Welcome to Swig City, where we point you toward the can’t-miss drinks at some of the best restaurants, clubs, and neighborhood cocktail bars in SF. Cheers!

The raucous scene at Bar Darling at 9 p.m. on a Thursday was everything people love about the Marina — and everything people don’t. It was packed. Two guys in navy-blue puffer vests discussed impending AI-related layoffs. Perched on the edge of a chair, a woman flirted at maximum volume. The pace at which people were downing drinks was almost intimidating.

A few days later, shortly before 5 p.m., I found a very different scene. Groups of two and three sipped drinks over quiet conversation. Beams of sunlight shone through skylights until the fog snuffed them out. A child tugged at his dad’s shirttails. Couples huddled for warmth on the freshly landscaped rear patio, marked by a sign stating “Get lost in the right direction.” 

These competing vibes aren’t symptoms of a venue with an identity crisis. Rather, Bar Darling, a month-old spot on Chestnut Street with walls hand-painted to evoke the leafy oasis that is the nearby Presidio, has its finger on the Marina’s pulse.

To start, the cocktail list is strong in every sense. The Mama J, a supercharged margarita-adjacent creation made with charred green pepper and chipotle, nailed the smoky-spicy-sour balance. One of the best-sellers is the Tam Tam (gin, carrot, saffron, honey, and lemon), which I found almost overpowering until melting ice drew out the sweetness. Meanwhile, the luxurious mouthfeel of the Asher, a fat-washed gin martini made with olive oil, found a way out of the briny, dirty cul-de-sac so many of the city’s martinis have gotten stuck in. 

Every cocktail is $14, which is conspicuously affordable given the tony neighborhood. Cofounder Jamal Blake-Williams says the team was “aggressive” in its pursuit of wallet-friendliness. Drinks, he adds, “don’t need to be $18.”

Blake-Williams spearheaded Bar Darling in partnership with prolific bar owner Nate Valentine, who closed nearby gastropub The Tipsy Pig mere days before the former’s debut. Between them, they also operate Bar April Jean, Harper & Rye, and Peacekeeper, neighborhood cocktail joints that share wood-heavy interiors, arched bars, woven-basket light fixtures, and an air of upmarket approachability. Another partner, Stryker Scales, hails from Mamanoko, a Japanese restaurant a block away. 

Bar Darling is bigger than the others. Its distinct zones, from a semi-private front corner to a pool table in the rear, give it an element of malleability — none more so than the patio, which underwent a significant renovation after the dubiously named restaurant Squat & Gobble vacated last year. Gone are the fountain and back bar; in their place are wooden seating areas, cement tabletops, and native plants. 

The other difference, Blake-Williams notes, is that Bar Darling serves food. This side of the ledger, too, is notable for reasonable prices, including a $12 smoked salmon crudo with horseradish raita and a $17, limited-supply “burger dog” with American cheese, bacon-jalapeño aioli, and tater tots. In a city practically drowning in smashburgers, it may be time to revisit that other small burger variation: the slider. Too often presented as trios of overcooked hockey pucks, they can be ideal happy-hour snacks when done right, and the soft lamb merguez slider with herbed feta and frisée is a must-try at $13.

Then there’s the name, which is affectionate and maybe a bit campy. It’s deliberately gentle, Blake-Williams says, adding that the era of hypermasculine bar names is over. It’s also of a piece with his other bars: April Jean is an ode to his mother, while Peacekeeper suggests talking through disputes over a drink. When the team acquired the space, they were noodling on opening a doughnuts-and-coffee spot called Darling, which stuck with them even after that vision changed. 

“Oh Darling” was the name they gave to an acidic cocktail made with tequila, berry shrub, yellow Chartreuse, and lime. A month in, it’s the house favorite. “It’s the workhorse,” Blake-Williams says.