San Francisco has no shortage of bars rooted in history. Our city was command central for the Gold Rush, we felt the burden of Prohibition, and we've got bars that date to the 1850s, taverns that infamously housed Beats, bohemians, tycoons, mobsters, miners, prostitutes, sailors, politicians, and activists. Our city is alive with a vibrant and historically significant past — one that doesn't shy away from a cozy stool at our favorite watering hole.
Named after a Turkish pirate, Barbarossa is a North Beach cocktail lounge that feels this history acutely and breathes new life into a historic location. The building once harbored criminals and convicts as a 19th-century jailhouse — and Barbarossa has kept much of that spirit alive. You can find brick from the original building, sealed-off solitary confinement cells, and mug shots of infamous felons hanging from the walls.
Long before Barbarossa opened, the neighborhood was a red-light district dubbed the Barbary Coast. From dance halls and saloons to variety shows and brothels, this was the center of the city's allure (with all the decadence and depravity that went with it). From the late 1800s, the area became a holding place for booze that thankfully survived the earthquake and fires. Barbarossa pays homage to the seedy underbelly of the city: Its decor is one part modern luxury, one part swanky lounge, and one part 50 Shades of Grey. Peek around at chandeliers hanging from menacing metal cages, and photographs of women in bondage, along with handcuffs, keys, and swords nailed to the walls — all steeped in deep red lighting. On weekend nights, a DJ inhabits the basement, spinning lounge-y tunes befitting a downtown New York City cocktail bar — maybe the covert destination for illicit affairs and lecherous behavior.
And what would a lasciviously curated bar be without drinks bearing titillating names? There's the Margo St. James, a flirty cocktail with gin, Aperol, grape, and an unexpected kick from peppermint water, named for the most famous madame of Maiden Lane, who ran a high-class brothel for politicians and dignitaries (or possibly for the sex-positive feminist of our own day who founded St. James' infirmary). Lady Killigrew was a female Irish pirate from the 19th century, and now she's a tiki-style number with rum, pisco, coconut liqueur, banana, allspice, and lime.
Some drinks verge on the saccharine side, but there are some gems amidst the sea of sweetness. The Bandit's Way is a highlight, with whiskey, bourbon, cereal milk, old-fashioned bitters, and Hawaiian nutmeg — a grown-up after-school special. It's sweet and approachable, but gets a kick from two whiskeys, and the nostalgia element makes sipping this drink a pleasure. Barbarossa's signature cocktail is the seasonal grog, a take on a beverage consumed by pirates and sailors that mixes spirits, citrus, and water. Grog harkens back to the Barbary Coast's past as the port for eager hopefuls sailing to San Francisco to pursue their fortunes. As citrus was used to ward off scurvy, the spirits were intended to keep the water from going rancid. This grog may be sweet, but it's transportive in nature.
Bar consultant Christina Cabrera began her career training as a cook at the CIA, so her cocktails have a culinary edge. Ingredients like chicory, sage, and jasmine pop out to the discerning eye, and you realize this isn't your average Financial District happy hour hang. The cocktails are minimally garnished, which is a relief when our basis of comparison for many of these pirate-inspired cocktails are the kitschy, cumbersome concoctions of the Tonga Room.
The food is modest and simple, with raw dishes, salads, meat and cheese plates, and dessert. It's food that you might have found in the decades before automobiles and it's meant for sharing: pastrami sandwiches, oysters, Brussels sprouts, pickles, and apple streusel. But the nibbles aren't the main draw here; it's only meant to keep you upright as you sit back on voluptuous leather couches, sipping cocktails. You don't come to Barbarossa for the food, you come for the ambiance. You come after dinner at Tosca if your date is going well and you want to keep the mood going. You come to whisper in your date's ear as you subtly slip your arm around her (or his) waist. You come wearing six-inch heels, deep red lips, and that little black dress.
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