Smuggler's Cove is easy to miss. Wikipedia says the Hayes Valley bar's entrance is marked only by a red light bulb and a small placard on the door. Inside are three floors of dark wood, rope, an indoor waterfall, a full-size anchor and pirate memorabilia, with bars on the main and lower floors. The bar says its look was created by local designer Ignacio "Notch" Gonzalez of Top Notch Kustoms, working with owner Martin Cate.
A treasure-map opening
Cate first caught the tiki bug at a Trader Vic's in Washington, D.C. He later took a job at a Trader Vic's in San Francisco with no formal bartending experience, and he was a co-owner of Alameda's Forbidden Island until early 2009. On June 4, 2009, he announced Smuggler's Cove along with a browser game that gradually revealed the location on a treasure map. The bar opened on Dec. 8, 2009, in the former Jade Bar space. Martin and his wife Rebecca have co-owned it since 2016.
The rum
The bar says it has the largest rum selection in the United States. Wikipedia puts the count at more than 1,300 bottles as of 2025, organized by country of origin. The menu has about 80 cocktails, classic tiki drinks plus originals. The Rumbustion Society rum club rewards regulars who work through the list: 20 rums earns a card, and 80 earns a red fez. The top tier, the Black Tassel Brigade, takes 500 rums.
Awards
Smuggler's Cove was on the World's 50 Best Bars list every year from 2011 to 2016 and won Best American Cocktail Bar at the 2016 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards. The Cates' 2016 book Smuggler's Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki won a James Beard book award in 2017, and the bar lists a 2026 James Beard nomination for Outstanding Bar.
Going
Expect a line on weekend nights. More classic tiki: Trader Vic's at Oakland Airport.