A fun spot for a pick-me-up when you're done with the junk shops on Grant Avenue. Li Po is basically a dive, but the cave façade and giant, tattered Chinese...

The façade looks like it's made out of driftwood, and the main decorative touches are old sports photos and paintings of jazz greats. No matter: this is the...

Once unabashed 'bear country', the Lone Star has of late become more of a fashion show for beauty bears. That said, it's still a jolly enough place, with...

Dark, spacious and always busy, Lucky 13 has long been a favourite with those who crave the aura of a punk/biker bar without the perceived risk. There's...

Anglophiles and expats pack the Mad Dog for pub quizzes and football broadcasts (it opens early at weekends for English Premiership matches). Strong...

A funky lounge and gallery whose beautifully restored Victorian exterior brought joy to the neighbours when it was revived from almost total dilapidation....

This brewpub's decor plays up to its history: built in 1903, it was a focal point of hippie culture in the 1960s, before being taken over by quasi-legendary...

An eclectic crowd (including drag queens on the weekends) shows up for the superb martinis at this treasured former speakeasy. A fold-down Murphy stage...

Martuni's is a warm, inviting piano bar with an open mic. The martinis are enormous, the music mostly show tunes, and the clientele extremely varied. The...

At the original Matrix, you might have seen Hunter S Thompson in the bathroom sucking LSD off a stranger's sleeve, or the Grateful Dead playing an impromptu...

Originally opened by a Hawaiian in the late 1950s, Mauna Loa has morphed into perhaps the only bar in the Marina that could be considered divey; the crowd,...

This two-building complex, topped by a massive roof deck, contains a restaurant, a café and an excellent hostel. However, weather permitting, the deck is...

The big draw at Midnight Sun is video - that is, classic and contemporary music cross-cut with comedy clips, The Sopranos or Sex and the City. Two-for-one...

This rough-and-ready sports bar is a haven for queer jocks and those who adore them. Fervent fans pack the place to root for the San Francisco '49ers, and...