San Francisco is really an iconic place on the west coast which greatly contrast with Los Angeles. You will not find much of anything old in Los Angeles whereas San Francisco offers an 'old world' feeling. Where to find to the oldest bars in SF I wondered?
(1) The Oldest is "The Embarcadero"
Old Ship Saloon was established in 1851
298 Pacific Ave., www.oldshipsaloon.com
The oldest bar in San Francisco (Elixir will have something to say about that), Old Ship Saloon is a bar made out of a ship hull that ran aground during a storm off of Alcatraz. It was later towed to the current location at the beach. Since renovated, the bar still preserves the memory of the ship.
(2) The second oldest is "Elixir"
Elixir was established in 1858
3200 16th St., www.elixirsf.com
Elixir has seen a lot going on since the Wild West days. In 2003, the bar was fully restored to its original glory by 'H', its new owner.
(3) The third oldest is "The Saloon"
The Saloon was established in 1861
1232 Grant St.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Saloon
The oldest “saloon” in the city. Yes there are still saloons in the US.
(4) The fourth oldest is "Northstar Cafe"
Northstar Cafe was established in 1882
1560 Powell St., https://twitter.com/northstarcafesf
The oldest bar in the North Beach area with plenty of libations and free popcorns all day.
(5) The fifth oldest is "Shotwell’s"
Shotwell's was established in 1891
3349 20th St., www.shotwellsbar.com
Shotwell’s originally opened as a grocery store saloon by German immigrants with a backroom for beer drinking. Today it serves only beer, but many including craft beers from the Bay Area.
(6) The sixth oldest is Little Shamrock
Little Shamrock was established in 1896
807 Lincoln Way, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Shamrock
The oldest business in the Sunset-Little Shamrock area nearby the Golden Gate Park. The Shamrock first opened in 1896 to let people have a beer and play darts.
