Whether you are a tourist to San Francisco or a local, everyone can agree that finding the right place to knock a few back is very important. Bars in San Francisco run the gamet from hole in the wall to uber chic, rowdy to whisper quiet. With all these choices out there, how would you ever know which spot will best help you pickle your liver? Glad you asked... Presenting the Hip Guide to Drinking in San Francisco.

Ambassador Bar
Location: 673 Geary St. (Downtown)
The Ambassador is – hands down – one of the prettiest new bars in San Francisco. With its seemingly endless ceiling and thirty plus chandeliers, The Ambassador San Francisco is having no problem making a name for itself as a swanky place to enjoy an elixir or three.
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John Colins
Location: 90 Natoma St. (SOMA)
Tucked away in a little alleyway off of 2nd Street, John Colins is a mellow retreat from the clubs nearby. With a rustic-yet-urban décor and a plethora of alcoholic beverages, this hidden gem is quickly losing its secrecy as one of the top SOMA/Financial District happy hour bars during the week.
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Matador Bar
Location: 10 6th St. (SOMA)
Inhabiting the old space of The Arrow Bar on 6th and Mission, this oasis is popular with the mid market professionals and partiers alike. Red walls, vintage oil paintings and a candlelit atmosphere combine with jazz during happy hours and dj's spinning in the later evening hours.
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Beauty Bar
Location: 2299 Mission St. (Mission)
As one of the most popular bars in the Mission district, Beauty Bar San Francisco was the first of its kind until the recent birth of many salon-bar-hybrids. Complete with vintage vanities, hair dressing stations, and a black and white checkerboard tile floor and 50's decor.

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Rye Bar and Lounge
Location: 688 Geary St. (Downtown)
Classy cocktails, swanky style, modern detailing, and… Free pool? This assortment of wonderful goodies cannot be found just anywhere, but at Rye in the newly popular Tender Nob area, you can enjoy all of the above. With a sweet space on a block of Geary heavily populated by locals and tourists alike, Rye is quickly making its mark on the SF bar scene.
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Bourban and Branch
Location: 501 Jones St. (Union Sq.)
Located out of site to the naked eye in a sort of alley near Jones and O'Farrell, Bourbon and Branch has made a splash in the city's nightlife. It's a speakeasy bar, and as their website states, is a throw-back to an actual 1920's speakeasy that was shutdown due to prohibition.
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For more on our Hip Guide to San Francisco Drinking, check out part 2.