Zagat Releases 2013 San Francisco Nightlife Survey Covering 601 Bay Area Nightspots

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Zagat released the results of its 2013 San Francisco Bay Area Nightlife Survey, covering 601 bars, clubs, lounges, and restaurants. The Survey is based on the voting of 3,617 night owls. The burgundy Zagat guidebook is now available in stores, while the ratings and reviews are available for free across Google Maps, Search, Google+, and mobile.

Winners: The "gorgeous Carmel sunset" provides a top-rated experience at Sunset Lounge in the Hyatt Carmel Highlands, this year's winner for Top Atmosphere, while Bourbon & Branch in the Tenderloin won for its "swanky" Decor. Over in Hayes Valley, "friendly" bartenders "make you feel right at home" at Top Service winner, Place Pigalle, and surveyors chose the "long-standing" 1015 Folsom in SoMa as their Most Popular nightspot. The full list of winners is: (S) = South of San Francisco; (N) = North of San Francisco

What's New: Among this year's list of 39 notable additions to the nightlife scene is Oakland cocktail bar Plum Bar, the Survey's Top Newcomer, considered by surveyors to be "a great place to chat with friends." Rounding out the list of top-rated newcomers are (in order), the "hip" "retro" Mission Bowling Club, SoMa's "fairly secret" Monarch, "upscale" The Grand and the "smokin' hot" Penthouse San Francisco, located on Telegraph Hill.

Hot 'Hoods: As always, the Mission is still one of the liveliest nightlife destinations in San Francisco, with new nightspots this year including the "reasonably priced" Rock Bar, complete with a pool table and jukebox, the swanky Victorian parlor The Armory Club, and live-music venue The Chapel, located in a former chapel on Valencia Street. Elsewhere in the city, SoMa is buzzing with the sleek happy hour spot Alibi Restaurant & Lounge, weekend DJ hotspot Qi Ultra Lounge and the Edgar Allen Poe themed Raven Bar among its new nightlife residents, while Polk Gulch – arguably the most up-and-coming nightlife neighborhood – welcomed newcomers including the industrial-chic Hi-Lo Club from the former crew of KoKo Cocktails, Playland, in the old Kimo's space, and Soda Popinski's, the latest expansion of the team behind Russian Hill's Tonic, Bullitt, and Dr. Teeth & the Electric Mayhem in the Mission.

Trend Watch: When it comes to nightlife in the Bay Area, there's something for everyone. The speakeasy trend continues to spread with bar-within-a-bar standout The Hancock Room(inside North Beach's Sip Bar) and bespoke cocktails at the ironically named Big in the Tenderloin. For those seeking cocktail specialists, the East Bay is experiencing a renaissance with Top Newcomer Plum Bar, as well as original and revived cocktails at Fauna, top-shelf spirits from Alex Smith (ex-Gitane) at Honor Bar and midpriced libations at Prizefighter, both located in Emeryville.. Meanwhile, oenophiles can take a flight from the "super-knowledgeable staff" of Cask Wine Bar in San Carlos, who navigate visitors through a global wine selection, or experience new wine bars such as Healdsburg's Bergamot Alley, the "upscale without being pretentious" EtceteraWine Bar in the Mission, and SoMa's Jamber Wine Pub.

Trailblazers: Among the unique nightlife options in the Bay Area are Cerveceria de MateVeza in the Castro, serving unusual beers that are naturally caffeinated because they are brewed with yerba mate, as well as Polk Gulch's Upcider, where dozens of ciders from around the world are made available to customers.

More Winners: Winners across other categories and features include: (S) = South of San Francisco; (N) = North of San Francisco; (E) = East of San Francisco

Restaurants: In addition to nightspots, this year's Survey includes 107 restaurants with outstanding nightlife scenes for views, meeting for a drink, or even grabbing a late bite. Among the top spots by feature are Auberge du Soleil (E) (Meet for a Drink), Ozumo (E/SF) (Single Scenes), Nopa (Open Late) and Jardiniere (People-Watching.)

Coming Up: As the guide went to print, a number of exciting openings in San Francisco remained on the horizon, including Ceri Smith's (of wine shop Biondivino) now open-for-business wine bar Et Al. in Russian Hill, The Alchemist in SoMa, from Kinson Lau (ex-Gitane), and cocktail bar Trick Dog in the Mission, which is being decorated with salvaged materials.

Survey Details: The Zagat 2013 San Francisco Bay Area Nightlife Survey was edited by Michele Laudig and Sharron Wood. Zagat's scores and reviews are integrated across Google Maps, Search, Google+ and mobile. The recently redesigned guidebook ($13.95) sports a new luxury matte cover with user-friendly flaps, a fold-out city map and brighter paper stock for easy reading. These elegant new guides make the perfect gift, and are available wherever books are sold.

About Zagat:

Zagat is known as the "burgundy bible" and a trusted source for consumer-generated survey information. With a worldwide network of surveyors, Zagat rates and reviews restaurants, hotels, nightlife, movies, music, golf, shopping and a range of other entertainment categories and is lauded as the "most up-to-date," "comprehensive" and "reliable" guide, published on all platforms. Zagat content is integrated throughout Google, including Maps, Search, Google+ and mobile. Zagat guidebooks are also available at all major retailers. In September 2011, Zagat was acquired by Google Inc.

About Google Inc.:

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SOURCE Zagat