The vibe, it has shifted. San Francisco’s cocktail scene has gone posh, with many new bars debuting on rooftops (Chotto Matte, Cavaña, Kaiyo Rooftop), designed like opulent hotel lobbies (Starlite, Holbrook House, Bar Sprezzatura), or feeling like private clubs (Dawn Club, Dark Bar). I guess we are .
At the start of 2022, many bars remained shell-shocked by the pandemic and were largely playing it safe; cocktail menus were limited to core essentials that bartenders could execute well in the age of "the new normal." As 2023 gets going, we're rounding a new corner with fancy cocktail lounges, hote.