have read elsewhere that it is considered to be the 6th oldest bar in the United States, however I would refer to Brookston's fine list of the oldest bars in America, which places it 34th.

What constitutes the "oldest bar in San Francisco" depends on how you define a single bar. If it is simply how long a certain location (not any particular building) has hosted a bar, then the oldest is probably the "Old Ship Saloon," which is currently in a 1907 building constructed where the original Old Ship Saloon was cut into the side of the grounded ship The Arkansas in 1851. That is assuming also that you consider it a single bar even if it has been known by different names (the Old Ship was "The Brick" for much of the 20th century). There are some references online to the San Francisco Brewing Company (now The Comstock) dating back to 1861, but these appear to be in error (The Comstock location was constructed as the Andromeda Saloon in 1907).

If you hold that the oldest bar is the one running longest under the same name then the picture gets much more cloudy. This is usually ignored in the claims of bar age. I have not found when "The Saloon" was first known by that name, nor any clear evidence that it has steadily remained that (it seems dubious during prohibition, and even after, when many states outlawed using "saloon" in the name of any bar).  The "Little Shamrock" had that name by the mid 1890s (officially 1893, though I believe it was 1894 -- see outsidelands). The Old Ship is not a contender by this standard, as it reverted to the original name only in 1999. And if places like The Saloon and Little Shamrock had stretches under other names, the oldest consistent name might belong to one of the other bars established shortly after the great fire, such as John's Grill or House of Shields, both of which were founded in 1908.

Personally, I am willing to overlook a few years under different names, brief interruptions (longer during prohibition), but I feel that to be the same "bar," the current business has to be in the same basic physical structure as the past versions. Thus I agree with those who consider "The Saloon" to be the oldest in the city.

It certainly looks the part, and does not suffer from over indulgent maintenance and beautification. It is very much a dive, and pours the cheap, strong drinks of a dive. It is owned by Myron Mu, who made a living as a French horn player before taking over for his father, who bought the place in the 1950s. It features live music 7 days a week, and maintains a long-time reputation as the best blues club in the city. At the time that I visited it with a couple friends on a Tuesday evening it was fairly dead. But the evident age of the place, the temporarily silent stage area, and the enticing divey-ness all lay in silent testimony to many rollicking times and amusing stories to be heard.

1232 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133 - (415) 989-7666
Est. Oct 8, 1861 (as Wagner's Beer Hall)
Web site: thesaloonsf - facebook
Reviews: sfweekly - sfblues - sanfranciscotim - yelp - citysearch

#2067 - Wexler's, San Francisco - 2/26/2013

I had to check out this upscale barbeque place based on a friend's describing them as having "good, smokey Manhattans." They did, and pork plate that I had was very tasty as well.

The only shortcoming for me is that the place is small and busy, which limited its ability to feel relaxed and intimate. That may be picking nits and is probably inevitable for a small space in the financial district with a Michelin star chef. But judging it as a bar, this puts it just a notch below my highly recommended ranking.

568 Sacramento St San Francisco, CA 94111 - (415) 983-0102
Est. June 2009
Web site: wexlerssf.com - facebook
Reviews: sfgate - sfweekly - chow - yelp

#2066 - Annabelle's Bar and Bistro, San Francisco - 2/26/2013

A white table cloth sort of bistro with some fairly good cocktails.

68 4th St San Francisco, CA 94103 - (415) 777-1200
Est. 1993 - Building constructed: 1913
Web site: annabelles.net
Reviews: citysearch - gayot - yelp

#2065 - DNA Lounge, San Francisco - 2/25/2013

The DNA Lounge is a fairly large nightclub and live performance venue that caters to alternative crowds, including "Death Guild," which is claimed to be America's longest running goth night. During the second half of the 90s DNA Lounge was owned by three people including comedian Rob Schneider, and peaked in its popularity, with secret shows by performers like Prince and Metallica. In 1999 the club was purchased by well known open source software developer "jwz" (Jamie Zawinski), who closed it for extensive remodeling and re-opened it in 2001, keeping a blog on his clashes with city hall and other experiences owning the club.

