Cute cafe and wine bar in North Beach run by a Brit. Cold beer and decent wines. Free Wi-Fi, Premiership on the telly, great sandwiches, delicious fondue. On Mondays and Fridays local musicians and poets perform.

www.melt-cafe.com

Melt!
700 Columbus Ave @ Filbert
San Francisco

Tel: (415) 392-9290

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Cha Cha Cha is a restaurant on Haight Street. The food is Caribbean - my favorite is the red snapper wrapped in banana leaves with black beans and plantains - but no matter what you eat, or even if you're not hungry, DO NOT MISS the sangria (just make sure you don't have to drive afterwards).

As the Frommers website says, Cha Cha Cha is not a meal, it's an experience. Moderately priced. No reservations. Weird people, weird neighborhood, great food and wine (not a full bar).

1801 Haight Street (nearest intersection: Schrader street) - a few blocks from Ashbury and half a block from Golden Gate Park;.
tel: (415) 386-7670
public transport: bus 71 stops less than a block away

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A great late afternoon/early evening walk up Grant Avenue starting at Market Street and ending at Coit Tower. You start in the heart of downtown but soon transition to Chinatown and then the Italian North Beach district before ending with panoramic views of The City and The Bay.

Stop at local establishments Tosca (www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7859) for an Irish coffee, Cafe Macaroni (www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7860) for dinner, then catch some live blues at the Saloon (www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7858) - Perfect!

Start at Grant Ave and Market Street.

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A low-key 40s-style cocktail bar that specialises in killer Irish coffee (the bar staff make them in batches by lining 30 glasses up along the bar). Also noteworthy for having only opera on the jukebox. A hidden gem that never seems really busy and has a great casual atmosphere.

242 Columbus Ave (between Broadway & Pacific) in North Beach;
tel: 415 986 9651

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A great no-frills old timey bar with live blues (the excellent Johnny Nitro and the Doorslammers are the house band - Fridays and Sundays).

The place has an authentic neighborhood feel about it and is a great stop on a walk up Grant from Market to Coit Tower (see www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7862). Warning: Strange things will happen and people will dance!

1232 Grant Ave, near Grant and Broadway, North Beach;
tel: (415) 989-7666;
www.sfblues.net/Saloon.html

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Cocktail bar and restaurant that has a Pacific island theme. The band plays on a boat that drifts out into the lagoon to a mock storm complete with rain. As fabulously tacky as it sounds.

Fairmont Hotel: 950 Mason Street (there's an entrance off California Street);
tel: (415) 772 5278;
www.fairmont.com

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Modern American cuisine with international influences and classic cocktails. The dishes are small and it is recommended to order 3 or 4 each (like tapas) from the menu and share with your partner or party, so you get to sample most of the menu. Definitely more on the quality of the food and not quantity, Friendly staff and quick service, or just pop in for a drink.

1085 Sutter St (& Larkin), San Francisco (next door to Hotel Carlton); tel: (415) 441 4232;
www.brickrestaurant.com

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In the same vein as the Mad Dog in the Fog (owned by the same guy), this is the city's premier sports bar.

And by sports, I mean sports. The Kezar is located across the street from Kezar Stadium, the former home of the city's five-time Super Bowl champion 49ers, now converted to a trim 10,000 seat athletics, football and soccer stadium. The atmosphere follows the same vein as the decor: distinctly 49ers-related, and NFL and college action packs the place to watch every game on its 24 TV screens. Similar crowds watch baseball, especially the Boston Red Sox, or ice hockey (an unusual interest of the owner - read more). March madness may bring the biggest crowds of all. If you want your American sport, the Kezar's the place to go.

But it's more than that.

The Kezar abuts the epicentre of the city's legendary Irish community (a community third only to New York and Boston) and there is a distinctly Irish undertone to the place, from the logo exhibiting Kezar Stadium's famous arch with a shamrock placed in it to the Irish bar staff and owner. Gaelic sports are in abundance here, and the bar is equally full for the Six Nations or Republic of Ireland internationals.

But while it's an Irish bar in America, it's not an “Irish” bar. Rather, it's a mishmash of European and American sensibilities. The Premiership and Champions League football attract huge crowds, mixing tourists, American fans, and expatriates. New Zealanders and Australians pack the pub for Tri-Nations rugby (shown live in the wee hours) and even Indians come for cricket. The World Cup saw the start of Kezar's newest demographic - Ukranian soccer fans.

