Best Cocktail Bars in California

California drinks across rum, agave and the seasons, and the best cocktail bars in California cover them all. True Laurel on Alabama Street in San Francisco is No. 14 on North America's 50 Best Bars 2026, the highest Californian bar on that list. Los Angeles answers with Mexican restaurant bars: Mírate in Los Feliz at No. 28 and Daisy Margarita Bar in Sherman Oaks at No. 44. Pacific Cocktail Haven, No. 41, has mixed Asian and Pacific flavors near Union Square since 2016. Tommy's Mexican Restaurant, founded in 1965, is the birthplace of the Tommy's Margarita, and Smuggler's Cove has poured rum since 2009. Pacific Cocktail Haven takes no reservations. These are the bars we would start with.