Are you looking to discover the best bars in San Francisco?
Then we have you covered!
On this page, you’ll find the official shortlist of all the bars in San Francisco. (More in-depth further below). And, each with why it’s best to go.
Feel free to check out each bar’s official profile to find out more and to find out which is best for you.
We’ve also created separate shortlists for each genre you might like to visit on your time out.
Furthermore, you can get on the guest list or book a table with bottle service on some of the more exclusive bars. We are happy to help you out with either.
1. Li Po Cocktail Lounge San Francisco
Li Po Cocktail Lounge is a long-standing no-pretenses Chinatown bar attracting a diverse crowd with signature Chinese Mai Tais. It’s one of the best places in the world to get a “mai tai”, they actually have a trademark on a drink called “Chinese Mai Tai”. A great place to meet locals and tourists and share stories and drinks. A really historic and cool dive bar. A revered dive bar in San Francisco’s Chinatown, Li Po Lounge has remained relatively unchanged since opening in the 1930s. Considered by many to be the neighborhood’s best dive, Li Po tends to draw a diverse crowd – from bewildered tourists to shady locals and everything in between. The space is equally electric, consisting of a smattering of traditional Chinese watercolor designs, paper lanterns and a carved Buddha shrine behind the bar.
2. Festa Wine & Cocktail Lounge San Francisco
Are you looking for an awesome karaoke bar in San Francisco? Festa Wine & Cocktail Lounge is the best live stage karaoke bar in San Francisco. Karaoke with a friend or a group or even by yourself, Festa makes you feel at home in a relaxing and friendly environment. Very cute small bar with great energy. Tucked away in Kinokuniya Mall in San Francisco’s Japantown, Festa Wine & Cocktail Lounge is intimate, but full of energy.
3. Sakesan Sushi & Bistro San Francisco
Sakesan Sushi & Bistro offers delicious dining and takeout to San Francisco, CA. Sakesan Sushi & Bistro is a cornerstone in the San Francisco community and has been recognized for its outstanding Sushi cuisine, decent prices, excellent service, and friendly staff.
4. KJ Paul Karaoke San Francisco
KJ Paul Karaoke is as good as it gets.
5. OMG San Francisco
Gay nightclub in downtown San Francisco. OMG has a full bar with a nicely-lit dome roof and dance floor. This hopping gay hangout that offers a dance floor with a domed ceiling, plus happy hours and drag shows. OMG bar room is huge and spacious. Small but great and comfy gay bar with delicious and strong drinks.
6. Midnight Sun San Francisco
Opened February 12 1971, Midnight Sun is the nation’s premier LGBTQIA + Video bar located in the heart of the Castro. A mixed crowd of bears and sexy guys in tight tees can’t get enough of this black-box video bar, cueing up nightly for happy hour two-for-one drinks until 9pm. After dark, regular events include 1 Up gaming night on Tuesdays, Wednesday night karaoke, and bar-dancing-go-go-boys on Friday and Saturday nights keep the crowd in excellent spirits.
7. 440 Castro San Francisco
Are you looking for an awesome gay bat in San Francisco? 440 Castro is the place to be. 440 Castro is a friendly male gay bar. A flourishing commercial area that acts as San Francisco’s LGBT community center and cultural heart, the Castro is a neighborhood welcome to everyone. As one of the first predominantly LGBT neighborhoods in the United States and currently its largest, it remains one of the epicenters of activism in the nation. Grand theaters and glitzy shops now compete with bars and fashionable eateries for attention, drawing visitors from around the world to the bright rainbow flag acting as its beacon.
8. Twin Peaks Tavern San Francisco
Are you looking for an amazing gay bar in San Francisco? Twin Peaks Tavern is the place to be! Gateway to the Castro – a legend in its own time and the best view of the Castro, any day, any time. Windows to watch the world go by with the unquestionably the neighborhood’s best cocktails, beers on tap, and wines by the glass…. all fashioned in this long established ‘icon’ of the Castro, a changing minute by minute collage of life all seen through the panoramic windows. In the heart of the Castro District San Francisco it’s highly recommended to everyone to go there since it seems to be on a different level of happiness.
9. The Edge San Francisco
Are you looking for an amazing gay bar in San Francisco? The Edge is the place to be. Both themed events and street-facing windows enhance the people-watching scene at this Castro gay bar. Named because it sits at the actual Western edge of the Castro neighborhood, The Edge is a mostly locals-only bar that draws a diverse crowd, in terms of both age and race.
