Most bars claiming speakeasy status in 2026 have an unmarked door, a password sent by text, and drinks that taste like they were mixed in 2014. True Laurel at 753 Alabama Street has none of that. It's visible from the pavement, you book it on Tock like a restaurant, and the Laurel Martini—London Dry and Islay gins, vermouth marriage, California bay tincture—tastes like someone applied Lazy Bear's culinary rigour to a glass of gin. Which is exactly what happened, because this is the Lazy Bear team's cocktail project, open since well before the pandemic and now ranked #17 on North America's 50 Best Bars in 2025.
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It's not a speakeasy. It's a kitchen-bar hybrid where the drinks program and the food program operate at the same level of technical ambition, and where ordering a single cocktail and leaving would miss the point entirely. The patty melt is as much a signature as the martini. The fried maitake and broiled oysters appear on the menu with the same deliberation as the Mai O Mai at $18. If you're searching for a speakeasy, you probably want dim lighting and a sense of discovery; True Laurel delivers the former and replaces the latter with clarity of purpose.
Why this one
True Laurel occupies a category of one in the Mission: a cocktail bar with a kitchen serious enough to anchor a visit on its own, run by people who spent years perfecting two-Michelin-star tasting menus. The Tasting Bar—request it specifically when you book, not just any bar seat—is where you watch drinks and dishes come together with the same choreography you'd expect at Lazy Bear's counter. The bartenders work with the precision of line cooks. The small plates aren't bar snacks; they're courses. This is the full experience, and it can be reserved exclusively for groups of six to ten with a fifty-dollar deposit per person.
The venue itself is intimate and cozy, modern without the industrial clichés that define most Mission bars. There's a separate dining room, a patio without rain cover, and a neighbourhood bar character that somehow coexists with the technical sophistication. It's a hidden gem in the literal sense—locals know it, visitors often don't—but it's not playing dress-up. The 20 percent service charge is automatic, the wheelchair access is real, and the vibe skews towards small groups and couples rather than large parties looking for volume.
The trade-off
True Laurel expects you to engage with both halves of the program. If you want a quick drink before dinner elsewhere, this is the wrong bar. The kitchen closes when the bar does, the menu is designed for grazing across multiple plates, and the pacing assumes you're settling in. That's the deal: you get drinks that taste like they were designed by chefs and food that holds its own against the cocktails, but you commit to the experience. One round and out feels like walking out of a tasting menu after the amuse-bouche.
The other trade-off is visibility. True Laurel doesn't have the walk-in energy of Trick Dog at 20th and Florida, where the rotating themed menus and higher volume create a more casual, come-as-you-are atmosphere. It doesn't have the neighbourhood-classic ease of ABV on 16th, where you can order a straightforward gin and tonic and not feel like you're under-utilising the room. True Laurel asks more of you, and if you're not interested in wildly technical drinks or chef-minded small plates, the ask won't feel worth it.
Timing and money
Cocktails run eighteen to nineteen dollars—the Mai O Mai is eighteen, the Laurel Martini nineteen. Wine by the glass starts at sixteen for Carignan. Bottles are available if you're staying: sixty-five for the Carignan. Small plates aren't priced in the verified research, but the kitchen's pedigree and the 20 percent automatic service charge mean you should budget for a full meal, not a snack. Bottled cocktails for pickup start at $161 and climb from there, which positions them as gifts or special-occasion purchases rather than Tuesday-night takeaway.
Tuesday through Thursday are significantly calmer than Friday and Saturday evenings; locals recommend these midweek nights for a more intimate experience. The weekend rush changes the energy—Saturday and Sunday brunch service starting at 11 AM offers a completely different entry point to the program with different crowd energy. If you book the patio during inclement weather, indoor accommodation is not guaranteed, so check the forecast or request the dining room. Monday is closed. The rest of the week, doors open at 4 PM and close between 10 PM and midnight depending on the day.
What to order
Start with the Laurel Martini. It's the house signature, and the California bay tincture does something specific to the finish that justifies the nineteen-dollar price. The Mai O Mai at $18 is the other anchor cocktail—both are wildly technical without tasting like science projects. From the kitchen, the patty melt is non-negotiable if you have any interest in the Lazy Bear lineage. The fried maitake and broiled oysters are the other two dishes called out repeatedly in research, and both make sense as early-round orders that don't commit you to a single direction.
If you're at the Tasting Bar, let the bartender guide the progression. The format is designed for conversation and adjustment, and the team has enough reps to read what you're actually enjoying versus what you're being polite about. If you're in the dining room or on the patio, treat the menu like a tasting menu: order more than you think you need, pace it across the evening, and expect each plate to arrive with the same care as each drink. This is not a bar where you order everything at once and hope for the best.
Trick Dog versus ABV
If True Laurel's culinary intensity feels like too much structure for a weeknight, Trick Dog at 20th and Florida is the Mission's high-volume alternative: rotating themed menus, more walk-in availability, and a cocktail program that's ambitious without requiring you to order food. It's louder, busier, and more forgiving if you want one excellent drink and then a taco elsewhere. ABV on 16th Street is the opposite move—a neighbourhood cocktail bar with straightforward classics and a food program that doesn't compete for attention. Both are less expensive, less formal, and less likely to make you feel like you're under-engaging if you're not ready to commit to a full evening.
Getting there and booking
True Laurel is at 753 Alabama Street in the Mission, a few blocks south of the main 16th and Valencia corridor. Reservations are available via Tock for parties of one to ten; walk-ins are accepted but not guaranteed, especially Thursday through Saturday. Standard TL Evenings and TL Brunch reservations have no deposit. The Tasting Bar Takeover requires a fifty-dollar deposit per person and accommodates six to ten guests. You'll choose between patio, dining room, and bar seating when you book—confirm the Tasting Bar specifically if that's what you want, because a standard bar seat is not the same experience.
Hours are Tuesday to Thursday 4 PM to 10 or 11 PM, Friday 4 PM to midnight, Saturday 11 AM to midnight, Sunday 11 AM to 10 PM. Monday is closed. The venue is wheelchair accessible. The 20 percent service charge is automatic, so factor that into your budget before you sit down. If you're driving, street parking in this part of the Mission is unpredictable; ride-share or bike if you can. The nearest BART is 24th Street Mission, about a ten-minute walk west.
Please drink responsibly. Must be of legal drinking age.
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Ask Karpo first
Ask Karpo whether True Laurel has walk-in availability tonight or if you need a Tock reservation, and whether the Tasting Bar is booked. Check current travel time from your location to 753 Alabama Street and whether the patio is a good idea given tonight's weather forecast.
