12 Best Cocktail Bars Around San Jose and the South Bay Eater SF

Table Of Content

• Long Island Iced Tea
• What Your Drink Order Says About You, According to Bartenders
• Restaurants With Great Cocktails
• Footer Menu

In the later hours, it evolves into an upscale dinner spot with wood-grilled salmon and herbed brick chicken. In either case, there’s a comfy corner with a fireplace and brown leather banquettes. A posh afternoon tea experience takes place daily at the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel. Just past the lobby is the aptly named Living Room, with a blazing fireplace, comfy couches, and floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook a garden. The three-tiered tea set comes with finger sandwiches, desserts, tea, and a glass of Champagne.

Long Island Iced Tea

Imagine a dark, cramped, and moody bar scene in a brick-walled room. Well-dressed people sip boulevardiers and discuss experimental theater. No, you aren’t on the Lower East Side or Canal Saint-Martin, you’re at Normandie Club in Koreatown. It’s an excellent first stop before a night out in Ktown, or a great nightcap destination after a dinner date for gin gimlets with black plums and late-night booth canoodling. When on La Cienega Boulevard in West Hollywood and desiring a drink without the fussiness of dress codes and velvet ropes — come here.

What Your Drink Order Says About You, According to Bartenders

From now until spring (or any chilly SoCal night), the second the sun sets, get yourself to a restaurant with a fireplace. Winter temperatures in Los Angeles get cold enough for anyone (including visitors from colder climates) to appreciate a seat next to a roaring fire while having a cocktail or a meal. Find a fireplace or fire pit at LA’s old-school taverns, trendy rooftop restaurants, and quirky bars with cozy nooks to help keep warm during our cool winter months. Located in a small building off Figueroa in Highland Park that can only be accessed through a back alley, Good Housekeeping reads like another high-concept speakeasy bar you were tired of two years ago. Inside you’ll find a warm, tiny room filled with comfy banquettes, a casual crowd comprised mostly of locals, and tremendous cocktails. We particularly love the Constant Gardener, a mezcal and amaro drink dosed with mole bitters and oregano.

Restaurants With Great Cocktails

The sister bar to Dante NYC takes up the top floor of the Maybourne hotel, with a dining room that’s just as beautiful as its panoramic views. But if you’re wondering whether this bar’s success hinges on its use of stylish half-moon couches, it doesn’t. Their bartenders are experts with classics like 50/50 martinis and whipped garibaldi, but they’ll make you anything you ask for with confidence and finesse. This is Beverly Hills, so expect to spend around $20 per cocktail, a price that feels worth it for the memorable experience.

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And it’s still cranking out classic dishes like wedge salads, Scotch rarebit, prime rib with lobster tails, and smatterings of modern dishes like the cauliflower tikka masala. Sit next to one of several fireplaces while taking in the old-world tavern life, complete with painted portraits, rows of flags, and multiple roaring fireplaces. Situated inside a Craftsman home in Pasadena, the space is teeming with history. Once part of the Raymond Hotel where guests like Charlie Chaplin frequented, the Raymond is now a spot with a beautiful fireplace, excellent cocktails, roasted chicken, steak frites, and a classic pot de creme.

But we’d like to give a special shoutout to Winters in Italy, a satisfying blend of rye, Montenegro, Amaretto, lemon, and bitters. Located on the outskirts of Chinatown, this is the LA location of a fancy NYC cocktail bar where bartenders wear vintage white pharmaceutical coats. Probably not, but the medicinal-themed cocktails made from a bunch of tinctures are fantastic, like the "Bounceback" with Earl Grey-infused gin and red bell pepper.

The Dresden Restaurant & Lounge

And luckily for anyone who shares our distaste of watered-down vodka sodas, we've compiled this guide to destination bars where the cocktails taste as delicious as they look. Head to these 15 spots when you want to drink in style, no matter the occasion. Whiskey lovers or those who just want a more intimate and curated cocktail experience head straight to this Japanese-inspired whisky bar in the back of Seven Grand.

Thunderbolt has been recognized by StarChefs and even captured the number 10 spot on North America’s Best Bars list. Bartender/co-owner Mike Capoferri’s innovative drinks include a HiFi-inspired Old Fashioned with coconut-washed rye, a nonalcoholic lychee daiquiri, and a canned pina colada soda. For nearly 40 years, the main draw of this nearly 70-year-old Los Feliz bar was longtime bar lounge act, Marty & Elayne. But even after Marty’s passing, the beautiful old-school lounge continues to host live music acts every week and with no cover.

With its modern American fare, the bar’s menu aims to please a variety of visitors. So lean on the classic burgers and beers combo or go bold with the Cajun chicken pasta and a grapefruit and thyme martini. As the name suggests, this bar’s bourbon menu is also impressive. Seeking the kind of cocktail bar that tastes and feels like an adventure? We love a homey hole in the wall as much as the next person, but sometimes you want a place with a little more oomph. During the daytime hours, Lunetta All Day serves breakfast sandwiches, fried chicken, and pancakes.

Sit at the bar to chat with colleagues and watch the bartenders work their magic, or relax in the dining room as you enjoy a full meal. Despite having a name that screams "dive bar," Blue Collar is actually a sort of fancy cocktail place in Mid-City, albeit one with a love of 80s rock music and a scenic view of a giant CVS. It's not the most romantic bar in town, but this small Beverly Grove spot has some very talented bartenders who can make you pretty much anything. That may be a stretch, but since there’s no official cocktail menu, we love coming here without a drink in mind and having the staff throw a handful of questions our way.

Comedians and their entourage squeeze into red leather booths as vested bartenders make elaborate drinks with stenciled designs and stylish garnishes. There's an entire absinthe menu if you care to partake, but we can't help but find that gimmicky (no one here is hallucinating green fairies). The Flim Flam is our drink of choice, with dry gin, a bitter punch from Cynar, and a sweet Luxardo cherry. With an elegant cocktail lounge, daily happy hour, and one of the best outdoor patios in town, this Arts District bar is the perfect spot for meeting up with friends or going on a really fun date. The cocktail menu, designed by Raul Pool (the Airliner) and Trafton Barney (Ace Hotel), offers well-crafted thirst quenchers including frozen palomas and prickly pear margaritas. What sets Everson Royce apart from most bars is its burger crafted by a James Beard award-winning chef.