Backstreet Bars and Alleyway Eats

Winner of "Best French Restaurant" from Citysearch editors and users alike, Cafe Claude is the quintessential French bistro, with simple, delicious food and an ivy-enclosed outdoor eating area.

Timeless style and classic food mix at this convincing re-creation of a 1930s supper club, which definitely has that speakeasy vibe, with just a small neon sign above a brick doorway leading to a restaurant most people wish could be kept a secret.

In a renovated warehouse on Minna, this New England-style fish house stays packed to the gills with young professional types who come for fresh shellfish and the downtown-industrial vibe.

An oasis in the middle of a block in the Tenderloin, Le Colonial is a opulent, sprawling complex with a veranda and multiple bars--and is completely hidden from the street.

Belden Place is lined with Euro-style outdoor bistros, but Plouf is by far the best, specializing in Parisian-style seafood, and offering eight different kinds of mussels.

Just opened a few doors down from Cafe Claude, Gitane's got a playful, sexy design, incredible drinks from a Bourbon and Branch alum, and pizza from a certified pizzaioli--and of course, plenty of heated, bistro-style outdoor seating.

Feeling more like something you'd find on a twisty alley in Prague than a side street in the FiDi, this cafe gracefully nails the Eastern European ambiance: Czech specials like goulash or sauerbraten with dumplings, gruff patrons and plenty of imported beer.

Well-hidden from the strip-club solicitors, peacocking thugs and other greasy characters who lurk on Broadway, this North Beach bar is set on a steep, dark carless street--the kind of dark, sexy place a hard-boiled detective might take his dame for a drink.

The Bank isn't much of a secret, but on a warm night this alley near the FiDi swells with crowds of just-off-work happy hour hounds swigging Irish beers and whiskeys and clocking the scene.

Copper tables, wrought-iron bistro chairs and zinc-green walls decked with a revolving exhibition of local art create a sexy, Left Bank mood at this wine bar/art gallery near Hayes Valley (note: not an actual hotel).

There's barely a sign and you'd never know it was there during the day, but this intimate live music and dance venue in SoMa hosts acts like Mos Def, Death cab for Cutie and upcoming indie bands on the regular.

Nightlife industry peeps, hipsters and 9-5ers mix at this lofty bungalow nestled on a quiet Soma alley; come at happy hour for $2 beers, $3 wells and a solid crowdd every day of the week.

Once a semi-private club, this Tokyo-tiny but NY-chic bar is now open to the public, slinging swank lunches in the afternoons and spinning beats into the wee hours.

Up to a thousand partygoers will pass through the non-descript door of this industrial-cool SoMa music venue, and the soundproof walls that allow them to boogey till 7am mean they don't come back out until the sun does.