What is it? What started as a bottle shop with a penchant for vermouth and sherry doubles as one of the city’s most charming low-proof bars—kooky, cozy, magical—with live piano music and eclectic vinyl selection.
Why we love it: Since 2014, Royal Cuckoo Market is a little liquor market selling a thoughtful, small-but-killer selection of bottles from small-batch spirits and cocktail mixers to deep cuts vermouths and sherries. But in 2016, they launched the tiny Horsies Saloon in the market, which has been one of my favorite bars in the world since (and I’ve been to over 15,000 bars globally!).
It’s in the family of offbeat, quirky bars I find hidden around Europe, only seating a few, and packs a big personality into just eight bar stools, a couple tables and offbeat parklet. In keeping with its equally quirky-fab sister, Royal Cuckoo Organ Lounge in Outer Mission, it’s also a haven for live music, with gifted performers pounding away at the (piano) keys.
The glowing space feels like stepping into someone’s wildest vintage home: funky lamps, warm red walls, church pews and vinyl spinning everything from 1960s Chinese pop to classic soul and country. Much of the mismatched art and tchotchkes are horse-themed, including paint-by-numbers art, hence the unofficial bar name. This is an industry, drink geek and music lovers’ haven, not a bar for partiers or scene-seekers, but for those who love kitsch, deep cuts music and fortified wines.
Time Out tip: Come here for the insanely affordable low-proof cocktails, catered toward wine and spirits geeks in the know (a Rancio Sour, anyone? Or Pineau Shirliu of pineau des charentes wine, pomegranate seeds and tajin). But the place is friendly, unpretentious and truly a gift to the city.
Address: 3368 19th St, San Francisco, 94110
Opening hours: Mon–Wed 2–10pm, Thu–Sat 11am–11pm
Expect to pay: $8–$12 for drinks