Cocktail Lounge at the Dalva Bar (Mission)

Doesn't the Mission neighborhood seem like the right place to go for a fun evening with friends, whether it's for food or drinks - or both!

Let me share with you this surprising and very nice spot I got the chance to discover lately... and I call it a chance because if it wasn't of a friend who has been living in The City for a couple of years - and thus probably experimented many venues - there's no way I would have got to know this place!

Before I tell you the name of the bar and where it's located, here are some questions I have for you:

• Are you in the mood for having a delicious and unique cocktail?
• What do you think o having this cocktail prepared by one of the best "cocktail bar tender" in San Francisco?
• Would you, by any chance, be looking for a place that is cozy, slightly enlightened and quiet enough to chill out and chat with a friend or two?

If you have answered "yes" to all these three questions, you are ready to go experience the charming lounge of the DALVA bar located on 16th Street between Mission and Valencia (a few doors up from the Roxie Theater).

When you enter Dalva, you'll feel like you are in a cool bar where it's nice to hang out and have a beer. That's certainly a good choice... but please, don't stop walking and yes, take that tiny corridor that you see at what-you-think-is-the-back-of-the-venue: there you are, entering this lovely lounge that can probably gather 30 people seated plus some 15 people standing!

If you are an expert of strong alcohols, you'll enjoy looking at the drink menu and commenting about all sorts they offer. It might remind you of previous partys or even a vacation at the beach!

What if you're not an expert? No worries, it will probably even make it more exciting! Why don't you ask the bar tender for a recommendation based on a type of alcohol your prefer (vodka, rhum, whiskey, scotch)? Because that's actually what I did, asking for a rhum based drink! Then I was offered between a "more liquored" or a "more citrous" flavor and I went for the second option. I can't tell you the name of this delicious rhum cocktail I got, but I can't insist enough on how tasty and yummy it was!!

By the way, this very successful bar tender told me he only works at this place on Mondays. I'm sure the drinks are very good any time of the week, but since it always gets more crowded on Fridays and Saturdays and this is a tiny lounge, I highly recommend you go on a Monday.

Dalva Bar
3121, 16th Street

Opened Monday through Sunday from 4pm to 2am

Cash only

Between $8 and 12 per cocktail

And now... indulge San Francisco!  ;-)

* Here's a new expression I learned by reading about this place afterwards "the lounge is located in the hideout section in the back"