The best gay bars in San Francisco

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. 

The self-styled "safe space" is stylish and modern, with a large front room with booths, a pool table and plenty of bar seating, and additional tables in an alcove at the back. The dance floor, brightly lit and papered in tasteful black-and-white breasts, thumps to the beat of DJs on Friday and Saturday nights. Thursday and Friday nights Jolene's kitchen serves satisfying comfort fare with plenty of veggie options. Weekends brunch fare like fried egg sandwiches and chicken and waffles pair perfectly with bottomless mimosas..

The Mix has a more laid-back approach to LGBTQ revelry than other spots in town. A true neighborhood bar in every sense of the word, the drinks are strong, the patrons are friendly, and the back patio is generous. Regular all-day drink specials offer just one more reason to drop in, no matter the time.

One of the few San Francisco gay bars outside the Castro or SoMa neighborhoods, the Cinch is equal parts dive bar and dance club. Dark even in the middle of the day, this cowboy-themed spot with a pool table and patio is hung with erotic art, and, although it’s a little rough around the edges, the Cinch is as friendly as they come. 

Once upon a time, El Rio was a Brazilian Leather Bar. Today, this brightly colored space caters more to the lesbian crowd, with plenty of indie bands and nights dedicated to worthwhile causes to draw those from diverse corners of the city. While there are a handful of great queer patios in SF, El Rio's large, light-strung, plant-laden backyard is one of the best, with outdoor ping pong competition and free al fresco oysters on Friday evenings at 5:30pm.

This friendly neighborhood bar is one of the most low-key options in the Castro. With a blazing fireplace to warm you on foggy days and a jukebox chock full of 80s favorites, this cozy pub will keep you in your seat until last call rolls around. Happy Hour ain't no slouch, either.

The place to see and be seen for everyone from leather-clad bears to tiny twinks to party-hardy lesbians. This legendary biker bar is especially known for its Sunday afternoon beer busts when dozens of revelers pack cheek-to-jowl on the massive outdoor patio to get sh*tfaced on $15 all-you-can-drink beer. Live music on Thursday nights is a nice counterpoint to the often wild and unexpected Friday and Saturday night parties that feature everything from lube wrestling to gaymer nights.

Big, meaty men gravitate to this self-styled Bear Bar in SoMa. Inside it can be slow on weekdays but wend your way to the rear, past the pool table, past the DJ booths and bathrooms, down the hallway lined with decades of gay memorabilia, to find the crowd chomping cigars and sharing cigarettes on the outdoor patio. On Sunday afternoons, the Lone Star is the default second-choice destination for those in search of an afternoon beer bust.

What Aunt Charlie’s Lounge lacks in location (it is tucked away in the Tenderloin), it makes up for in character. This postage-stamp-sized, pink-lit cocktail lounge and piano bar features the Hot Boxxx Girls, a long-standing drag show, on Friday and Saturday nights (reservations advised). Be sure to bring singles and plan to tip every girl. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, DJs spin power-pop, glam-rock, and retro “homo bar” classics.

For forty years, Wild Side West has welcomed queer women and those that love them to their authentic tavern and lush outdoor patio. Wednesday nights are for Miss Kitty's trivia, half comedy show, half competition. The rest of the week, the Wild Side is a great spot for a laid-back evening beer.

First opened more than 40 years ago, Midnight Sun rejoined the A-list after a makeover. These days, 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.

Just beyond the shadow of the giant rainbow flag and a few doors down from the famed Castro Theater is San Francisco's first gay bar, Twin Peak's Tavern. This low-key bar tends to be frequented by the neighborhood's older residents, which, along with the windows lining its walls, has earned this spot the nickname “the Glass Coffin.” Regardless, most everyone will roll into this classic tavern at some point, drawn like martini-chasing moths to its rainbow-colored lights.

Blackbird draws San Franciscans of all genders, ages, and sexual orientations with artisan cocktails served in vintage-inspired style. The bar offers plenty of intimate spots for conversation along a tufted red-vinyl banquette softly lit with Edison bulbs hanging from a ceiling of salvaged wood—though you may find yourself shouting to be heard above the din at peak times. The back of the bar is dominated by a pool table and photo booth. This place can get crowded at happy hour and on weekends, so get there early if you prefer to sit.

This neighborhood spot, with walls of windows that open wide to the street on sunny days, hasn’t changed much since opening in the 1980s. Nightly drink specials make it a local favorite but not as a cruise bar—Moby Dick is where you go to have a couple drinks with your crew in a no-pressure environment. Behind the bar, a giant fish tank offers a little something to focus on during lulls in conversation, and, up the steps at the rear, a pool table and pinball machines allow for a little friendly competition.

Self-styled as “San Francisco’s cruise bar,” the Powerhouse is the place to be if you’re looking to pick up. The Powerhouse is known for its back patio, where poppers and cigarettes get equal attention, and its crowd, which would prefer to shmooze than dance (despite the DJ spinning house most nights). Thursday nights are Junk Nights, where skivvies-wearing men compete to win lube, drinks, and cash. Leave your girlfriends at home; this spot is where the boys go to play.

Late night, this cocktail lounge with laser-cut wood screens, distressed leather sofas, and polished brass decor at Beaux transforms into the Castro’s best dance club. Themed parties take place almost nightly, including Wednesday’s Latinx Pan Dulce and Cockshot Tuesdays, where drink specials are available only to those stripped down to their skivvies. On the weekends, events like Manimal Fridays feature platform dancing go-go beasts, $2 well drinks, and no cover before 10pm. For the best views of the sweaty crowd, head upstairs to snag a seat on one of the cozy sofas. 

This fun-loving biker bar welcomes loudmouth punks and freaky down-to-earth patrons of all types. The Hole in the Wall does its name proud: dark and divey with walls plastered with band posters and news clippings, light-bright installations, and motorcycle ephemera. Join one of the bar’s two pool teams or just belly up to the bar for a drink, literally: shirtless men get $2 off all drinks every Thursday night after 10pm.

The White Horse, which opened in the 1930s at a time when it was dangerous for the LGBTQ community to congregate in a space of their own, is the oldest continuously operated gay bar in the United States. Located across the bridge in Oakland, the White Horse Bar remains a friendly space for a drink, no matter your sexual orientation. With any luck, regular dance parties and drink specials, as well as epic karaoke not once but twice each week (Mondays & Tuesdays), will keep this unassuming dive bar stocked with classic video games, a pool table, and a lax smoking policy thriving for the next 90 years.