Given its name, one would think the Bay Area would have more drinking establishments celebrating the seafaring way of life. True, there’s San Francisco’s Sea Star, which has paid homage to both cocktails and ocean since at least 1899, by one count.
Now, there are at least two new East Bay bars — Walnut Creek’s Luna Sea Lounge and Berkeley’s Tip-Sea — celebrating all things nautical alongside creative, high-end cocktails.
Here’s where to sip.
Luna Sea Lounge, Walnut Creek
Walking through these doors feels like stepping into a classy, design-forward submarine. A mural of underwater life — including a killer whale, a motif repeated throughout the bar’s interior — adorns one wall, and dark wood and a coffered ceiling add atmosphere.
Patrons get drinks at Luna Sea Lounge in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The sea-themed lounge, which opened in September in the city’s new Waymark building, offers a range of sophisticated cocktails, many featuring Santa Cruz’s award-winning Luna Sea Vodka. It’s made by bar cofounder Deven Wek, who spent years globetrotting as he searched for ways to improve on his family’s Ukrainian vodka recipe. Wek actually met lounge cofounder, fellow Californian Kyle Wells, at a bar in Guatemala, where they bonded over chess and vodka.
A mural made by Kevin Walsh depicts a pirate skeleton holding a Luna Sea vodka bottle, their own brand of vodka at Luna Sea Lounge in Walnut Creek. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
What to drink: Sample a cocktail made with the bar’s namesake vodka line, which includes a version made with butterfly pea flowers, which turn the beverage’s color from blue to purple in the presence of citrus. The light purple Confidential ($14) is a great example of that; made with honey lavender lemonade and bubbles, it’s a tart, refreshing and not-too-sweet drink that’s perfect on a hot day.
Or order one of the bar’s foam-topped cocktails — an espresso martini or the Smoke Break, made with bourbon, bitters, smoke and black cherry. The bar uses a Ripple maker to print images on the foam to make next-level cocktail art. You can use the menu’s QR code to pick the image.
An espresso martini features a custom image on the foam at Luna Sea Lounge in Walnut Creek. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
What to eat: The bar’s appetizers and small plates include chips and salsa, shrimp ceviche and a charcuterie board with San Francisco’s Foustman’s Salami and Point Reyes cheeses.(Psst, the bar’s happy hour, which runs from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, knocks $3 off cocktails, appetizers and small plates.)
Details: Opens at 3 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday and 1 p.m. Thursday-Sunday at 121 Pringle Ave. in Walnut Creek; lunasealounge.com.
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Sea Star, San Francisco
The breeze blows through the open door of the Sea Star SF bar, which is buzzing around 7 p.m. on a recent Saturday evening.
A giant octopus-shaped chandelier hangs down from the ceiling and behind it, a lit-up scuba diver’s mask and a sign that reads, “Beware of octopus.” The wallpaper is ocean blue.
You can almost smell the saltwater in this nautical-themed bar in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco. The vibes are as chill as a day out on the water. Adorable pooches can be found snoozing by the bar, cuddling with customers in a booth or interacting with each other under a table.
It’s easy to lose track of time at the Sea Star. And with a few delicious cocktails put together by Alicia Walton, the leading lady of the boozy deck crew, an early evening at the Sea Star is as relaxing as a sunset.
Customers sit at the bar at The Sea Star, a 19th-century cocktail bar in the Dogpatch area of San Francisco. (Jason Mastrodonato/Bay Area News Group) Jason Mastrodonato
What to drink: Whether you’re looking to sample a flight of agave, mezcal, bourbon or scotch, the Sea Star will help you indulge. You can keep it simple with a boilermaker like the Mexican Flag (tequila, sangria, lime and Modelo) or an Irish Goodbye (Tyrconnell and nitro stout). But cocktails are this bar’s specialty. Try Spill The Tea ($16), a mezcal-based milk punch made with Earl Grey tea and served in an adorable tea cup. It’s spicy up front, but sweet and smooth in the back. Our other favorite is the gin-based Dutch Flight ($14), which lets the sweet notes of elderflower shine through, while celery bitters offer a fresh mouthfeel and a distinctive way to bring out the gin.
What to eat: There’s no actual kitchen, but Sea Star’s oven stands ready to warm up crispy, doughy pizza slices ($6) from nearby Long Bridge Pizza.
Details: Open weekdays at 4 p.m. and weekends at 2 p.m. at 2289 3rd St., San Francisco; theseastarsf.com.
Tip-Sea, Berkeley
Opened in 2022, Tip-Sea isn’t the kind of place where you’ll find knuckleheads doing Jack Sparrow impressions and nuclear-colored drinks that instantly rot the teeth. If a pirate actually walked in, you might imagine him opening with “Arrrr!… there perchance any small-batch gins from local producers, matey?”
The single-room interior is as dim as a lake bottom with a splash of purple mood lighting and sparsely but tastefully accessorized with model boats, a rusty anchor and a wood rowboat mounted on the wall. Bar-goers from all walks of life will appreciate the main draw here: inventive cocktails, made with quality spirits and featuring ingredients from around the world.
The Anchor 63 cocktail, made with Singani 63, Fords gin, kumquat and assam-tea syrup, and Ghost Fries with ketchup and tikka sauce are served at Tip-Sea, a nautical-themed bar in downtown Berkeley. (John Metcalfe/Bay Area News Group)
Owner Deepak Aggarwal is the same guy behind Berkeley’s East Bay Spice Company, which caused a tizzy among cocktail aficionados for its cutting-edge concoctions. You can expect similar highbrow drinks here that highlight house syrups and fresh infusions of ginger, lychee, pineapple, snap peas and black tea.
The booze can be far out: Did you know that Steven Soderbergh has a brand of spirit made from muscat grapes grown high in the Bolivian Andes? Anytime you spot something lesser-known on the menu, it’s additional reason to educate your palate, whether it be the Chinese-sorghum baijiu or a Mexican liqueur made from ancestral cacahuazintle maize.
What to drink: One of Tip-Sea’s claims to fame is that a bartender once won a cocktail-making contest using mustard and Top Ramen. So don’t be afraid to go out on a limb with the Unseen Depths ($16), made with butter-washed bourbon, Amaro Nonino, Nixta Elote liqueur, sesame oil and drops of saline. Another vegetal tipple is the International Waters ($14), which combines a house,ade tomato shrub, Tesoro agave spirit and vermouth. And if you’re looking for bright and refreshing, try the Kelp Forest ($15) with Hovding Aquavit, cucumber and seaweed-infused Fords gin.
What to eat: The Indian-influenced menu pays tribute to Tip-Sea’s nautical theme with oysters on the half shell (market rate), fish and chips ($15) and tuna tartare with papadum ($17). But the happy hour bar bites (2-5 p.m. daily) are hard to beat, with wings ($13) in flavors like Sriracha mango and teriyaki-lemon pepper and Ghost Fries ($7) dusted with tangy seasoning and served with an addictive tikka sauce.
Details: Opens at 2 p.m. daily at 2327 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley; tipseabar.com.
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