Bourbon & Branch

I thought I knew what a well-​crafted cocktail was… and then I discovered Bourbon & Branch. To this day, it is still the gold standard against which I judge any other cocktail bar. Yes, you need a reservation to get in the main bar, and, yes, there will be a wait for your drink to be made, but it is all worth it!
The first thing you should know is that Bourbon & Branch is actually several bars in one.
* The Library
While you’ll need a reservation to get into any other part of Bourbon & Branch, there’s a good chance that you can walk right into the the Library. Supposedly, you need to give a password for this room, as with all the other rooms, but I don’t think they really enforce this anymore. I’ve had a couple of impromptu drop-​ins here.
There is some limited seating available, but it is essentially standing room only. Also, the bar only serves an abbreviated version of the full drink menu. That said, there will be plenty of delicious drinks for you to imbibe.
* The Main Bar
This is the heart of Bourbon & Branch. It has several booths, which cozily accommodate 4 – 6 people each, in addition to a separate bar. You will need a prior reservation for the Main Bar that will entitle you to a two hour seating. You’ll need to plan in advance to get a reservation for the weekend, but getting a reservation for a weeknight can usually be done last minute.
The dim lighting in the room creates a very intimate atmosphere and you can easily forget that there are other people around. The first thing that you’ll want to do once you’re seated is start working your way through the insanely long drink menu. It is literally a book! There are pages and pages of custom cocktails with exotic ingredients and entertaining descriptions in which you can easily get lost. And if that wasn’t enough, there are even more pages listing the various spirit options they offer. Want your drink made with some obscure brand of Bourbon, Vodka, Whiskey, etc? It’s available!
* Wilson & Wilson
This is the bar-​within-​a-​bar at Bourbon & Branch. It has a separate website, through which you can make reservations, and a distinct detective-​themed cocktail menu. Again, getting reservations are easy on a weeknight and more difficult on the weekend.
*Russell’s Room and The Ipswitch
I have yet to have the pleasure of trying them out, but these two rooms are available to rent for group parties.
Regardless of which corner of Bourbon & Branch you end of exploring, be sure to respect the House Rules while there. Basically, keep the noise down, don’t be obnoxious to other patrons, avoid the flash photography, and don’t go ordering a Cosmo.

First off you make reservations to this place. Once you arrive you push the button and someone will startle you and ask you for the password, once you’ve been given an okay they’ll ask you for the name the reservation is under, and once you’ve been allowed to proceed to the venue you are escorted through a dimly lit room to your table. Seriously no phones allowed here! It’s like being in school and you don’t want to get caught by the teacher or principal. Anyway, the menu is extensive and it can be overwhelming, but don’t stress out, your server will help guide you with what they offer. I tried out the Venetivo and I loved it. Just a tad sweet and fruity just how I like; you won’t taste the alcohol. A place I’d love to come back to and try again.

Yeah I’m a fan. I liked the whole secret speakeasy approach where you get a password with your reservation. This isn’t novel to me anymore as I’ve visited a few others in different cities, but it’s still kind of cool. The space was very dark and not as hip as others I’ve been to. The drinks were spot on but we only stayed for one. You wouldn’t normally say that if a place blew you away on all fronts.

Not a place I’d go to every weekend. But a good «special occasion» place. Plenty of character. So many cocktails! It was a great experience. You need to make a reservation online well in advance.
Perfect for a date with the SO or to go with a small group of close friends. They don’t serve food, so plan accordingly.

Drinks were delicious! The mezcalifornia was so good I couldn’t get over the flavor! our waitress was so sweet and attentive. The door girl was also sweet and funny. Really great ambience and just great people. So glad we found this spot. Will definitely be back! (Make sure to check out the library ;)

Came here with a group of 6 and had a reservation planned and everything. It was cool experience, but nothing I’d rave about. It was a little too boushy for my liking. We needed a password to get in and they close to the door between every group with reservations waiting in line outside. I don’t think that’s really necessary…
The drinks were good, but all pretty sweet. The waitress did have recommendations for drinks when we told her what we liked. The service was fine… but very slow. We weren’t in a rush so it wasn’t a problem, but probably not the best if you are in a hurry or have a large group that orders a lot.
I felt a little cramped but I guess that’s part of the ambience there. All in all, it was cool and I would definitely go again if convenient, but I’m not dying to go back or anything. I do think it’s worth checking out if you’ve never been there because everyone talks about it.

