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Step into Stoa for an elegant, garnish-free cocktail, and you’ll probably meet Yanni Kehagiaras. Since he and his partners opened the bar in 2023, the bearded and bespeckled bartender has been behind the stick every day — “save for one weekend funeral” — usually showing up around 9 a.m. and leaving after the doors close. “It’s maniacal,” he admits. “But this is deeply personal. It’s my love letter to the Lower Haight.”
Perched on the corner of Haight and Pierce, Stoa is one of a handful of bars and restaurants that have made the Lower Haight my favorite neighborhood for eating and drinking. The bar, which the beverage website Punch named one of the country’s best in 2024, sits at one end a two-block stretch that strikes the perfect balance between old-school and new, where decades-old dives sit next to underappreciated neighborhood gems — the kinds of places that could probably survive by simply serving solid food but instead sling tacos made with supple heirloom corn tortillas and creamy matcha lattes sweetened with house-made orange-blossom syrup.
Superlatives are, of course, highly subjective. But in my opinion, Haight Street between Pierce and Fillmore is the city’s best place to spend a chill night out. I start with a stiff drink at Stoa, usually the $17 Hedge Maze, a sweet and herbaceous blend of gin, vermouth, and green chartreuse. I order a bowl of popcorn that’s been coated in nutritional yeast and chile powder. (I dare you not to lick that savory-salty goodness off your fingers.)
Afterward, if I’m lucky, there’s space to squeeze in at Bar Jabroni, the sunflower-yellow restaurant that bills itself as a wine bar, just across the street. Over a glass of pét-nat or slightly minerally Nerello Mascalese, I dig into a shrimp Louie salad showered in shaved egg yolk and served with crisp leaves of baby lettuce. Chef Nikko Edwards’ funky little menu punches way above its weight, with dishes like fresh strozzapreti in a surprisingly spicy pork sugo and a salad of little gem lettuce slick with green garlic Caesar dressing and topped with wedges of avocado so thick they feel lavish.
If every seat at Jabroni is full, I’ll just pop two doors down to Otra, the family-run Mexican restaurant from chef Nick Cobarruvias, where dinner always starts with an order of frijolitos, or creamy refried black beans, served with salty, uber-crunchy chips. The carnitas tacos are a fan favorite, but my heart belongs to the roasted mushroom tacos, drizzled with poblano crema and crunchy, savory peanut salsa macha.
From there, it’s time to bar-hop down the street. And in these two blocks, there’s something for every kind of drinker: Irish pub Danny Coyle’s for those who want to catch the game, Molotov’s to knock one back over a game of pool, Noc Noc to make you shake your head at the trippy, Tim Burton-esque decor and say “Only in San Francisco,” and Toronado Pub for, of course, a cold beer. If I’m craving a more polished atmosphere, I head to Woods Lowside, where there are crispy lagers and funky wine, often live music, and always a cozy back patio.
And in just the past few weeks, the neighborhood welcomed perhaps its hottest resident: Jules, the hit pizza pop-up turned permanent restaurant from chef Max Blachman-Gentile, which has set up shop near Fillmore and Haight. At 5 p.m., you’ll see a line stretching up the street — would-be walk-ins who couldn’t snag a reservation. The salty Drunken Sailor pie, topped with tangy tomato sauce, anchovies, capers, and house-made mozzarella, will have you happily gulping your Lambrusco. But the sleeper hit is the half chicken, which swims in a spicy, African-inspired sauce and comes with blistered snap peas and wilted pea greens.
Beyond the outsize collection of dining and drinking options, the neighborhood has practical appeal, too. Though the geographic center of the city lies a few miles west and south, the Lower Haight feels simultaneously close to everything and not quite anywhere — in the best way. It’s a half mile to Alamo Square, less than that to Duboce Park, and just off the Wiggle. It’s easily accessible by bus and train, a walkable distance from Market Street. And compared to the Mission and North Beach, parking is relatively easy.
Bar Jabroni owner Dennis Cantwell understood the neighborhood’s appeal long before he imagined he’d take over the corner that Ethiopian restaurant Axum Cafe held down for decades. When he worked at Zuni Café and his wife at Bar Agricole, they’d head to Molotov’s to catch a Giants game after work. Like Kehagiaras, Cantwell and his wife can be found at Bar Jabroni most nights of the week. “I think the Lower Haight respects that,” Cantwell says. “It always reminds me, a little bit, of a version of San Francisco that I wish would never, ever go away.”
Where to eat and drink in the Lower Haight
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Bar Jabroni
Come for the chilled red and orange wine but stay for plates like beef tartare with Szechuan peppercorns and house-made focaccia and ricotta. The front tables, tucked up against big windows that face the street, are the best seats in the house, but walk-ins can usually find a spot at the bar.
Stoa
Bar manager Yanni Kehagiaras favors minimalist cocktails made with fewer than five ingredients, so expect drinks that are lean, mean, and never very sweet. Don’t sleep on the eclectic menu of small plates, which are free of gluten, dairy, and seed oil — not that you’d ever notice.
Otra
A light, vegetable-forward menu of Mexican cuisine sets Otra apart in a sea of Mission burritos. Start your casual meal with creamy refried black-bean dip and smoky charred cabbage, followed by tacos stuffed with carnitas, fried fish, or cauliflower “al pastor.”
Molotov’s
This is easily one of the best dive bars in the city, recognizable by its bright-red exterior and beloved in large part because it hasn’t changed much in two decades. Expect punk or rock on the jukebox, stiff drinks at affordable prices, and a motley crowd playing pool and pinball.
Woods Lowside
Though there’s plenty of seating inside, the pro move is to grab your beer or glass of wine and find a seat on the cozy back patio. (Yes, there are heaters.) Woods’ beers lean crisp and dry, so they drink well with a Detroit-style pie from Joyride Pizza, available on-site.
Toronado Pub
San Francisco’s most famous beer bar is up for sale, but you’ll have no idea it’s embroiled in drama when you step inside. The bartenders are as gruff as ever, and the beer list is just as overwhelming. There are 50 taps, three cask hand-pulls, and more than 90 options in cans and bottles.
Coffee Out There
Bags of freshly roasted beans line the walls of this shoebox, which serves coffee, espresso, and matcha that can be sweetened with house-made vanilla, caramel, pistachio, lavender, or orange-vanilla syrups. There’s very limited seating inside and out front, so plan to take your drink to go.
Choux
One storefront over, Choux sells boxes of pastries from a walk-up window. The filled choux pastries are the stars, in flavors that include chocolate, vanilla, salted caramel, and raspberry, with rotating options like pistachio and mocha.
Jules
Though Jules is first and foremost a pizzeria, the former pop-up’s permanent home means an expanded menu that also offers herby beef-and-lamb meatballs, yellowtail crudo in blood-orange leche de tigre, and a succulent roasted chicken served with blistered snap peas, pea greens, and pickled hibiscus. Reservations are hard to snag, but bar seats and a communal table are set aside for walk-ins.