The Cinch Saloon on Polk Street is a Western-themed bar that has held a place in Polk Gulch since 1975, with a back patio, pool tables and bingo nights.
Tip: Sunday afternoon bingo is a city tradition with cash prizes. The back patio is the smoker's destination; front bar is for pool and pinball.
Address: 1723 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA 94109
Aunt Charlie's Lounge in the SF Tenderloin is a dive drag bar that has run the Hot Boxxx Girls revue on Friday and Saturday nights since 1996, with a classic stage.
Tip: Hot Boxxx Girls show on Friday and Saturday has a small cover. Tipping the queens is the social currency; bring small bills.
Harlan Records sits in an SF downtown alley off Bush Street, a vintage cocktail bar built around a Thorens turntable, McIntosh amps and JBL speakers on vinyl only.
Tip: Stay seated when a side flips; quiet listening is the house rule. The cocktail program rotates with the record selections each week.
Hi Tops on Market Street in SF's Castro opened in 2012 as the city's first gay sports bar, with TV walls, drag brunches and a garage-style room that fills.
Tip: Warriors and Giants nights stack the bar three deep; the back room runs quieter. Drag brunch on Saturday and Sunday packs by 12:00.
Aunt Charlie's Lounge in the SF Tenderloin is a dive drag bar that has run the Hot Boxxx Girls revue on Friday and Saturday nights since 1996, with a classic stage.
Tip: Hot Boxxx Girls show on Friday and Saturday has a small cover. Tipping the queens is the social currency; bring small bills.
El Rio on Mission Street is the queer Brazilian-leaning Mission room that has run Salsa Sunday for over thirty years, with a back patio and a calendar of live bands.
Tip: Salsa Sunday afternoons in the back patio is the room's signature party. Friday late nights run free oysters from 17:30 to 19:00.
Lookout sits at SF's 16th and Market with a wraparound balcony over the Castro intersection, pouring frozen cocktails and running Sunday afternoon theme parties.
Tip: Sunday afternoon Jock dance party packs the upstairs floor. The balcony rail is the prized view; turn up before 16:00 to secure it.
Harlan Records sits in an SF downtown alley off Bush Street, a vintage cocktail bar built around a Thorens turntable, McIntosh amps and JBL speakers on vinyl only.
Tip: Stay seated when a side flips; quiet listening is the house rule. The cocktail program rotates with the record selections each week.
Bar Part Time on 14th Street pairs natural wine with vinyl DJ sets in a small Mission room, programming ambient, house and disco selectors a few nights a week.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The natural wine list is the room's first identity; the DJ booth runs later, with no cover on most nights.