One of the worst cocktail lounges we’ve been to.
Before a planned trip up the 1 Highway, my wife and I made reservations 2 months out based on the Unilocal reviews only to have our evening wasted.
The bartenders/​mixologists were good. The problem was you had the filter of the sever. Ours was awful.
Slow to come to the table, she asked if we had ordered water with a 8 – 10 waters on her tray.
«No, but we’ll take one.» She laughed and moved on.
After an off the menu drink, I gave her a flavor profile for a spirit forward drink, but instead she brought back the first item on the menu.
Thinking it would be a great speakeasy, my wife and I went to Bourbon and Branch with a local lawyer friend because we wanted to show him a good time based on our previous experience at speakeasies over the last year from NYC (Death and Co., Alchemy), DC (Gibson), Nashville (Patterson House), and San Diego (Noble).
Bourbon and Branch is a bar in comparison. When we asked for the check, my friend handed her is card. I said, «Hold on Ms!» yet she grabbed his card and walked off. When she returned, she said «My policy is that whoever hands me their card first pays, otherwise it takes too long.»
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!! YOU HEARD ME WANTING TO SPLIT THE CHECK YET WALKED OFF AND RAN IT?
For a completely unprofessional server while being told later by the bartender (who knew his craft) at «The Library» you run the best cocktail game on the West Coast, don’t flatter yourself. While trying to show company a good time, this was embarrassing.
If you want the speakeasy experience, show up early to The Library, as it gets packed later, and avoid Bourbon and Branch altogether.

Was really looking forward to trying this place as I had been wanting to go for years but never planned in advance enough to make reservations. However, I am sad to say my experience wasn’t anything special.
While it’s a really nice and dimly lit cute date night place and good for the ambiance, the cocktails don’t really live up to the hype. I had made a trip to Wilson & Wilson a year ago and thought Wilson & Wilson was 5x better.
Our service was EXTREMELY slow. We were sitting at our table for about 20 minutes before we even had the waitress come to us to do our initial greet. During that time we were waiting we had already gone through the menu multiple times only to have the waitress finally go over and explain the menu to us 20 minutes later…
Then afterwards, it took about another 20 – 30 minutes to get our first drink because the bar was having «technical difficulties»… what does that even mean? We had a 2 hour reservation and we got our first drink about 45 min after we first showed up…
Overall, the drinks are nothing amazing or special and sadly the service was very inattentive. I would definitely recommend Wilson & Wilson over Bourbon & Branch.

The most amazing speakeasy place! Loved the password entry. The hidden backroom library was quite the experience. The drinks & bourbon (cucumber gimlet) were tasty! look forward to my next visit and share more experiences with friends. Will be telling all my friends about this place! Make reservations!

Loved the experience you get here when you place a reservation! They give you a secret password (and you actually need it when you claim your reservation). You line up outside of a random door in which they invite you in when your table is ready. There were surprisingly a lot of tables here (only available through reservation I think). Each table felt pretty isolated from each other which was great. There isn’t much lighting inside of course which added to the speakeasy feel. One thing to note is that the tables are pretty tiny so be prepared to squeeze in with your friends.
The menu here was extremely extensive offering many kinds of cocktails and imported spirits. Every drink our party had was excellent and top notch. I honestly would have stayed here longer had it not been for our dinner reservations. Also the drinks are reasonably priced for quality cocktails! Take advantage of the cocktails on their menu as you won’t see them often elsewhere!

A very cool speakeasy that lives up to the hype of being one of the best bars in America. It also apparently is one of the oldest and even possibly existed during the prohibition.
What makes this place cool is the exclusivity, I reserved a table in the main bar a couple months in advance for my bday and it wasn’t until a few days before did I receive my password to get in. Although located in the ghetto TLoin, once inside the interior is astonishingly opulent.
We got a booth that comfortably fitted 4 for intimate conversation (one of the rules is that you have to be quiet– and also no photography sadly). They had a wealth of whiskey drinks that ranged from strong to refreshing. I tried 3 – 4 of the cocktails and all were pretty good! They don’t have much options besides bourbon, so if you’re not a bourbon fan this is not the place for you.
For true speakeasy fans there’s other separate bars inside, but it’s rare/​difficult to get access to them (check out Thrillist’s article.) Good luck getting in those!

This was a bit different for me, with the whole speakeasy thing. I think it is too hipster for me too. A different group of people, but lots of customers. We were with a big party, and they kept telling us to tone it down. The people I was with are from Brooklyn, and I do not know how to tone them down…

Pretty darned cool, but goodness was it hot.
The cocktails were perfect, but the place was packed, maybe it is better when you make reservations, but the non-​reservation room was a little silly. There was always a huge line for drinks, and it felt like it was 100 degrees.