Oh, the food's also top notch for a sports bar. You'll find your fish and chips, meat pies and your Irish fare, including shepherd's pie and the legendary Irish breakfasts munched on by hungry rugby and football fans, as well as American hamburgers and buffalo wings. But the owner's wife - a chef - adds some subtle touches in the form of salmon, penne pasta and excellent salads.

Beer flows freely here, with several varieties of American beers, English ales, and God's own Guinness.

770 Stanyan St, at the edge of the Haight-Ashbury district. Reachable by several bus lines, including the 71 Haight-Noriega, the 43 Masonic and the 6 Haight;
tel: (415) 386 9292

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The bar on top of the Mark Hopkins Hotel is a famous and historic bar. It has a fantastic view of the city and a relaxed atmosphere. Here you can have a drink at "weepers corner" where the wives/girlfriends of the sailors in WW2 watched their loved ones sail off to war, many to never return again. Truly mesmerising views.

1 Nob Hill (999 California Street) - you cant miss it, it is visible from all of San Francisco;
tel: (415) 616 6916;
www.topofthemark.com

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It's a great bar that hosts literary readings, music quiz nights and more. They also serve the best British chippy-style fish & chips I've found since moving here. (They actually come from the Old Chelsea, a tiny place round the corner.) Irvine Welsh has been known to hang out there.

950 Geary Street;
tel: (415) 885 4074;
www.castlenews.com

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If it is a sunny evening, have a drink at Medjool's "sky terrace", the only rooftop bar in the city. Beautiful panoramas, beautiful people. The drinks and food are slightly less beautiful, but you come here for the 360 degree drop dead gorgeous views.

2522 Mission St (nearest intersection is 21st Street);
tel: (415) 550 9055;
www.medjoolsf.com

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Classic beat hangout just across Jack Kerouac Alley from City Lights Bookstore. Good beer on tap; fascinating decor; try to get an upstairs table.

255 Columbus Avenue; tel: (415) 362 3370;
Open: 6am-2am every day of the week;
www.vesuvio.com

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This is a low key bar in the Lower Haight (Haight and Fillmore), a funky, low-key neighbourhood, where you can go early on Saturday and catch your Premiership games. They've got a lot of TVs to cover the games, good food and atmosphere. The house team is Aston Villa.

Market St Street car line to the Church St Exit.

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One of the best views in San Francisco is to be found in the financial district, at the top of the Bank of America building (of Towering Inferno fame). Its bar/restaurant (Carnelian Room) is open to the public after three in the afternoon and has some breathtaking views of the bay.

Carnelian Room
Bank of America Building
555 California St. (Kearny St.)
San Francisco, CA 94104
415-433-7500

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This bar on the 52nd floor of the Bank of America building has the best views of San Francisco and the Bay. At around 4 or 5pm, you can watch the fog roll in over the Golden Gate. Cocktails are OK and served by ancient waiters.

carnelianroom.com/ 555 California St 52nd Floor San Francisco, CA 94104 Tel: (415) 433-7500

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One of the best-kept SF secrets. A lovely outdoor place on the bay with (usually) live salsa, grilled oysters and other seafood delicacies, and wonderfully convivial atmosphere.

855 China Basin (Potrero Hill)

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For the best local rock and punk bands head to this little bar at the base of Potrero Hill. Friendly, alcohol-fueled, huge patio, cheap beer. Cover charge varies from $5-7 depending on night and bands. Everything starts late, the first act crawling on to the stage about 10pm. Thai food available earlier in the evening.

1600 17th St. (at Wisconsin), on the 22 bus line; tel: (415) 503 0393
www.theeparkside.com

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Located off Townsend between 3rd & 4th Street in the thriving South Beach /Soma area, 330 Ritch Street has been hosting events, receptions and club nights for over a decade.

Known for its underground appeal, hipsters flock to this club five days a week for it's various musical genres. Especially recommended is Popscene, a Britpop night each Thursday bringing you the best in indie, Britpop, mod and electronica.

We were staying for a week and in that time managed to see Jet (before they were big and who we ended up going out drinking with), The Libertines and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

330 Ritch Street (nearest cross street: Brannan & Townsend at 3rd);
tel. (415) 541 9574
popscene-sf.com; www.myspace.com/popscenemusic

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Zeitgeist is a must on a sunny day. They have giant cocktails, a good selection of beers and lovely barbecued food. Tamales from the Tamale Lady is a must if she comes in. Interesting people as well.

199 Valencia St (nearest intersection is Duboce Ave), San Francisco, CA 94103;
tel: (415) 255 7505

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A great little brew pub, with good tapas, and occasional live dancing.

661 Howard St; tel: (415) 974 0905; www.thirstybear.com

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