Even during alternative theme nights like Death Guild, Trannyshack, and bootie, with many people dressing the part, the vibe is fairly casual and open (the night of Death Guild I attended on this evening included people in jeans, sandals, and even tie dye). There are two floors, two stages, and two DJs, and of course the vibe and crowd vary widely with day of the week.

375 Eleventh St San Francisco, CA 94103 - (415) 626-1409
Est. Nov 22, 1985
Previous bars at this location: Chaps (leather bar)
Web site: dnalounge.com - facebook
Articles: wikipedia - yelp

#2064 - Tommy's Joynt, San Francisco - 2/25/2013

Walking down Geary at night and coming unexpectedly upon the psycho circus exterior of Tommy's Joynt felt like stepping into the pages of "Something Wicked This Way Comes."  But that feeling changed dramatically the instant I stepped into the comfortably cluttered interior. Tommy's is the first of the "hofbraus" -- the San Francisco area cafeteria style restaurants including Lefty O'Douls, the Chick-N-Coop, and Brennan's. During the day people line up to get hand-sliced meat dishes and sandwiches from no-nonsense workers who all give the impression of having worked here since it was founded in 1947. Opposite the meat counter there is an old bar that serves what is said to be San Francisco's largest selection of inexpensive beers (over 100 choices from 30 countries, mostly in bottles), as well as dive-style cocktails.

Tommy's was established here in the Fillmore neighborhood by local crooner Tommy Harris, and is still run by his relatives. The collection of oddball items and historical photos that cram the walls appear to mostly date back to the early days of the place. The food and drinks are both pretty basic, but this is one of my favorite places I visited on this bar-crammed tour of San Francisco.

1101 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94109 - (415) 775-4216
Est. 1947
Web site: tommysjoynt.com - facebook
Reviews: divefood - sfgate - hanging with harris (video) - food network (video) - sfweekly - yelp - citysearch

#2063 - Smuggler's Cove, San Francisco - 2/25/2013

Few people interested in cocktail bars would need a description of Smuggler's Cove -- Martin Cate's celebration of rum and tiki bars past has been cited in various publications as the best bar in San Francisco and one of the best in the world. Stepping past the nondescript exterior into the dark, Disneyesque, tri-level, pirate cave inside instantly provides the kind of escape to another world that characterizes the best tiki bars.

You must try some of the house classics, but in addition to tiki originals, classic cocktails from famous old tiki bars, Caribbean Island drinks, and prohibition-era Cuban drinks, if you would like a break from the sweetness of tiki drinks, the bartenders know their stuff and can create something delicious with a few indications of your tastes (I had a tikified Sazerac with Falernum). If you are ambitious you can join the "Rumbustion Society" and drink your way through the huge list of fine rums. The "Tiki Central" crowd meets there on Tuesdays.

Smuggler's Cove is one of my favorite 2 or 3 tiki bars in the country.

650 Gough St  San Francisco, CA 94102 -  (415) 869-1900               
Est. Dec 8, 2009
Previous bars in this location: Jade Bar
Web site: smugglerscovesf.com - facebook
Best Reviews: critiki - foodography (video) - rumdood - alcademics - eater - thetikichick - sfweekly - tikiroom - sfexaminer - sfweekly - sfist - yahglobal - thrillist - esquire - yelp

#2062 - The Avenue, Oakland - 2/24/2013

A nice, divey joint with touches of punk and skeleton themes, The Avenue sits nicely amidst cafes and art galleries that helped convert the grimey Temescal neighborhood in Oakland into "Oakland's answer to San Francisco's Mission District." (wsj)

4822 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609 - (510) 654-1423
Est. 2007
Previous bars in this location: Connolly’s, The Bird Kage
Web site: facebook
Reviews: oaklandnorth.net - insidebayarea - eastbayexpress - dailysecret - yelp

#2061 - Trader Vic's, Emeryville, CA - 2/24/2013

The Emeryville Trader Vic's is considered the flagship of the chain, even though it moved here from its original location in 1972. After establishing Hinky Dink's, the "home of Frankenstein," with menus printed on cigar boxes, Victor Jules Bergeron, Jr. visited Hollywood, took in the island flotsam themes of Don the Beachcombers and the Seven Seas, and along with Don, invented the tiki bar, converting his Oakland place to "Trader Vic's" in 1937. He began his expansion in the 40s, starting with The Outrigger in Seattle.

