Palm House

Palm House occupies a historic 1854 dairy farmhouse at 2032 Union Street in Cow Hollow, set back from the street behind what the venue describes as San Francisco's second-oldest palm tree — the feature the bar takes its name from. It has traded under the Palm House name since 2014, serving Caribbean- and Hawaiian-leaning food in a room and patio styled as a permanent holiday: rattan, greenery and warm light rather than the darker register of a dedicated tiki bar. It is closed Mondays, opens at noon Tuesday through Friday and runs to 2am on Friday and Saturday nights, with weekend service starting at 10:30am. Drag brunch, trivia and DJ nights give it a genuine going-out identity rather than a purely restaurant one.

For non-drinkers the useful detail is that the alcohol-free drinks are printed on the main menu under their own heading, "Free Spirited," and priced at $8 to $10 — meaningfully cheaper than the cocktails rather than charged at parity. The list runs the Virgin Islands (passion fruit, prickly pear and pineapple gomme), the Piñita Colada (coconut water, coconut puree, pineapple gomme and lime), the Hibiscus Mate (hibiscus tea, yerba mate, lemon and simple syrup) and an N/A Michelada built on spiced bloody mary mix and non-alcoholic lager. The gomme syrup shared across the first two is the detail worth noting: it gives the drinks a texture and body that fruit juice alone does not, which is the usual failure point for tropical alcohol-free drinks. Rationale Brewing non-alcoholic lager is poured by the glass, and the bar also keeps freshly squeezed orange and grapefruit juice, drip coffee, cold brew and lattes, so the venue works across a whole day rather than only at night. The frozen house slushies and the punch bowls are alcoholic and are not offered in zero-proof versions.