True Laurel in SF's Mission is the cocktail bar from the Lazy Bear team, ranked 17 on North America's 50 Best Bars 2025 with a Northern California ingredient list.
Tip: The kitchen plates fried chicken and burgers until late; the cocktail list works in seasonal flights. Walk-in for the counter, reserve for the patio.
Address: 753 Alabama Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
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.
Twin Peaks Tavern in SF's Castro opened its plate-glass windows in 1972 as the first US gay bar to let the sidewalk see in, still drawing the daytime drink crowd.
Tip: Afternoon at the front window is the social anchor of the neighbourhood. Cash bar runs quicker than card on busy Saturdays.
Powerhouse on Folsom Street is San Francisco's leather and kink bar, programming DJ nights, beer busts and back-patio events through the SoMa Leather corridor.
Tip: Sunday beer bust on the back patio is the social anchor. Theme nights enforce dress code at the door, especially on Friday and Saturday.
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.
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.