6 San Francisco Bars Where You Can Act Like a Pirate

San Francisco is a city that loves to have silly costumed fun. It’s a great place for people who wish they were pirates.  Heck, we’ve even got a “pirate store” that locals love to drop in on to pick up whatever they need in terms of pirate supplies.  No, I’m not kidding; it’s 826 Valencia if you need to check it out for yourself.  So go get your eye patch (or even your designer glass eyes) and head out into the SF nightlife to pillage the city like only a good pirate could do.

1. The Old Ship Saloon, 298 Pacific Ave. (@ Battery St.), Financial District  415.788.2222

This is the most authentic pirate spot you’re going to find in San Francisco.  As history tells it, a storm-blown ship got stuck in the area when the Barbary Coast shenanigans were taking place and an entrepreneurial guy cut a hole in it to make a door, installed a gangplank to get you in and started serving alcohol.  It’s a neighborhood dive that doesn’t require you to wear an eye patch to fit in with the old sailors (but wearing one would probably be okay as well).

2. Amnesia Bar, 853 Valencia (@ 19^th St.) The Mission  415.970.0012

No one is going to blink an eye if you start acting like a pirate in this Mission bar because it’s located just doors down from “the pirate store”.  With everyone glowing from the red lighting, it looks like a place where pillaging and pirating is meant to take place.  Just hope that no one’s wooden leg is catching your toes when you find your way to the dance floor.

3. Cha Cha Cha, 2327 Mission St. (@ 19^th St.) The Mission  415.824.1502

Also located close enough to “the pirate store” (at least at their Mission location), Cha Cha Cha is a San Francisco favorite for low key tapas and low-priced drinking.  It’s not quite the spot of the sailors but if you’re a modern day pirate who is trying to find a place to blend in with the other sea-faring folk who’ve been landlocked for awhile, here’s your spot.

4. Conga Lounge, 5422 College Ave. (@ Kales St.) Rockridge  510.463.2681

Ah, but if you want to really create in a ruckus in a spot that conjures up images of pirates and their original destinations, head over to the East Bay to this spot in Oakland where banana trees, coconut rum drinks and Calypso nights will make you feel like you’ve gone a lot further than just to the other side of the bridge.

5. The Alembic, 1725 Haight St. (@ Cole St.),The Haight  415.666.0822

Everyone knows that what a pirate needs is a bottle of rum (and a yo ho ho to go with it, of course).  The Alembic is the San Francisco spot where you can go get started on the rum and keep drinking until you’ve finished the bottle.  Note that you’ll probably end the night swaying and singing “A Pirate’s Life For Me”.

6. Smuggler’s Cove, 650 Gough Street, (@ McAllister), Western Addition/ NoPA, 415.869.1900

For a true rum bar head over to Smuggler’s Cove. They have an extensive list of cocktails that are almost all made with rum. Many of these are historic drinks that were popular in the Prohibition Era and in old Havana. However, there are also some new cutting-edge drinks. The bar has two hundred different types of rum, seventy different cocktails and always uses fresh juice in its drinks. Plus it’s called Smuggler’s Cove. What more could you want as a pirate?