The Buena Vista Cafe (Irish coffee origin)

The Buena Vista Cafe at 2765 Hyde St is credited in local histories with popularizing Irish coffee in the United States after staff learned the recipe in Ireland and began serving it in 1952. Photographs and short videos of the cafe's flaming Irish coffees are commonly shared on social media and have been repurposed in food- and city-themed memes. The cafe's longtime association with this drink makes its storefront imagery a frequent visual shorthand for San Francisco dining culture.