Queer artistic expression thrives at Oasis, a club and cabaret theater in SoMa. Opened in a former gay bathhouse in 2015 by San Francisco drag legends Heklina and D’Arcy Drollinger, the 8,000-foot space comes alive each weekend with a myriad of amazing performances, including ever-popular interpretations of classic TV shows like Sex and the City, The Golden Girls and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. For drag purists, it is Oasis’ weekly Saturday revue, Mother, that really kills. The comic, electric show is different each time, with the Queens taking on everything from Disney princesses to pop stars.
San Francisco—home of the country's first openly gay elected official (Harvey Milk), the birthplace of the rainbow flag, the first city in the United States to legalize gay marriage, and host of the best damn Pride parade in the country—remains a major LGBTQ epicenter. This means there are tons of gay bars in San Francisco. At these LGBTQ spots, San Francisco nightclubs and only-in-SF fetish fests, genders, and sexual orientations of all stripes are welcome.
Let our updated list of the best LGBTQ bars in San Francisco and Oakland guide you as you plan for upcoming Pride festivities or any day of the year. Whether you are looking for a friendly lesbian bar (Jolene's in the Mission, #3 on our list), an epic queer Sunday beer bust (#8, SF Eagle), a balls-to-the-wall Latinx dance party (#11, Club 21) or a drag show dripping with talent (#1, Oasis), we've narrowed down the options to the best of the best.
RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best bars in San Francisco