Great Wine Bars In San Francisco

A16 tops the list of the best bars in San Francisco. The owner-sommelier Shelley Lindgren’s list is focused on Southern Italian varietals. This list is an integral part of the A16 experience and what makes it the best of the bars in San Francisco.

Andalu on 16th Street is another one of San Francisco’s finest bars. They are awesome because they offer small plates with big flavors. This is one of the San Francisco bars that has an approachable list and offers 35 wines by the glass. The crowd there is mixed and energetic.

Wine bars don’t usually come as good, or as small, as Bacchus on Hyde Street. Bacchus has knowledgeable bartenders that make innovative saké cocktails and they pour over 50 wines that range in price from under $10 a glass to more than $200 a bottle. The signature drink at Bacchus is their sake-version of the mojito.

Cav is one of the bars in San Francisco that takes itself extremely seriously. Cav has a well-chosen list of over 300 international wines. Some of the wines on the list are offered by a taste, or the glass. The chef has crafted unique takes on lots of dishes and Cav actually offers a cheese course that is served at the proper temperature and is on par with some of the finer restaurants in San Francisco.

Wine bars like Piccolo on Fillmore street handpick the wines on their lists. Piccolo is one of the bars that choose limited availability and small production wines. They prefer to concentrate on Italian wines. The owner of Piccolo has wonderful antipasti on his menu. There is fierce competition between bars to have the most excellent food to accompany their spirits.

Varnish Fine Art is both an art gallery and one of the top bars in San Francisco. The atmosphere at Varnish Fine Art is comfortable and it draws a post-work crowd for beer or during happy hour. The list at Varnish Fine Art is well chosen and features a number of delicious fine wines, as well as soju and saké cocktails.