In '72, the original location moved a few miles north to the current location on the San Francisco Bay waterfront in Emeryville. It is large, seating nearly 400, with various dining rooms, and a patio bar area. Trader Vic's tends to get the most credit, among various disputants, for inventing the Mai Tai, and after a five-month remodel and menu revamp in 2010, the menu now includes their made-from-scratch 1944 version. I had never been to the pre-remodel version, but apparently it includes a few more tikis now (Bergeron is credited with introducing actual tikis to the common decor of polynesian restaurants).

The food and drinks are fairly good, but of course the reason to eat at Trader Vic's is to be at Trader Vic's. This one lives up to the expectations.

9 Anchor Dr, Emeryville, CA 94608 - (510) 653-3400         
Est. 1972
Web site: tradervicsemeryville.com - facebook
Reviews: critiki - alcademics - ronniedelcarman - sfgate - coastalliving - eastbayexpress - mercurynews - yelp

#2060 - Heinold's First and Last Chance, Oakland - 2/24/2013

"All nations welcome except Carrie," reads a sign behind the bar. It's not common for the witticisms that pepper the walls of bars to include puns at the expense of people who died over a century ago, but Heinold's has been here since 1883. That's when Johnny Heinold purchased the building of old whaling ship timbers that had provided bunks for men working the oyster beds, and turned it into the J.M. Heinold Saloon. It survived both prohibition and the great earthquake of 1906, though the latter left damage to the pilings below that give the mahogany bar and wood floor a sharp tilt, and to a clock famously stopped at 5:18am, ever since that April morning.

The surname was eventually appended with "First and Last Chance" based not only on the navy men and other seafarers catching a last drink before going to sea, but also for the workers riding the old ferry between Oakland and the dry city of Alameda. The bar has hosted President Taft, Ambrose Bierce, Erskine Caldwell, and, most famously, Jack London, who once sat reading the dictionary at the table by the door, before featuring the bar in his novel John Barleycorn, and compiling notes used for The Sea Wolf and Call of the Wild. Now London's Klondike cabin sits nearby the old wood bar, both surrounded by the bright, neat, and touristy Jack London Square, like two neanderthal scenes in a modern museum.

Despite the preciousness of the setting, Heinold's feels reasonably intimate and relaxed inside on this day, aware of its history certainly, but feeling enough like a neighborhood bar that one doesn't feel like you're taking your turn in a Disney exhibit. The drinks are limited to a small but reasonable selection of beers and standard spirits -- you wouldn't want anything more at a classic like this. The limited ceiling and wall spaces are crammed with memorabilia, along with the stove-blackened dollar bills and business cards of various generations of men heading off to sea and/or to military service. The original potbellied stove remains the only source of heat, and it is the last commercial building in California retaining original gas lighting. It would, of course, be a grave sin to move the bar from its historic location and cherished uneven pilings, but it is pleasing for me to imagine trundling into this place some dark evening through several inches of snow.

Jack London Square, 48 Webster St, Oakland, CA 94607 - (510) 839-6761
Est. 1883 - Building constructed: 1880
Previous bars in this location: None
Web site: heinolds.com - facebook
Best articles: johnny heinhold - wikipedia - atlasobscura - thepioneeronline - beeradvocate - palladiumboots - cocktailia - yelp

#2059 - The Pub, Albany, CA - 2/24/2013

Formerly Schmidt's Pub, now just "The Pub," this place is both super quiet and conducive to discussion. It can be like that thanks to the various rooms and outdoor spaces, as there appears to have been minimal remodeling from when this was someone's home. They have a few nice beers but the vibe is much more that of a coffee house than a bar, with customers buried in books, laptops, and chess games.

1492 Solano Ave Albany, CA 94706 - (510) 525-1900
Est. 1980 (as Schmidt's)
Previous bars in this location: Schmidt's Pub
Web site: schmidtspub.com - facebook
Reviews: patch - janabouc - yelp