370 Best Bars in California, USA

The Abbey in West Hollywood is one of the most famous and friendliest LGBTQIA+ bars in town. Seven days a week, a very good-looking crowd comes to eat, drink, dance, and flirt, with a bevy of theme nights and parties. Creative cocktails are whipped up by buff bartenders.

San Francisco is a city full of great cocktail bars, but it has surprisingly few options for an excellent drink to go with some live music. So, leave it to the gifted minds of the Future Bars group (Bourbon & Branch, Pagan Idol) to transform a historic space that originally was a speakeasy during Prohibition, then a marquee jazz bar mid-century, before falling off the SF music-and-cocktails radar for decades until 2023. Today, it's a glamorous, convivial space for top-tier, usually intricate cocktails and jazz nightly. Reservations aren't required but are encouraged to avoid disappointment at showtime.

Reservations are definitely required for this swanky, New York–style space in West Hollywood. Waiters in white coats serve a mix of upscale American cuisine, but the true reason to come happens a little later when live jazz and burlesque dancers turn the night into a sultry singles scene that's visited by a see-and-be-seen crowd.

At this dark and sultry elegant supper club, you'll enjoy a fine dining French meal crafted with the finest ingredients, while watching an entertaining and sultry cabaret show. Sit in one of the semi-private booths for two while sipping refreshing cocktails and enjoying French cuisine paired with California and French wines. Watch how music, dance, and sultry burlesque collide into a titillating show. After dinner the space turns into a lively nightclub with a live DJ.

Some of the most innovative, pristine cocktails in the Bay Area are at this neon-lit energetic bar. Bar director William Tsui previously worked at fine-dining juggernaut Lazy Bear in San Francisco, and that high level of meticulous technicality and ingredient sourcing is abundantly clear here across the Bay. Tsui's signature drink is the Tomato Beef, a brilliant tomato water–tequila-basil eau de vie creation that is nothing like a Bloody Mary. The narrow space gets packed quickly.

The Baked Potato might seem like a strange name for L.A.'s oldest continuously operating jazz club, which has been holding nightly performances of well-known acts under its roof since the '70s. But one look at the all-ages venue's cheeky menu makes it make sense. That's all they serve—24 varieties of souped-up spuds. The taters range from one-note cheese-only numbers to more creative compositions piled high with maple ham, corn, and pineapple or hot dog and sauerkraut. Each comes with sour cream, butter, and a simple salad to offset that carb intake.

Right at the start of the Sunset Strip, Bar Marmont at the Chateau Marmont is a partygoer's staple. Get fancy and come here with a group. The kitchen serves a changing menu of classic French-style dishes.

Three stages give seasoned and unseasoned comedians a place to perform and try out new material. Sometimes big-name performers drop by just for fun. The front bar along Sunset Boulevard is a popular hangout after or between shows, oftentimes comedians mingle with fans.

This new outdoor biergarten is a festive spot during weekends and in the summer to sit outside near a firepit and sample a flight of craft beers, seltzers, and kombuchas. Flx gets its name from the 1950s Flxible bus that once toured the island.

This renovated 1928 theater is a remarkable feat of Mediterranean Moorish architecture and has seen the likes of Willie Nelson, the Magnetic Fields, and B. B. King. The venue boasts good sight lines, a state-of-the-art sound system, brilliant acoustics, and a bar with food.

Walk into this neighborhood sports bar and grill for an elevated experience to foster connections, camaraderie, and unforgettable moments. Each night is a festive theme such as Karaoke Monday, Taco Tuesday, Trivia Wednesday, Thursday $3 Hot Dogs and live DJ, Fish Friday, and Ru Paul's Drag Race Viewing Party. Weekend brunch is popular with food and shot specials. Order from a variety of snacks like breakfast sandwiches, salads, or build-your-own burgers (beef, chicken, turkey, or Beyond).

This comedy club is not technically in Hollywood, but it brings Hollywood stars such as Ali Wong and Dave Chappelle popping in to try out a set in development. The club features theme nights throughout the week, so check the schedule online.

With more than a hundred styles of canned and bottled beers and 30 beers on tap, plus wine and hard kombucha, this enormous indoor and outdoor beer garden is perfectly situated along the Dipsea Trail for a visit before or after a Mt. Tam hike or Tennessee Valley beach visit. The brewers partnered with PizzaHacker, a cult-favorite pizzeria in San Francisco's Bernal Heights, to provide classic pies and more unique topping combinations, as well as salads and meatballs. The landscaped outdoor space is lined with picnic tables, Adirondack chairs, and firepits.

All-star stand-up comics regularly appear at this Sunset Boulevard mainstay, often working out the kinks in new material in advance of national tours. Stars such as George Lopez and Tiffany Haddish sometimes drop in. This venue has theme nights like Chocolate Sundaes and Tehran Thursdays that are extremely popular, with comics performing more daring sets.

