While wine has long been the co-conspirator of choice for Michelin-starred and similarly lauded chefs, cocktails are once again coming into their own at the best restaurants in San Francisco.

At top-shelf restaurants like Quince and Nisei, mixologists are increasingly playing an essential role not just in dinner menus but in the restaurant’s overall presentation and experience. A semi-independent cocktail bar is this season’s must-have accessory.

The trend isn’t exactly a new one. Kim Alter opened intimate cocktail haven Linden Room (292 Linden St., Hayes Valley) next to her elegant Nightbird back in 2017. In 2018, Dominique Crenn followed suit with the swanky Bar Crenn (3131 Fillmore St., Cow Hollow) next door to her three Michelin-starred Atelier. But the concept of a bar with the same quality and cred as its food-focused neighbor is a gift that keeps on giving.

Kim Alter opened the Linden Room next door to top-shelf restaurant Nightbird in 2017.(Courtesy of @thelindenroom)

Opening a bar next door to Nisei “was one of the best decisions I have ever made,” says chef David Yoshimura, whose Bar Iris (2310 Polk St.) debuted in 2021. Designed by buzzy interiors maven Noz Nozawa, Iris is Nisei's “more fun, more feminine cousin” says Yoshimura, with “rounder, cooler tones with Japanese accents” and a bathroom that’s a “world unto itself,” blue-lit and painted by local artist Maya Fuji.

While the restaurant and bar operate autonomously, they share the same ethos. Bar Iris’ drinks—like the Fern Creek (pine, green mango, mezcal, yun wu tea, yuzu sake, chareau, and clarified milk) and the Okinawa (Okinawa yam, calamansi, jougo kakuto, oat milk, li hing mui, and two types of rum)---are every bit as “seasonal, Japanese-inspired, and refined” as the dishes crafted in the kitchen.

But there’s crossover between the two establishments when it counts most. Traditional and NA cocktail pairings are prepared at Iris for guests at Nisei; and izakaya and omakase are created by the Nisei team for guests at Bar Iris. While Iris’ offerings enhance the Nisei experience, the semi-independent bar makes Yoshimura’s artistry more accessible, giving the Nisei-curious the chance to dabble in a dish or two without splurging on the entire tasting menu.

The omakase menu at Bar Iris is prepared by the Nisei team.(Courtey of @bar_iris_sf)

When Lindsay and Michael Tusk debuted their freshly renovated bar at the end of April, Quince(470 Pacific Ave.) took a slightly different approach. Instead of operating the bar themselves, the Tusk’s three-Michelin-starred send-up to contemporary California cuisine called in James Beard Award–winning Bar Agricole. The champions of sustainable, single-origin spirits agreed to pop up for a few months while in the process of transitioning to a new permanent space belonging to another Michelin darling, Osito (2875 18th St.).

The partnership is a natural one, says bar manager Craig Lane, because both Quince and Bar Agricole “share the same core philosophy,” one that puts small, sustainable, biodynamic farmers and producers front and center.

The cocktails Lane is mixing at Quince are more specialized takes on what Agricole is serving at Bear Agricole, their pop-up in what is soon-to-be their permanent home in the former Liliana. His favorite, the Brandy Scaffa, a “limited edition” Old Fashioned made with one-of-a-kind artichoke-based Cynar from the 1960s, echoes the new artichoke harvest mural painted above the bar.

Quince’s food can be paired a la carte with Agricole’s cocktails at the chic new bar, but let’s not pretend they’re bar bites. Dishes like sweet, earthy beetroot spaghetti topped with briny Tsar Nicoulai caviar are gorgeous, delicious—and not cheap. But, like at Nisei, the bar offers a sneak peak of Quince to those unable or unwilling to pay for the entire eight to ten course, $390 per person gastronomy menu, plus the bonus of a damn fine drink.

Although the partnership is temporary, Lane hopes it will continue through the end of 2024. But even once Agricole moves on, exceptional cocktail bars—like the swanky, glamorous venues we saw proliferating earlier this year downtown—are a sign that we’re getting closer and closer to the top of the deep crater left by the pandemic.

“Out of all the cities, San Francisco’s recovery has been one of the slowest in America,” says Yoshimura. “I think only now are we beginning to see a younger generation in San Francisco start to go out for cocktails regularly again. It makes me feel hopeful for the next few years.”

Dominique Crenn opened the swanky Bar Crenn next door to Atelier Crenn in 2018.(Courtesy of Bar Crenn)