There’s two sides to this place, one needs a password, and yes, you wont get in without it. The catch is to go in the password side you need a reservation which you have to make ahead of time online. If you forget to do that, no worries, the other side is great as well. Yummy drinks, not too loud, great place for a date.

Don’t like the surrounding areas too much. Call me a scaredy cat or whatever, but I was a little nervous at times, plus there is garbage everywhere. Also there is the weird juxtaposition of people going out for drinks, at a bar that requires a password much less, while homeless are everywhere. Makes you kinda feel like a bad person.
Inside is small and cozy with cool decorations, but very limited seating and not that comfortable. Prob not good for groups bigger than 4. My friend liked it more than me.
Happened to get there 20 min before a huge line formed, so that was lucky.
Went to the Library only, would check out the other rooms in the future, but have to reserve first.
Cocktail was good: Venetivo. Fruity and sweet and not too strong.

Second stop on my bachelor party, and another hit. We slid into the Library and felt like we owned the place, in our suits and fedoras. The bartenders were having a spirited (!) debate over the finer points of defining whisky and bourbon, but still made delicious, well-​balanced cocktails. Seating is very limited, but no problem finding a place to rest your drink while standing. I look forward to coming back when I can stay longer!

What an excellent way to end my most recent trip to San Francisco. Dark yet welcoming ambiance filled with a great overall speakeasy experience. The cocktail list was extensive, and I couldn’t resist laughing while reading the rule «Don’t ever think of asking for a cosmo».
I was impressed by how much knowledge the staff had in regards to the cocktail list and enjoyed their recommendations as well. While I could have stayed there for four hours (though our reservation was for two), I am happy that we were able to go to the Library portion of the bar, which had a much more limited yet tasty cocktail list. The bartender in there was superb and I enjoyed watching him work the busy crowd.
While the wait for drinks may be slow at times, they are very much worth the wait. These aren’t your average cosmos and gimlets, but instead each had something fresh and innovative about them.
One of my favorite things prior to entering the establishment is that they ask for the password, which they give to you while booking the reservation. It gives the overall experience a sense of secrecy and surprise. I also couldn’t help but praise that one of their rules was no cell phones and photography. Although I love capturing almost every moment of travel, this was the one time where it almost forced you to enjoy your time the «old-​fashioned» way.
Would love to come back next time I am in town!

Unfortunately I was very underwhelmed by Bourbon + Branch. A group of 5 of us waited 15 minutes before our order was taken from our table — the drink making then took another 20 minutes to come. We had to order our 2^nd straight away. A bit unfair when you only have a 2 hour window. I must say the drinks were delicious.
The bar wasn’t busy, it was around 7pm on a Friday night, probably 50% of the tables were empty. Our friend got turned away though because we had met our headcount which was disappointing so we drank up and left.
Nothing special to see here.

Speakeasy vibes all the way!
I love their cocktails concoctions here!
A great place to gather, grab drinks, chat and hop on over to the next. It can get stuffy and crowded here!

It’s easy to miss this speakeasy (hello unmarked doors are the point of speakeasys) but it’s not a place to miss. Make sure that you know the key word to get in (;
Their drinks are really good (I like them a little fruity) and overall the atmosphere was really laid back and relaxed.

You had me at ‘secret whiskey bar’. You’d never find this joint unless you mapped the address — the entrance is obfuscated in a random nondescript door near the road. That definitely adds to the Speakeasy vibe — in addition to the gentlemanly/​lady-​like rules of no photography, phone usage, or loud talking.
The Inside Tho… absolutely amazing! This place should not be called a ‘bar’, it’s way above that moniker. Floor to ceiling, the walls are covered in gorgeous looking books complimented by bottles of bourbon. It’s also dimly lit, so you truly do get the vibe that you’re at another place in time.
The drinks take a while to get, about 10minutes waiting in a short line, but it’s totally worth it. The bartender was truly a man of his craft and did some crazy stuff straight outta Cocktail with Tom Cruise. In addition to the slow, careful, craft of the drinks — they were also amazing. I only had two, but they were both fantastic, you probably cannot go wrong. If you’re a bourbon lover like myself, they also have many rare and hard to find makes of bourbon, so you’re in for a treat.
This joint is wholly unique and one of the classiest and awesome drinking establishments I have ever been to — if you’re in the Bay area, make sure to stop by one evening! This place is Legendary.

Wish the drink selection in the main room was bigger… kind of disappointed that were only a few options…
Came here with a friend and had super high hopes but I wasn’t that impressed. I think it was prolly because we didn’t go into the «secret» room with the password. If there are more drink options in there, I’m gonna be sad LOL
Overall, I may come again but there seem to be a lot of other cool places in the city to check out, so I’ll prolly go to those again before returning here.

