San Francisco’s Tosca Café: One of the Best Bars in the World

Enter through the swinging doors of the Tosca Café where politicians, Journalists, Writers, Movie Stars, Cops, Filmmakers and Artists once hung out and you’ll feel like you’ve traveled back in time. Sit at the 50’s style dining tables or in the glossy fire engine red vinyl upholstered booths and sip the famous “House Cappuccino” while taking in the ambience of this old San Francisco landmark. Hear the ring of what may be the city’s only remaining pay phone or put a quarter in the ancient jukebox and listen to vintage songs like Frank Sinatra’s “One for My Baby” while you gaze at photographs of Marilyn Monroe and other celebrities. Three WW I veterans opened Tosca in 1919, just before Prohibition jolted the country. Heavily spiked coffees became a Tosca specialty. Nowadays, locals and tourists still love the coffees, but the old-fashioned bar tenders will mix most any kind of cocktail you can describe. A visit to San Francisco is not complete without spending some leisure time in North Beach at the historic Tosca Café.

Photo: sfphotorama