A slew of Bay Area bars made the top 10 regional honorees list ahead of the prestigious Spirited Awards by Tales of the Cocktail Foundation.
The local nominees included 10 Bay Area bars and restaurants that fell into four different U.S. categories specific to the West Coast: best U.S. bar team, best U.S. cocktail bar, best U.S. restaurant bar, and best new U.S. cocktail bar.
The list featured eight San Francisco businesses: Pacific Cocktail Haven and True Laurel (best U.S. bar team), Lolo and Bar Agricole (best U.S. restaurant bar), and Dalva and For the Record (best new U.S. cocktail bar). True Laurel was also listed in the best U.S. cocktail bar section along with Trick Dog and Wildhawk.
Nicolas Torres, founder and bar director of True Laurel, said he was thrilled to be nominated in two different categories among friends. True Laurel was also nominated for best bar team for 2022 but lost the title to Katana Kitten in New York. Torres hopes things work in his favor this time around.
“I believe this is the third time we have been short-listed,” Torres told SFGATE. “This time, we hope to take it to the next round, but if not, it’s always a great feeling to be appreciated and recognized nationally and internationally.”
Eric Ochoa, a partner at Dalva, told SFGATE that he was pleased to have his bar recognized, especially after it was temporarily closed from the start of the pandemic in March 2020 through January of last year.
Dalva, at 3121 16th St. in San Francisco, recently made Tales of the Cocktail Foundation’s regional top 10 honorees list.
Andrew C. and Tayler S. on Yelp“We reopened Dalva with the goal of being a great neighborhood drinking establishment with good people that work behind the bar,” Ochoa said. “Thank you to our staff for all the work they do every day to make this bar in the Mission District shine again.”
For the Record in the Marina is nearing its one-year anniversary after opening last April. Barry John Walsh, who owns the retro-style bar, shared that having For the Record named in the best new U.S. bar category was a testament to bar manager Janice Bailon and the entire team.
Beyond San Francisco, Oakland bar Viridian was twice nominated as the best U.S. bar team and best U.S. restaurant bar. Paper Plane in San Jose was also listed as a contender in the best U.S. bar team section.
For the Record is located at 2120 Greenwich St. in San Francisco. The San Francisco bar recently made Tales of the Cocktail Foundation’s regional top 10 honorees list.
Cube I. on YelpTales of the Cocktail Foundation is expected to reveal international and national winners in late June. See the full list of Bay Area nominees below. For the full list of U.S. and international honorees, see the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation site.
Best U.S. bar team — U.S. West
Pacific Cocktail Haven, San Francisco
True Laurel, San Francisco
Paper Plane, San Jose
Viridian Bar, Oakland
Best U.S. cocktail bar — U.S. West
Trick Dog, San Francisco
True Laurel, San Francisco
Wildhawk, San Francisco
Best U.S. restaurant bar — U.S. West
Bar Agricole, San Francisco
Lolo, San Francisco
Viridian, Oakland
Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar — U.S. West
Dalva, San Francisco
For the Record, San Francisco
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