The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
When exploring 500-plus Mission murals takes the wind out of your sails, restore your spirits at Virgil's. Dock here for unfussy cocktails named for SF…
Must-see nightlife in San Francisco
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Unlike some gastropubs, Monk's Kettle realizes you're here for beer – and delivers, with 28 cult draft brews ranging in hue from Portland's Allagash white…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Thursdays through Sundays are best at Powerhouse, a sweaty SoMa bar for leathermen, shirtless gym queens and the occasional porn star. Draft beer is cheap…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
On average weeknights when the rest of downtown is dead, you may have to shout to be heard over 83's flirtatious, buzzing crowd. High ceilings make room…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Flash back 100 years at this gloriously restored mahogany bar with original 1908 chandeliers and old-fashioned cocktails without the frippery. You won't…
San Francisco
The last Castro bar to open at 6am, Mix lives up to its name with a full rainbow of colorful neighborhood characters – acclaimed lesbian playwrights, AIDS…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Surprise: the hippest cafe in town is also the friendliest, with upbeat baristas and no outlets or wi-fi to hinder conversation. Drip roasts are complex…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Sip your way around the Pacific Rim from the comfort of your downtown San Francisco barstool. Expand your hooch horizons to the South Pacific with Lime in…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Waterbar's glass-column aquariums and Bay Bridge vistas are SF's surest way to impress a date over drinks. Leave the dining room to Silicon Valley start…
San Francisco
A classic Castro bar that's been a local favorite for more than 25 years. Drag divas and leather daddies bond over show-tune sing-alongs Musical Sundays,…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Rolling vineyards seem overrated once you've visited SoMa's finest back-alley winery. Grab a barrel-top stool and glimpse winemakers at work in the…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Bagpiper murals on the walls, the Trainspotting soundtrack blaring, ale on tap, Tuesday pub quiz and vinegary fish and chips until 9pm provide all the…
San Francisco
Bank on bargain booze in this converted savings-and-loan office – just look for the neon-pink elephant over the archway. Come for weekday happy hours …
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
It’s easy being green at Yield, a storefront wine bar with a rotating list of sustainably farmed vintages served at rough-hewn wooden tables. Pull up an…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Minna St is named after a gold rush–era madam, and today 111 Minna works three jobs on this street corner: art gallery–cafe (7am to 5pm weekdays), happy…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Among the city's biggest clubs, Ten Fifteen packs for marquee EDM DJs and hip-hop acts, and has seen performances from the likes of LCD Soundsystem,…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Filthy bikers and loudmouth punks proudly call this Hole their home. The tangle of neon and bike parts hanging over the bar sets the mood amid walls…
San Francisco
You can call anyone Ishmael here, as long as you're buying. The fish tank over the bar is mesmerizing – yes there is something thrusting out of the coral,…
San Francisco
The Castro's long-standing dance bar gets packed with gay college boys, their wide-eyed straight girlfriends, and sundry chicken hawks. A tame scene by SF…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
Observe San Franciscans in their native habitat at Social Study, where days begin earnestly with powerful coffee, wi-fi and tasty study snacks, then relax…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Classic SF dive celebrating defunct technology, with naked Barbie chandeliers and year-round Christmas lights. Art-school students mingle with sundry…
San Francisco
The last of the old-guard Polk St gay bars still has an anything-goes saloon vibe, with pool, pinball, darts and an action-packed smokers patio. Friday…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Part wine store, part wine bar, this small shop and wine club on busy Chestnut St caters to neighborhood wine aficionados, with a frequently changing list…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
You can't tell who's local and who's not in this happening hilltop bar with exposed beams, a steampunk chandelier and a rickety mezzanine where you can…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
The faintest ray of sunshine brings lines down the block for beer on draft and bratwurst at Biergarten – wear sunblock, order two rounds of seasonal Fort…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
A rack of more than 700 bottles frames the wall at this austerely elegant storefront wine bar, which pours wines exclusively from California, Oregon and…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Margaritas served in beer glasses go the distance here – just don't stand up too fast. Ninja piñatas and papel picado (cut-paper banners) add a festive…
San Francisco
This snazzy, skylit loft looks like an architect's office but tastes like a neighborhood brewpub, serving up dry, crisp Brut IPA and dishing out addictive…
Excelsior
This stylish little bar is a nice blend of neighborhood watering hole and spot to watch the game. They pour a mean Moscow mule. Head here to rub elbows…
San Francisco
Known as the beach cafe, visitors line up at this outlet of Andytown Coffee for the Kees van der Westen Spirit espresso machine, big-batch drip coffee and…
San Francisco
Atomic-scale disco inferno tears through SF, with appearances at the Stud the first Saturday night of the month.
San Francisco
This drag superstar throws fierce fundraising parties, especially for Pride, plus monthly fetish-drag parties at Powerhouse.
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Back when SoMa was the stomping ground of sailors, alleys were named for working girls – and Harlot pays them homage. Vampire bordello is the vibe in this…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
Find out what it's like to join the old boys' club at Palmer's, a classic mid-century-American bar and grill complete with wood-paneled walls, tufted red…
San Francisco
Bike one block from Golden Gate Park and you've earned a Bean Smoke coffee or a delicious tap beer surrounded by charming pre-doping-scandal Tour de…
San Francisco
Post-work posses get their drink on fast with Toad Hall's two-for-one happy hour till 8:30pm. It's named after a famous 1970s Castro gay bar, as seen in…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Back in SF's wild Barbary Coast days, the Aventine's 150-year-old building fronted the bay – you can still see salt-water marks on the brick walls…
San Francisco
Determined 20-something club kids shimmy and shout over pop remixes on the cramped dance floor, while smokers flirt on the patio. Perpetually busy…
Excelsior
This bar has a funny name, if only because you generally need to recover after a visit. It’s a fairly simple example of both a sports bar and a dive; you…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Bus Stop has 17 flickering TV screens, two pool tables and a manly crowd that roars when their team scores. If one of your party wants to shop but you…
