111 Best Nightlife in San Francisco, California

The almost 360-degree views of San Francisco and the bay are dazzling at this hip rooftop bar on the LUMA Hotel. Fire pits, hand warmers, and strategic wind barriers make this one of the warmer outdoor SF drinking destinations. But the real stars are the intricate cocktails inspired by Central and South American cultures and ingredients.

Euro-chic yet comfortable, this rooftop lounge serves up jaw-dropping skyline views along with sophisticated small bites and expert cocktails—it's not hard to reach the $65 per person minimum spend. The indoor space is cozy and intimate, and the outdoor tables with personal fire pits are popular, so reservations are a good idea.

Well-known stand-up comics have appeared here, though there's more emphasis on up-and-comers. You might also see local sketch comedy and comic singer-songwriters. No one under 18 is admitted, and there is a minimum drink purchase in addition to the entrance fee.

In the rough-and-tumble Tenderloin, around the corner from the Polk Street bars, transgenders and their admirers come here for the racy entertainment. Naughty Schoolgirls night (Wednesday) is a major fave. This multilevel space has separate areas for stage performances, dancing, and quiet chats. It's not a drag bar, as there is no sense of irony or camp about the place; the girls here are charming, and the fun is in the titillation.

The music changes nightly at the venerable DNA Lounge, with Monday Night burlesque and comedy shows, themed weekend dance parties, and a wide range of music styles each evening. Multiple dance floors and bars across two levels mean that the festivities are rarely uncomfortably crowded and always huge amounts of fun.

Work off your fish-and-chips and Scottish brew with a turn at the dartboard or pool table at this decades-old divey pub. It's popular with locals and Brits, who congregate at the long bar or in the scattered seating areas, downing single-malt Scotch or pints of Fuller's. The pub holds weekly trivia nights and occasional Scottish cultural events (January's Robert Burns celebration is a favorite). Be aware that the surrounding neighborhood is gritty.

A dive bar in the best sense, El Rio has a calendar chock-full of events, from free bands and films to Salsa Sunday (every fourth Sunday), all of which keep Mission kids coming back. No matter what day you attend, expect to find a diverse gay and straight crowd enjoying local beers and margaritas. When the weather's warm, the large patio out back is especially popular, and the midday dance parties are the place to be.

This popular two-story space has a little something for everyone. The main bar downstairs is quaint and swanky with tables, booths, and classic arcade games. Hit the upstairs to see up-and-coming artists before they hit the big time. The music includes Afro-Cuban, indie rock, jazz, and more.

The Golden State's wines are the specialty at this relaxed, rustic-feeling bar. Natural and biodynamic wines from the greater West Coast and around the world are also poured, pairing nicely with cheese selections. Their eponymous and popular cannabis dispensary is just around the corner.

While the Marina and Cow Hollow are filled with bars, this throwback record album–themed charmer is surprisingly the only (non-restaurant-affiliated) craft cocktail bar in the area. The sharply designed space has a clubby meets groovy feel with tufted leather banquettes and Summer of Love floral wallpaper. Cocktails are ambitious and exciting but, like the bar's atmosphere, completely free of pretension.

Most San Francisco brewery taprooms are lacking in decor since they're usually just part of a warehouse-like brewing complex. That isn't the case with this sleek, beautifully designed bar-restaurant serving approachable, fun beers from a brewery next to Crissy Field. This is also the rare San Francisco brewery with a notable food menu. Here, San Francisco's deep seafood history is featured, led by the terrific Dungeness crab roll, and nicely accompanies the IPAs and KSA Kölsch. 

You'll find top-drawer entertainment at this eclectic venue. Acts range from the best in blues, folk, and jazz to up-and-coming alternative artists. The colorful marble-pillared club, built in 1907 as a bordello, accommodates dancing at some shows. Pub grub is available most nights.

The epicenter for downtown festivities on St. Patrick's Day, this family-owned Irish saloon (closed Sunday) is an attitude-free place for the well-tailored-suit set to have an after-work drink the rest of the year. The restaurant serves American fare, with the occasional Irish special, and has a good selection of imported beers. Another local favorite, the Royal Exchange, is next door and eerily similar.

For a city with so much waterfront mileage, it's shocking how few waterfront bars San Francisco has. This very welcoming, somewhat retro, kind of divey bar almost directly underneath the Bay Bridge is the perfect place for a local IPA or a margarita on the patio on a sunny day. 

On a sunny day, is there anything better than sipping wine and eating oysters? Only if it's here, on a waterside patio, with the looming Bay Bridge and the Oakland and Berkeley hills as a backdrop. The oysters are from Marin County, and many of the wines are from Sonoma and Napa.

