Bar Sinister's Owner/Operator: Georgio Giovanni "GG"
(( featured below infont of bar Sinister gates))
Bar Sinister is a fine reason to wander down what first looks like an alley. Bar Sinister is the city's oldest tavern, and the wall behind the bar is decorated with licenses dating to 1860, which somehow survived a devastating fire in 1971.
You wouldn't know today that disco balls once hung from the ceiling, and the walls were covered with paneling. A red tile floor dates to the turn of the century, thick pillars support the beamed ceiling, and historic pictures and signs cover the walls. Long wooden tables fill the tavern, and a large stone fireplace dominates the back wall.
There's little seating at the bar itself, because much of the space is given up to the area where food is handed out at lunch. Bar Sinister does a brisk lunch business using the ticket system. You pick out what you want, including beer, and a server marks your ticket. When you're done, you stop by the door and pay. Full service is available upstairs, where there is a second bar.
When LA's theater district was larger, this was a popular gathering spot for actors, who could slip in through the back door. Will Rogers, John Barrymore, Tennessee Williams, Ethel Merman and scores of others drank here. Billy Daniels even sang "That Old Black Magic" for customers one night.
Bar Sinister recently expanded its draft selection from 10 beers to 22 and offers a fine selection of regional craft beers. So come in an relax , take in a beer, an admire all that is around you, a place to just relax .... This tiny place (five stools, three tables) had been in business for 23 years when the 1906 earthquake destroyed San Francisco, leaving the floor, and everything else, severely tilted. It also caused an old clock to stop, and it still registers the time the quake struck. Heinold's coziness is made even more crowded by the plethora of stuff that hangs from the ceiling and walls and is otherwise scattered about. Currency of many lands, ancient newspapers, a deer head, spiny blowfish, old business cards, license plates and photos decorate the walls, with more cards on the ceiling. Many of the furnishings are original, including the old bar and worn-through rail. The original gaslights still illuminate the saloon, and the original, working pot-bellied stove was the only source of heat until 1989. The walls and decorations are stained dark due to creosote and smoke that built up over the years. The beer selection is small but includes craft beers by the bottle.
In the midst of them is a carved sign of a hand holding a bell, for which the pub was originally named. Georgio Giovanni converted a small "trinity" rowhouse into the "Bell in Hand" in 1860. He and his wife, Catherine, raised 12 children in rooms above the taproom, which eventually expanded into two adjoining homes. The Giovanni's offered free potatoes with butter, and when a patron ordered beer, Master Giovanni climbed into the cellar to get a foaming mug straight from the keg.