A completely singular drinking experience. The menu is so detailed, so daunting, it would take dozens of visits to even scratch the surface. Needless to say if you’re even remotely curious about whiskey, this is one of the best choices you could possibly make.
If I had one itty bitty grievance, it’d be that the water carafe at our table was filled very infrequently. Whiskey, more than any other spirit, and especially when served neat, is extremely dehydrating and water is key to lengthening the evening. That’s a small gripe, though. We had a truly elegant and perfect night here.

Can’t say much that hasn’t already been said I’m sure. Didn’t have the secret password for the one part so we were taken around back to the bar that was actually a pretty cool place. The interior was mostly a standing zone and it was kind of cramped but we were surprisingly okay with it for a few reasons:
1. The drinks were great!
2. The bartenders were very friendly as were all of the clientele some of whom we ended up chatting with
3. Seats open up every now and then and you can snag some space
4. The interior was so cool that we just enjoyed looking around (tourists) and talking about it
Liked it very much — would definitely go back but not sure if I’d go with a large group (maybe if I knew (how to get) the password to the other section? — not sure what that place is like)

The 3 cocktails for $ 30 option is the way to go. From sit down to last sip, you need about 90 minutes to accomplish this mission, unless you plan on guzzling, which would be foolish considering how good these drinks are. If you’re not feeling cocktails, they have an excellent brown liquor selection.
Service is friendly but not the fastest. Be patient. These cocktails are complex and the bartenders, who may as well be certified chemists, put a lot of love into their work.
Make reservations and don’t go hungry. No food menu.

Ever find the persistent sun, well, too damn happy?
Here’s your shelter.
Bourbon & Branch’s façade is that of a typical speakeasy — you’ll totally miss it if you don’t look for the slightly run-​down, unlabeled, unassuming wooden doors.
Once inside, you’re transported into a virtually dark library.
The chandelier looks like a cross between whips of marshmallows and some deep sea glow fish — completely alien and hence cool.
I had a cucumber infused drink, my friend had something with bourbon, both were made with care by a very friendly bartender.

5 stars for ambiance, service, and drinks. My friend took me here on a Monday night and he made reservations for 9:30pm. We had our own booth and the décor was pretty cool. The drinks were amazing; very smooth and had a great selection that would suit anyone. Our server was really sweet and provided us with great service.
DRINKS: 5 stars.
Easy 5 stars here. My friend ordered the Cucumber Grimlet with vodka and I think that was an insanely amazing drink. It was so smooth and tasted delicious. Kind of dangerous because you didn’t want to stop. Haha. Me, being a tequila lover, ordered a Santiago with tequila in it. I forget the name of the drink, but it was really good. It definitely had a stronger taste than my friend’s drink, but I did not mind. I wish we were a little more adventurous with our drinks of choice, but I was 100% satisfied with our choices. Their extensive menu reminds me of Cheesecake Factory. I feel like I should have studied it before I went there. Anyways, I can’t imagine them not having a drink you request.
SERVICE: 4.5 stars.
Only reason I’m knocking a little bit off is because the length of time it took for us to receive our drinks. In the «House Rules» it says that their drinks do take a little longer to make, which I appreciated, but I wish our server came a little bit earlier to maybe ask us what our favorite drinks were and then she could have recommended something based off of that so we didn’t waste so much time studying the menu. I also wish they organized the menu better. It was really scattered.
AMBIANCE: 5 stars.
Not in the most friendly neighborhood, but it was really cool to have to give a password to get in and it seemed very secret. Very exclusive and secretive. It definitely had a 1920’s feel to it. The inside is very dim and I absolutely loved the décor. I wish I could take pictures of this place. Trust me, it’s really cool.
If you’re in the area and have a free night, try to make a reservation. If you cannot, try to go to the Library. It’s part of the same place but it’s a little more casual and more of a bar feel. I really loved this place and will for sure be back.

Speakeasy theme, a bit hard to find if it is your first time visiting. Make sure to look it up and check the Unilocal photos before heading over.
The bar lounge is pretty intimate and super dim. It’s so dim we needed to use our phone flashlight to read the menu.
Best to call in for a reservation. They are also connected to two other lounges. One needs reservation way in advance. The other one you could walk through a door that looks like a bookshelf.
:Cocktails:
Bona fide lover: vodka with a good honey after taste
Naughty sundress: super strong martini ish flavor
Pisco punch: citrus fruity smokey
Cucumber gimnlette: gin with grape fruity
Smokey mirror? Old fashion with smokiness