Relaxed regulations from California's ABC make it easier to get booze during the coronavirus pandemic. Though not yet proven to boost your immunity, these take-home cocktails may be just what the doctor ordered
In an effort to bolster the flagging revenue of local food and drink businesses, California's department of Alcoholic Beverage Control recently loosened some laws around the sale of adult beverages. More booze? Don't mind if we do. According to the regulatory relief, issued earlier this month, restaurants may now sell pre-mixed cocktails to-go to anyone over 21, so long as the drinks come in a sealed and accompany food. Cheers to a little good news!
Cocktails To-Go From San Francisco Restaurants
Happy hour at home doesn't have to be sad with creative bar bites and innovative libations from True Laurel, like the Mai o Mai, a 7x7 Big Drink cocktail made with rum, curaçao, lime, pistachio orgeat, and a coffee rum float. Bottled drinks are $14 each, or $79 for a six-pack. $30 bottles of wine—including cava, pet nat, and syrah—as well as Temescal Pils tallboys are also available. // 753 Alabama St. (MIssion); call ahead to order at 415-341-0020, view the to-go menu at truelaurelsf.com.
The Haight Street hot spot is cranking out six bottled cocktails ($20/two) including Thyme in a Bottle (gin, genepy, dry vermouth, cocchi) and the sultry Smokin' Barrels (bonded rye, Benedictine, vermouths, Scotch). Feeling festive-ish? Order up a bottle of Roederer Brut ($28), as well as red and white wine options and bottles of beer. // 598 Haight St. (Lower Haight); Check out the menu at maven-sf.com, then order by calling ahead at 415-829-7982 or via Facebook DM; delivery is also available via Caviar.
The new normal for Mourad Lahlou's restaurant group includes $15 carry-out Negronis, Vespers, and Rye Double Old Fashioneds. There are also several wines available by the glass and bottle. // 5800 Geary Blvd. (Outer Richmond); call 415-682-4196.AMANDA: I DON'T SEE ANY OF THE COCKTAILS YOU LIST ON THEIR ONLINE MENU; AND NO BOOZE AT ALL ON DOOR DASH SO I'M DELETING THAT.PLS LMK HOW WE SHOULD HANDLE THE COCKTAILS—ARE THEY ON A DIFFERENT MENU THAT I'M MISSING? OR PERHAPS THE COCKTAIL LIST HAS CHANGED?
At Nopalito's Broderick Street location, plastic to-go tubs have been filled with the tequila cocktails. Margaritas, Sweet Heats, sangria, and bloody marias can be picked up from the to-go window between Fell and Oak street, as can michelada kits and full bottles of Del Maguey Vida mezcal and Pueblo Viejo Blanco tequila. One 16-ounce container serves two for $16. // 306 Broderick St. (Lower Haight); to order for pick-up, email catering@nopalitosf.com or call 415-300-0029; a limited cocktail selection, plus six-packs of Tecate and a few wine options, is also available for delivery via Caviar.
This iconic SF restaurant is giving 100 percent of the profits on all cocktails sold Friday through Sunday to cafe employees who are being furloughed due to COVID-19 distancing mandates. Order up a bloody mary, espressotini, or one of a few $13 cocktail recipes from beloved local bars, including Wildhawk's Breakfast Negroni, a 7x7 Big Drink favorite. If you're having a social distancing happy hour, $45 margarita pitchers are also available, as well as beer (Pliny the Elder) and several wines. // 3199 Fillmore St. (Cow Hollow); check out the menu at balboacafesf.com, then call 415–921–3944 to place a pick-up order; delivery is available through Postmates.
Douse your chilly studio apartment in island vibes thanks to bottles of rosé, Red Stripes, punch bowls, Palmades, and piña colada kits from Palm House. A single bloody mary is only $5, while cocktail kits for four range from $30 to $65. // 2032 Union St. (Cow Hollow); delivery and pick-up are available through Postmates and UberEats.
One of San Francisco's oldest bars is taking up one of its latest trends. Get bottles of spirits, wine, beer, and mixers delivered to your doorstep, or make a go of it with one of Elixir's cocktail kits, each of which makes more 20 drinks. ($44-$173). // See inventory of spirits at drinks on Elixir's Facebook page, then order for delivery by emailing Elixirsfdelivery@gmail.com.