Visitors step inside this Tiki-inspired bar to order a tropical rum based "Wiki Wacker" and receive a straw hat or sticker. During the summer this fun bar is filled with tourists wearing their hats and munching on fried calamari, shrimp-and-chips, chicken wings, salads, and pizza.

This beloved Santa Cruz-based brewery has a charming taproom in Old Oakland with plenty of barrel-aged saisons in tulip glasses and pints of intricate hazy IPAs. The intimate refined saloon space also has a great dog-friendly back patio. Even though the brews come from an hour away, no visit to Oakland for beer lovers is complete without a stop here.

With the gracious help of Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, this renowned nightclub and café reopened in a historic Masonic Hall in 2012. Famous and up-and-coming bands play on most nights, and local stars such as Bonnie Raitt and Huey Lewis sometimes stop in for a pickup session.

Opened in 1972 as a sushi bar, Yoshi's has evolved into one of the area's best jazz and live music venues. The full experience includes traditional Japanese and Asian fusion cuisine in the adjacent restaurant.

With swaths of fabric draped from the ceiling, this low-lit bar with a bohemian vibe is the perfect backdrop (and mood) for a date. Groups of locals also come through at all hours of the night, making for a good mix of people and energy. The bartenders pour drinks that are both tasty and potent. There's plenty of seating at the tables and stools along the central bar, and their outdoor patio has become the centerpiece for stylish twentysomethings to flock and socialize. 

It may come across kitschy with its log cabin theme (further intensified by signature cocktails like Scout’s Honor and Roasted Marshmallow), but Bigfoot Lodge is a beloved mainstay among Eastside denizens. Despite its first impression, it is every bit a low-key, unpretentious neighborhood bar that specializes in shots and beer and welcomes the occasional tourist that happens to stumble inside.

This uptown drinking den picks up where tiki bar founding father Don the Beachcomber left off—first, by occupying its former space where Frank Sinatra guzzled navy grog by the quart and second, by delivering both classic cocktails like zombies and mai tais and fruit-forward, rum-heavy originals decorated with umbrellas, chunks of honeycomb, and flamingos. It's dark, full of kitsch (it's hard not to love the pufferfish lights), and has both late-afternoon and last-call happy hours daily. 

At the end of the Hyde Street cable car line, Buena Vista packs 'em in for its famous Irish coffee—which, according to the owners, was the first served stateside (in 1952). The place oozes nostalgia with its white-jacketed bartenders and timeless atmosphere, drawing devoted locals as well as out-of-towners relaxing after a day of sightseeing. It's narrow and can get crowded, but this spot is a sip of history and provides a fine alternative to the overpriced tourist joints nearby.

Cadet plays things urban-style cool with a long bar, high-top tables, and a low-lit loungelike feel. California wines and beers predominate, but the lineup circles the globe. The same owners run Chispa, a tequila-oriented bar a few blocks away.

This small club near the airport, the unofficial headquarters of the city's indie music scene, has a national reputation for showcasing up-and-coming acts of all genres. Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and the White Stripes all played here on the way to stardom. Check the calendar for daily shows and events.

Euro-chic yet comfortable, this rooftop lounge serves up jaw-dropping skyline views along with sophisticated small bites and expert cocktails—it's not hard to reach the $65 per person minimum spend. The indoor space is cozy and intimate, and the outdoor tables with personal firepits are popular, so reservations are a good idea.

Around since 1959, this dive bar and steak joint continues to be well-loved in Santa Monica. Everyone from the young to the old (including families) frequents this historical landmark, where Marilyn Monroe is said to have once canoodled with JFK. It's a charming place, from the well-worn booths with their red-checkered tablecloths to the ship's wheel near the door. Photographs are discouraged, but if you ask politely, you can learn how one of the restaurant's famous free peanuts ended up on a trip to the Moon. The backyard lounge is perfect for warm, low-key days; the grub's solid, with a more contemporary menu, and the happy hour is popular amongst locals and tourists alike.

In Spanish, the name of this upscale watering hole means "spark"—it's also slang for "tipsy"—but by any translation it's a lively place to sip artisanal tequila in cocktails or on its own. The tequila-friendly menu plays the field with ceviche, raw oysters, caviar bumps, tacos, and pork-belly lettuce cups. Other spirits are served, along with beer and wine.

Here’s a rooftop joint where you can cowboy (or cowgirl) up while eating tacos, learning to line dance, and belting out your favorite country western jams (Wednesday is karaoke night). Mirror-clad cowboy boots float above the dance floor, while cowhide covered chairs and mounted longhorns create a Wild West vibe. This glam honky-tonk prides itself on being a little bit country and a whole lotta Hollywood. 

Tucked away in a basement on quiet Hudson Avenue, Dirty Laundry is a former speakeasy turned proper late night cocktail bar with live music and DJs spinning both fresh and throwback music. There’s beer on hand, but here, cocktails are king.

Echo Park is peppered with music venues, but if you want to be in the heart of the neighborhood's live music scene, you should head to the Echo. With a full bar and recurring theme nights, the spot hosts cutting-edge music from both up-and-coming local and touring acts as well as well-known bands.