Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Pick up the golden phone and ask for 'the pawn master.' He might mess with you, but stick to your guns and you'll be invited into a fake store filled with…
Must-see nightlife in San Francisco
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
'She was a real gone gal, until she double-crossed me…' Tough-guy martinis at Dashiell Hammett's favorite bar will get you talking like a noir-movie…
North Beach & Chinatown
Chinatown's latest, greatest import is Taiwanese bubble tea: milky iced tea polka-dotted with boba (chewy, gently sweet tapioca pearls). PlenTea fills…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Blaspheme all you want – everyone does in SF, and transgressions are easily forgiven during happy hour (4pm to 7pm). Your Search for the Holy Trinity ends…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
The people united will never be decaffeinated at this radical coffee house. Choose a bumper-sticker-covered table to match your politics (peace is…
San Francisco
Welcome to SF's temple of tequila since 1965. Tommy's serves enchiladas as a cover for day drinking until 7pm, when margarita pitchers with blanco,…
North Beach & Chinatown
During Prohibition, historic Columbus Tower housed a speakeasy – but now you can drink here in plain sight, at filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola's ground…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Downstairs from the Mechanics Institute Library, surreal scenes unfold over vintage sofas and free-flowing California beer and wine. Dada takes the…
San Francisco
The ideal retreat on foggy Golden Gate Park days, Hollow packs surprisingly ample seating into its snug single-car-garage espresso bar – plus arty…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Lowbrow and loving it: everyone's wailing to rock anthems and swilling 100% artificially flavored soda-pop cocktails here. For a cheap date, you can't…
San Francisco
Small-batch, craft and artisan aren't just buzzwords here – Harper & Rye bartenders name their cocktails after neighbors, family and friends, and treat…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
It always feels like Octoberfest at this gleaming, Bavarian-style beer hall, installed in Fort Mason in 2018. Offerings include nine taps of German beer,…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Whether it's red or white, your wine is green here – Terroir specializes in natural-process, organic and biodynamic wines, with impressive lists from…
San Francisco
Soon there may be a groove worn across Market St between the Castro's biggest gym and the Lookout, where 30-somethings pack the street-view balcony. Hot…
San Francisco
Microbrews with views: watch Pacific sunsets through pint glasses of the Beach Chalet's Riptide Red ale from the comfort of the formal upstairs dining…
Gaspar Brasserie & Cognac Room
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
When gold-rush prospectors struck it rich, they upgraded from rotgut rye to fine French cognac – and history repeats itself nightly at Gaspar's. SF's…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Like a shotgun shack plunked downtown, Rickhouse is lined from floor to ceiling with repurposed whiskey casks imported from Kentucky and back-bar shelving…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
Indie-rocker servers dole out sass and sound advice, with top-notch Soave and Montepulciano by the taste or carafe. Take their pairing suggestions for 8oz…
San Francisco
Watch the entire gay world go by on the sun-drenched patio at the Flore, the Castro's hub since 1973. Weekdays regulars hold court over Purple Arnold…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
You've been delightfully misled: this 1930s New Orleans-style cocktail joint isn't another hipster coffee shop and despite its upmarket address, it's not…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
Duck into the alley to find this walk-in wine closet, with standout small-production Californian, French and Italian vintages and a cork-studded ceiling…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Head down a Jackson Square alleyway and back in time at Bix, a speakeasy-style supper club with white-jacketed staff shaking martinis at the mahogany bar…
San Francisco
With a Harvey Milk mural and rainbow light-up dance floor, The Cafe is the obvious place to throw your own coming-out party. Most nights the crowd seems…
San Francisco
At Castro's first gay sports bar, you can wear rainbows and team colors (as long as they're either blue and yellow, or orange and black). Giant-screen TVs…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Eureka! Inside these rock-veneer walls you're golden, with original concoctions made of craft spirits and priced to move ($10 to $12). Get fancy with…
San Francisco
Twirl above the clouds on the city's highest dancefloor. Friday and Saturday evenings, a full jazz band plays; Wednesdays and Thursdays have live piano…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
A motley Potrero Hill crowd of bikers, art-school profs, Google VPs and chefs-in-training converge for twangy and hardcore bands at weekends (cover free…
San Francisco
A sanctuary for beer drinkers above the downtown fray, with 30+ ales, IPAs, pilsners and lagers on tap. The full kitchen offers choice pairings:…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Minuscule but magnetic OMG lures 20s to 40ish gays to San Francisco's skid row to get down, drink up and strip to skivvies. Latin-diva DJs make Fridays…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
Need some soothing tea and cuddles? Say hello, KitTea. San Francisco's cat café serves Japanese tea and feline cuteness for a good cause: all the kitties…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Great wines that won't break the bank: San Francisco's dedicated wine drinkers totally Dig it. Enter a well-curated wine library featuring the work of…
San Francisco
With lipstick-red counters, well-priced pours and plates piled with cheese and charcuterie, this wine bar is a shameless charmer – especially at happy…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Tickle in your throat? Time to see the Doc – head directly to the Prescriptions Counter at this gruffly lovable green-certified dive for local craft brews…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Perfectly pulled pints and thick-cut fries with malt vinegar are staples at this cozy Irish pub, hidden inside an alleyway near the Chinatown gate. Settle…
North Beach & Chinatown
Vintage red neon promises evenings worthy of WWII sailors on shore leave. Drink in the atmosphere, but stick to basic well drinks and beer straight from a…
San Francisco
Nob Hill society was once dominated by four ruthless railroad barons – but now it's your turn to give the orders in this swanky hilltop cocktail bar…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Lesbian-owned since 1962, Wild Side West has kept its clientele busy making herstory in the beer garden and making out on the pool table (Janis Joplin…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Your friendly Victorian corner dive c 1893, complete with carved-wood bar, pressed-tin ceiling, salty roast peanuts in the shell and Mission characters…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Snag a wooden table by the steel-front fireplace and order anything in stemware – here the lemon drops, blueberry martinis and other fruity drinks pack a…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
A boom-town club on a skid-row block, Monarch has a plush parlor bar and a cozy library bar on the main floor, plus a downstairs dance club with killer…
