If that new cocktail dress is burning a hole in your suitcase, get yourself dolled up tonight and say hello to Harry, our city's de facto party host. His celestial crimson-infused cocktail lounge and nightclub, perched on the top floor of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, is a pantheon to 1930s San Francisco, a throwback to the days when red-velvet banquettes, chandeliers, and fashionable duds were de rigueur. The 360-degree view of the city is worth the cover charge alone, but what draws tourists and locals of all ages is a night of Harry Denton-style fun, which usually includes plenty of drinking, live music, and unrestrained dancing, regardless of age. The bar stocks a pricey collection of single-malt Scotches and champagnes, and you can snack from the "Lite" menu. If you make a reservation to guarantee a table you will also have a place to rest between songs. Early evening is more relaxed, but come the weekend this place gets loose. Tip: Come dressed for success (no casual jeans, open-toed shoes for men, or sneakers), or you'll be turned away at the door.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's San Francisco 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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