Entertainment in San Francisco
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Beach Chalet
Pacific sunsets are even more impressive glimpsed through a pint glass of the Beach Chalet's microbrewed beer, with live music on Tuesdays and Fridays. If there's a wait, wander downstairs to see 1930s Works Project Administration (WPA) frescoes highlighting San Francisco history and the development of Golden Gate Park. On sunny weekends, hit the Chalet's Golden Gate Park backyard bar for cocktails and raucous Sunday brunch buffets with bottomless champagne.
reviewed
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B
Cafe Cocomo
Muy caliente (very hot) Cocomo is one of the top salsa clubs nationwide, with big bands keeping the dance floor kicking on Thursday and Saturday nights. To cool down, there's a mezzanine overlooking the dance-floor action and a big patio garden outside. Lessons precede parties; dress suave to pass the doormen (they've got a thing against baseball caps).
reviewed
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Pier 23
It looks like a surf shack, but this old waterfront restaurant on Pier 23 regularly features R&B, reggae, Latin bands, mellow rock and the occasional jazz pianist. Wander out to the bayside patio to soak in views. The dinner menu features pier-worthy options like batter-fried oysters and whole roasted crab.
reviewed
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A Traveling Jewish Theater
Founded in 1978, this theater presents a variety of genres focusing on Jewish and American cultural issues. Borscht Belt comedy, music, storytelling, and serious and comic drama appear on the company’s main stage in the Mission, but sometimes elsewhere too; check with the box office to confirm locations.
reviewed
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Fuse
When you enter this sleek blue room you'll feel like you're in an underwater viewing room at Sea World. On a quiet weeknight, such atmosphere makes this a suitable place in which to get tanked. On weekends, they string velvet ropes onto the sidewalk, and the crowds and attitude can spoil an otherwise cool spot.
reviewed
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Deco Lounge
There's usually a party at this indecorous dive club, where the all-male clientele rocks into the wee hours. Theme nights range from disco-queen to shirtless-bear extravaganzas, and drink specials embolden patrons to enter occasional wet-jockstrap contests. Sports queens watch Giants games off hours.
reviewed
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G
Purple Onion
Legendary comics including Woody Allen, Robin Williams and Phyllis Diller clawed their way up from underground at this grotto nightclub. Recently, comics have been taking back the stage from lackluster lounge acts, and the club's enjoying a renaissance – Zach Galifianakis shot an excruciatingly funny comedy special here. Bookings are sporadic; see online event calendar.
reviewed
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Clock Bar
If it's in season, it goes into the glass at this top-end mixology bar, the brainchild of celeb-chef Michael Mina. Ooh and aah over truffled popcorn while sampling knockout cocktails in cozy leather-and-wood snugs. Arrive early or reserve ahead, or expect to stand. Dress sharp.
reviewed
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My Place
Aka My Face, this is a neighborhood standby for pervy men and pinball wizards. Don't be fooled by the recently cleaned-up bathrooms: the place is still a dump. On the plus side, it's got friendly, no-nonsense bartenders, art that looks like X-rated Popeye on the walls and a hidden back patio for smoking.
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Mezzanine
Big nights come with bragging rights at the Mezzanine, with the best sound system in SF bouncing off the brick walls and crowds hyped for breakthrough hip-hop and R&B shows by Wyclef Jean, Quest Love, Method Man, Nas and Snoop Dogg. Mezzanine also hosts throwback new-wave nights and books classic alt bands like the Dandy Warhols and Psychedelic Furs; check the calendar.
reviewed
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Mars Bar
Cool urban cats hang at Mars Bar, a raw space defined not by its design (think beach shack), but by its happening crowd of locals who wear denim, not dresses. Dance on the little floor to bangin’ house music, or hang on the big outside patio with the smokers. Check the online calendar for DJs.
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L
Rite Spot Cafe
Possibly so-called because it’s the only spot for drinks around here, the Rite Spot is a tiny dive-bar and restaurant. You never know who’ll perform at the nightly music shows (think quirky lounge, burlesque piano and classic jazz), but it won’t be mainstream, and won’t be too loud for conversation.
