2629 Best Bars in 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.

Inside one of the city's most recognizable hotels from the big screen (the famous tango scene with Al Pacino from Scent of a Woman was filmed in The Pierre's Cotillion Ballroom) is Two E Bar & Lounge, a former gentleman's library turned chic lounge and intimate performance space that is meant to feel like an Upper East Side residence. Thursday through Saturday evening features live music---which can be jazz, American songbook standards, soul, or even pop---with new guests performing every week. There's no cover charge but it might be best to reserve a table. Be sure to grab a signature cocktails, mocktail, one of the many spirits, and try the truffle French fries or the simple-but-delicious meze platter. 

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.

Part music venue, part burger joint, part nano-brewery, this Lumberyard Arts District destination serves as a hub of local culture. Bluegrass, blues, and soul bands play the intimate stage most nights. The pilsners, lagers, and barleywines at in-house Noblebräu Brewing are among the state's best.

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. 

In a part of the world where nightlife typically consists of listening to coyotes howl beneath a starlit sky, it's nice to have one good late-night ("late" meaning 10 or 11 pm, depending on the season) option. The stylishly converted, circa-1940s service station is a great place to socialize, shoot pool, and sip craft beer and cocktails. There's live music, art classes, trivia matches, and other fun events on some evenings, and the kitchen turns out tasty bar snacks, from nachos to panini. 

This beloved craft brewery and its spacious taproom occupy the Historic Heidelberg Brewery building in downtown Tacoma, a short walk up the hill from the museum district and next to the city's University of Washington campus. It's an appealing place to sample such popular ales as the crisp Axis Brut IPA and the slightly tart, tangerine-infused Life Jacket Citrus IPA. On-site Canteen restaurant serves tasty gastropub fare. A second location is in Gig Harbor, where the brewery originated.

The inimitable 9:30 Club is consistently ranked as one of the best concert venues in the country—as much a place in which bands aspire to play as it is a place that music fans love to patronize. The best indie and up-and-coming performers are the main attractions, though every now and then a bigger act such as Adele, Drake, Ed Sheeran, or Leon Bridges stop by to soak up the vibe of this large but cozy space wrapped by balconies on three sides. Once graced by legends such as Nirvana, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash, the venue is now a great spot for big labels looking for an intimate vibe. For its various music genres, from country to pop, this venue has become one of the most attended clubs of its size.

There are no bad views here, and the excellent sound system means you can stand anywhere for a great show experience.

This converted old feed store has a radio station, bar, and stage on the first floor, a sushi bar and cocktail emporium on the second, a private event space on the third, and a DJ hall and bar on the roof. The food menu includes eclectic street food in addition to the sushi, and the roster of music performers is more varied than most Downtown honky-tonks.

This legendary bar at the Historic Taos Inn has free live music (please tip the musicians), epic margaritas, and a packed dance floor. Talented acts range from singer-songwriters to fiery flamenco dancers. It's also a favorite spot for happy hour—there's a great menu of appetizers and cocktails, and the patio is a lovely place to sit and people-watch on warm evenings.

Located mid-block on the pedestrian corridor that is 6½ Avenue, this sophisticated lounge pours more than 40 by-the-glass and 200 by-the-bottle wines. Aldo Sohm, considered one of the world's top sommeliers, also oversees the wine program at legendary Le Bernardin around the corner. Enjoy a delicious small-bite lunch and dinner selection that, in this case, pairs with the wine menu (not the other way around). Better still, sip varietals while gazing at this bar's original works by Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and other New York artists.

Dance to lively bands on weekends at Alice's, which attracts nationally known singer-songwriters. When you're all danced out, be sure to fill up on their great bar grub or grab a "bag of burgers" to eat back at your hotel room (a deal that consists of six cheeseburgers and fries for $40).