This tiny, cave-like (in a good way) spot displays the work of local artists on its brick walls. The well-behaved twenty- to thirtysomething clientele enjoys the off-the-beaten-path quarters, the wines from around the world, the soft lighting, and the hip music.

Tucked away on lovely Maiden Lane, this warm and welcoming two-level space offers respite from the bustle of Union Square. Talented bartenders make good use of fresh fruit in reasonably priced seasonal cocktails, while muted jazz, dim lighting, and oil paintings in gilded frames create an intimate vibe. Upstairs tables overlooking the lane are particularly cozy.

Slowly but surely San Francisco is developing a reputation for great rooftop restaurant-bars high above the city. Among the best is on the 12th floor of the Hyatt Place near Oracle Park, where the setting looks like a tropical rain forest in the middle of urban sprawl, and the food and drink focuses on Nikkei cuisine (Japanese-Peruvian) like at its sibling in Cow Hollow. Reservations are recommended, and make sure to bundle up.

The sibling to Union Square bar stalwart P.C.H. is just as compelling for locals and travelers alike looking for some of the city's greatest cocktails. With colorful lighting and wall decor made of comic book and karate film prints, the space is a feast for the eyes. But it's really all about the outstanding cocktails inspired by street markets on different continents.

Outrageous and full of sexual energy, this tiny space with an even tinier dance floor may be the heterosexual equivalent of San Francisco's gay-bar scene. It may all be on the racy side, but it's never creepy or uncomfortable.

Attached to the Foreign Cinema restaurant, Laszlo is a cavernous, classy space with an open, bi-level design; movies are projected onto the walls. Dim lighting, candles, and an upscale selection of cocktails and single malts make it suitable for romance, but the loud music and cacophonic levels of conversation keep it lively. DJs spin most nights after 9.

Down an easy-to-miss alley off Taylor Street is what appears to be a two-story plantation house in the center of the city. Without being kitschy, the top-floor bar successfully evokes French-colonial Vietnam, thanks to creaky wooden floors, wicker Victorian sofas, and a patio with potted palms. It's open Friday and Saturday only, when live music accompanies tasty French-Vietnamese food and tropical cocktails.

In a sea of hip craft cocktail bars, this slightly off-the-beaten-path neighborhood icon (you can't miss the namesake palm tree outside) is a refreshing throwback. There is no cocktail menu; this is a place for martinis, Negronis, and other classic cocktails. This is the rare locals' joint that feels both divey and strangely refined—tables have white tablecloths and the soundtrack tends to be cheery '80's pop.

This watering hole is popular with bikers, bears, and the men who love them. The inside bar has an old tavern feel, with a pool table and a long wooden bar you half expect the bartender to sling a beer down. Weekend "Beer Busts" unfold on the great outdoor patio bar. The action can get steamy during events like Gay Pride or the Folsom Street Fair.

Greasers, hipsters, Betty Page wannabes, anyone looking for a good beer in the Castro, and assorted other patrons make Lucky 13 a fun place indeed. The drink prices are reasonable, the beer selection is huge, and there's high-end root beer on tap for the designated driver with a discriminating palate. The best seats are upstairs overlooking the crowd.

Your best option for a refined craft cocktail on Polk Street, this cheery, plant-filled bar serves solid, never precious drinks, balancing the line between serious and fun. The food menu leans toward seafood like rock crab–stuffed eggs and a signature lobster roll.

Known for its food as much as its beers, Magnolia is a San Francisco institution, thanks in part to its prime location near the Haight-Ashbury intersection. Come for the smoked trout croquettes, falafel salad, and famed burgers, or just grab any one of the dozen-plus beers on tap, many brewed in-house. The brewpub occupies the site of The Drugstore Cafe, one of the first hippie hangouts in the Haight in the 1960s. 

A mixed crowd enjoys cocktails in the semi-refined environment of this piano bar where the Castro, the Mission, and Hayes Valley intersect; variations on the martini and different fruit-flavored lemon drops are a specialty. This is not the place for innovative mixology. In the intimate back room a pianist plays nightly, and patrons take turns boisterously singing show tunes. Martuni's often gets busy after symphony and opera performances—Davies Hall and the Opera House are both within walking distance.

Don a pair of Diesel jeans and a Michael Kors sweater and sip cosmos or cabernet with the Marina's bon vivants. This is the premier spot in the "Triangle" (short for Bermuda Triangle, named for all of the singles who disappear in the bars clustered at Greenwich and Fillmore streets). Although there's a small dance floor where some folks bump and grind to high-energy DJ-spun dance tracks, the majority of the clientele usually vies for the plush seats near the central open fireplace, flirts at the bar, or huddles for romantic tête-à-têtes in the back. The singles scene can be overwhelming on weekends.