Shortly after closing the doors to Old Devil Moon, Chris Cohen pounced on a new opportunity. The owner bought a crowler machine and hundreds of bottles, and then set to work packaging custom cocktails, including ODM's version of the Boulevardier, a Mezcalita, and bloodies. Each 12-ounce bottle ($18) contains three cocktails; 22-ounce bottles ($28) are also available, as are growler fills for beer (BYO growler), and a limited selection of bottled spirits, wines, and cider. Get a muffaletta sandwich or Cajun hot link to go with. // Open 2pm to 8pm daily; 3472 Mission St. (Glen Park); check out the menu at olddevilmoonsf.com.
This Bayview neighborhood joint is offering cocktails to-go as a part of their End of the World As We Know It Menu. Team your breakfast biscuit sandwich or crab louie salad with a sazerac, Kat Five Hurricane, beer punch, and more ($8-$9; get $2 off some drinks during happy hour until 6pm). // 5114 Third St. (Bayview); call 415-500-2501 to order for pickup; wordacafe.com.
Seven Stills
In addition to full bottles of spirts, the local distillery is also offering a limited edition "Apocalypse" menu of classic and creative cocktails including the Mission Mule, Armadillo, and Devil's Acre made with 7S Pisco. Drinks range from $11 to $14 for a single serving and $30 to $45 for 750ml bottles. // 100 Hooper St. (SoMa); schedule pickup through Toast; delivery coming soon.
Cocktails To-Go From Oakland Restaurants
Know what sounds good right now? Buttermilk fried chicken, soba biscuits, and curbside cocktails! Hopscotch's pre-batch cocktails for four ($30) include a maple Old Fashioned, Corpse Reviver, and a Black Manhattan; or you can get a DIY Lo-Fi Spritz kit ($45 serves 12). // 1915 San Pablo Ave. (Oakland); call ahead for pickup at 510-788-6217, or order delivery through Caviar; view the full menu at hopscotchoakland.com.
Resurrect your tastebuds with a black walnut chai Old Fashioned, sumac Negroni, or a lavender vodka tonic to-go ($20 per two-cocktail batch), all ready to serve straight up or on the rocks. Ice, seltzer, and lime are only an ask away. The restaurant's all-day menu also includes a three-course family meal of grilled pork loin, braised cabbage, potatoes, and carrot cake. // 3762 Piedmont Ave. (Oakland); call 510-344-7214 or order for takeout online through Toast; magorestaurant.com.
Nido's eateries are joining forces to bring the fiesta to your casa with an extensive menu of six-cocktail batches ($45-$50)—including margaritas, sangria, and various tequila and mezcal drinks—six-packs of beer, and $55 family meals that feed four. // The Backyard, 104 Oak St. (Oakland) call 510-500-9757 for pickup, or order delivery through Caviar; backyardoakland.com.
Life is kinda drab these days, but at least there's a wonderful world of tiki drinks for takeaway! (Just be sure they stay sealed until you get home.) At the beloved Kon-Tiki, bottled cocktails ($18-$28, roughly two drinks per serving) include The Kon-Tiki Grog, Zombie, Saturn, and more. Don't forget the bar snacks: The menu includes hot fries with togarashi and kewpie mayo, a vegan sloppy joe, and a double burger. // Take-out only; Call 510-823-2332 to order; check Facebook for updates
Beer Takeaway + Delivery at Bay Area Breweries
Wash down pretzel sticks, currywurst, and sausages with fresh beer in crowlers and cans from Black Hammer, which is offering takeout (noon to 8pm daily) and delivery via Caviar. Craving their beet reuben but not into beer? Grab a 32-ounce crowler of rosé or sauv blanc. // 544 Bryant St. (SoMa); call 415-766-9225 to order, blackhammerbrewing.com.
Stock up from select bottled and canned beers, wines, and ciders at lower-than-usual retail prices from the popular brewpub. Team your suds with a larder board, kale salad, and fried chicken sando. // 3141 16th St. (Mission); for takeout, call 415–865–9523, or order in-person at the window and get a 10 percent off food; delivery is available via Postmates, Uber Eats, DoorDash, and GrubHub; monkskettle.com.
Order up your usual burgers, wings, and chopped salads and get $10 six-packs of California Kolsch and Dubs Golden Ale, or fill up a 32-ounce crowler of any fresh beer on tap for just $11. Selection rotates regularly. // 1398 Haight St. (Upper Haight); order for pickup through Toast;; magnoliabrewing.com.
Pick a fresh four-pack ($13-$23) or select a spare 16-ounce crowler ($7) for home delivery. Stop by in person to increase your selection. // 69 Bluxome St.; order online for takeout and delivery at localbrewingco.com.