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Irish Bank
Perfectly pulled pints and thick-cut fries with malt vinegar, plus juicy burgers, brats and anything else you could possibly want with lashings of mustard are staples at this cozy Irish pub. There are tables beneath a big awning in the alley out front, ideal for smokers – even on a rainy night.
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Club Six
Smack on Skid Row, but don't be daunted: inside Club Six defines casual cool, with lumpy sofas, worn hardwood floors and easy beats. Weekly parties cover hip-hop, house, world and dancehall reggae, drawing a mixed crowd with an up-for-anything attitude. Visit the street-level lounge when there's live music or dive into the thick of it on the basement dance floor.
reviewed
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Shine
Underground house parties erupt at tiny, offbeat Shine, decorated with disco balls and gold fabric wall panels that look like someone's Burning Man craft project. The DJs are hype for such a small bar, and when the beats heat up, barstools get shoved aside and the whole place becomes a dance floor; check the online calendar. Dig the photo booth, and the tricky bathroom mirror – people primping in the mirror have no idea anyone using the facilities can watch them rub lipstick off their teeth with a finger.
reviewed
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Stud
The Stud has rocked the gay scene since 1966, but has branched out beyond the obvious leather daddies and preppy twinks into whole new categories of gay good times. Check the schedule for rocker-grrrl Monday nights, anything-goes Meow Mix Tuesday drag variety shows, raunchy comedy and karaoke Wednesdays, art/drag dance parties on Fridays and drag-disco-performance-art cabaret whenever hostess DJ MC MF Anna Conda gets the notion. Dress up and talk dirty, and you may never have to buy your own drink.
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Q
Bigfoot Lodge
Log-cabin walls, antler chandeliers, taxidermy animals everywhere you look – you'd swear you were at a state park visitors center, but for all the giggly-drunk 20-somethings. If you're looking for your gay boyfriend, he's wandered across the street to the Cinch.
reviewed
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Rasselas
Doubling as a good Ethiopian restaurant, Rasselas big windows let you look inside to see (and hear) who's playing before you commit. Live jazz every night (and occasionally salsa on Fridays) make this our favorite Upper Fillmore backup when we're wishy-washy about where to go.
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Four Star Theater
Long before John Woo, Ang Li and Wong Kar-wai hit multiplex marquees, they brought down the house in the Four Star’s postage-stamp-sized screening rooms. This diminutive cinema is still the audience testing ground for emerging Hong Kong and Taiwan cinema, and also shows double features.
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Tony Nik’s
Think Rat Pack lounge, c 1956, and you’ll conjure retro-cool Tony Nik’s, a tiny cocktail lounge with glass bricks, vintage granite floors and period wood-paneling. Good acoustics make for easy conversation. Aim for the cocktail tables in back, or hang with old-timers at the bar.
reviewed
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Great American Music Hall
Once a bordello, the rococo Great American Music Hall is one of SF's coolest places for shows. A balcony with table seating rims the main standing-room floor area, the sound system is top-notch, and there are food and drinks. Music ranges from rock, alt-rock and country to jazz and blues.
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New Conservatory Theatre
This respected gay company draws playwrights like Terrance McNally and continually shows new works. There's usually a boy partially naked on stage, earning it the nickname 'Nude Conservatory Theatre,' but it's never a strip show. Shows range from camp to dead serious.
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Anu
Funky-cool Anu draws a local crowd of techno-lovers, who crowd the tiny dance floor. But for its DJ music, which drifts into drum-and-bass and occasionally house, it’s just a shotgun bar with a cool crowd. Wednesdays’ party, Satellite, packs the joint when Qoöl lets out.
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Rx Gallery
Live, breathe and drink technology at Rx, where new media artists and Silicon Valley whiz kids come for soju cocktails, bonding and coded flirting. The mood is engineered with video and robotic art shows and spooky, reverberating beats that sound like the Bionic Woman in motion.
reviewed
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MatrixFillmore
The neighborhood's most notorious up-market pick-up joint provides a fascinating glimpse into the lives of single, Marina swankers. Treat it as a comic sociological study, while digging the stellar cocktails, blazing fireplace and sexy lounge beats. Bring your credit card.
reviewed