Because you only go to bars that share a name with... more
to find the best new spots to eat, drink and shop in your 'hood each day. Plus, get exclusive weekly hookups from Thrillist Rewards.
This article is from
Thrillist San FranciscoSpecialists excel because of their devotion to a myopic scope of greatness -- which is why heart surgeons don't worry about your feelings, and patent attorneys don't care about the guy you hit with your car. For the bar version, hit 83 Proof.
Spaciously classy, 83's nonetheless a defiantly no-frills watering hole, housed in a space that's hosted nothing but bars since the '20s (the last being Chinese mafia hangout Attitudes, a goldmine for high risk loans/Rush Hour extras). In an admitted attempt to repel the "restaurant crowd", 83's foregoing frivolous amenities like food/DJs/concept. But their bar menu reads like a fantasy spirits squad, e.g.: Louis XIII cognac (sold at cost), micro-distilled Clase Azul tequila, and Yamazaki Single Malt, the scotch Japan's been trying to perfect since 1923 -- when not pursuing the ultimate beer-serving-vagina-robot-cat. As an after-work-friendly bar, 83 claims it'll have "strong happy hours", though it hasn't quite worked out the details yet -- not a deal-breaker, but still akin to the cardiologist who can't insert a stent, or the lawyer who let Suntori rip off your Super Brew Meow Love 3000.
83 1st St, at Mission; SOMA; 415-296-8383
Resurrecting an Irish drinking/eating institution in Berkeley, Bec's takes over a building erected in 1925 and leaves most of the awesomely old... more