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After hours, the city’s business folk and workers give way to costume-clad partygoers, hippies and hipsters, downtown divas, frat boys, and those who prefer something a little more clothing-optional. Downtown and the Financial District remain pretty serious even after dark, and Nob Hill is staid, though you can't beat views from
After hours, the city’s business folk and workers give way to costume-clad partygoers, hippies and hipsters, downtown divas, frat boys, and those who prefer something a little more clothing-optional. Downtown and the Financial District remain pretty serious even after d
After hours, the city’s business folk and workers give way to costume-clad partygoers, hippies and hipsters, downtown di
After hours, the city’s business folk and workers give way to costume-clad partygoers, hippies and hipsters, downtown divas, frat boys, and those who prefer something a little more clothing-optional. Downtown and the Financial District remain pretty serious even after dark, and Nob Hill is staid, though you can't beat views from penthouse lounges, the most famous being the Top of the Mark (Hopkins). Nearby North Beach is an even better starting point for an evening out.
Always lively, North Beach's options include family-friendly dining spots, historic bars from the city's bohemian past (among them Jack Kerouac's old haunts), and even comedy clubs where stars such as Robin Williams and Jay Leno cut their teeth. In SoMa there are plenty of places to catch a drink before a Giants game and brewpubs to celebrate in afterward. SoMa also hosts some of the hottest dance clubs, along with some saucy gay bars. While Union Square can be a bit trendy, even the swanky establishments have loosened things up in recent years.
Heading west to Hayes Valley, a more sophisticated crowd dabbles in the burgeoning "culinary cocktail movement." Up-and-coming singles gravitate north of here to Cow Hollow and the Marina. Polk Street was the gay mecca before the Castro and still hosts some wild bars, but things get downright outlandish in the Castro district. Indie hipsters of all persuasions populate the Mission and Haight districts by night. Keep in mind, though, that some of the best times San Francisco has to offer are off the beaten path. And a good party can still be found in even the sleepiest of neighborhoods, such as Bernal Heights and Dogpatch.
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The claim to fame here is Beach Blanket Babylon, an ever-changing wacky musical send-up of San Francisco moods and mores that has been going...Read More
A dive bar in the best sense, El Rio has a calendar chock-full of events, from free bands and films to Salsa Sunday (seasonal), all of which...Read More
With the decor of a pirate ship and a slew of rum-based cocktails, you half expect Captain Jack Sparrow to sidle up next to you at this offbeat...Read More
You come to one of the city's most popular dive bars for one thing and one thing only: the reasonably priced beers, about four dozen of them...Read More
If you're hitting only one bar in North Beach, it should be this one. The low-ceilinged second floor of this raucous boho hangout, little altered...Read More
A stone's throw from the bay, the city's greenest wine bar serves up sustainable, organic, and biodynamic wines from around the world. Small...Read More
Gallery and coffee shop by day, bar–dance club by night, this warehouse space on a small side street just south of Mission Street is usually...Read More
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A slice of modern French life, this cozy and romantic wine bar is an ideal spot for European oenophiles. Vintage-theater seating is available...Read More
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Here you'll spy young (thirtysomething) and upwardly mobile former frat boys and sorority girls munching on tasty burgers served sandwich-style...Read More
In addition to teaching workshops in improvisation, this renovated warehouse stages performances such as "Improvised Shakespeare" and "Spontaneous...Read More
This restaurant-microbrewery, on the second floor of a historic building filled with 1930s Works Project Administration murals, has a stunning...Read More
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Bernal Heights
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Dogpatch
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Potrero Hill
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Nob Hill
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Polk Gulch
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Embarcadero
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Financial District
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Fisherman's Wh...
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Pacific Heights
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Western Addition
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Civic Center
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Hayes Valley
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SoMa
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Tenderloin
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Castro
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Haight
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Cow Hollow
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Marina
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Union Square
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Sunset District
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The Richmond
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