San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
charity. Dress code: A sweater for the back patio bar is never a bad idea. Don’t miss: Free pool after 7 p.m. on Mondays.
Harvey’s
500 Castro St.
Crowd: Old-timers who remember the bar as the Elephant Walk in Harvey Milk’s day, newbies curious about the bar’s place in gay history.
Hot time: Dinner: It’s a great place to carbo-load before drinking and dancing. Brunch: It’s a great place to recover the next day.
Dress code: Honor the bar’s namesake with a “Milk for Supervisor” T-shirt. Don’t miss: The “Mecca” scramble.
Midnight Sun
4067 18th St.
Crowd: All sorts with some great drag regulars.
Hot time: The Mister Sister Mondays “RuPaul’s Drag Race” viewing parties.
Dress code: Glitter works as well on Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence as it does on the Saturday go-go boys. Don’t miss: Castro Karaoke Wednesdays, hosted by Bebe Sweetbriar.
The Cafe
2369 Market St.
Crowd: People who come to dance with a capital D. Hot time: Boogie o’clock starts after 9 p.m.
Dress code: Shirts tend to come off quickly on the dance floor. Don’t miss: Latin themed “Picante” Thursdays.
Hamburger Mary’s
531 Castro St.
Crowd: Mix of old neighborhood vets, couples and straight burger enthusiasts.
Hot time: Dinner. The new Mary’s shuts down at 11 p.m.
Sunday through Thursday and midnight Friday and Saturday.
Dress code: Do you — though the place is steeped in drag queen chic.
Don’t miss: “RuPaul’s Drag Race” watch parties on Thursdays.
Hi Tops
2247 Market St.
Crowd: Sports fans, jocks and athletic enthusiasts.
Hot time: Game time.
Dress code: San Francisco team colors are always encouraged; bartenders wear jocks for Thursday night Gym Class. Don’t miss: Monday night $5 chicken wing baskets.
Papi Rico
544 Castro St. Crowd: Hipsters, eye candy, staycationers.
Hot time: Happy hour on the mural-covered patio.
Dress code: Puerto Vallarta casual. Think about how you’d dress if you were on a beach
vacation, only it’s S.F., so it’s cold.
Don’t miss: Spicy mezcal cocktails; the colorful undies and pinatas everywhere you look.
The Lookout
3600 16th St.
Crowd: Revelers looking for a little noise and maybe a slice of pizza.
Hot time: Friday and Saturday nights on the town, postbrunch cocktails on Sunday.
Dress code: Something to show off those pecs and a pair of binoculars to check out your neighbor.
Don’t miss: The view from the balconies of the musclemen exiting the gym on Market Street.
Badlands
4121 18th St.
Crowd: Twink alert!
Hot time: Most nights attract a healthy crowd to the dance floor, where Katy, Gaga and Madonna rule the playlists.
Dress code: Your best clubgoing sneaks, and a shirt you don’t care about losing.
Don’t miss: The black-lit hall of urinals with overhanging mirrors and the roomy dance floor.
Toad Hall
4146 18th St.
Crowd: People looking for a change of pace from Badlands. Hot time: Weekends on the patio.
Dress code: Whatever you can dance in.
Don’t miss: The great sound system.
Beaux
2344 Market St. Crowd: Squeaky-clean and polished, like the venue.
Hot time: After work, early evening, late night.
Dress code: The tighter and more skin-baring the better.
Don’t miss: The Beauxtox house cocktail, Cock Shot Tuesdays and the “nearly naked
gogo boys.”
Flore (formerly Cafe Flore) 2298 Market St.
Crowd: Casual diners and drinkers, former punks who remember the cafe’s mosh pit days.
Hot time: Sunny days when the people watching is easy.
Dress code: Casual bohemian
duds.
Don’t miss: The ambience of sipping a cocktail in the patio garden, the gay history from the early days of liberation.
The Edge
4149 18th St.
Crowd: Mixed ages but skews more 30-plus.
Hot time: Weekends for day drinking that becomes early evening drinking. Dress code: Chest hair preferred, but not required.
Don’t miss: Musical Mondays for trivia and classic clips.
TENDERLOIN
The Cinch
1723 Polk St.
Crowd: Gay dive bar regulars.
Hot time: The vibe stays pretty homey and mellow even during weekend peaks.
Dress code: If this is a gay Cheers, channel your inner Carla.
Don’t miss: The heavy pour of the average bartender, the “Little Shop of Horrors” maneating plant decor.
Aunt Charlie’s Lounge
133 Turk St.
Crowd: Bathhouse-disco-era queens.
Hot time: Any evening performance, but Saturdays are always a fabulous show with plenty of classic older performers strutting their stuff. Reservations are available.
Dress code: Sparkle, glitter and that hint of the ’70s.
Don’t miss: Collette LeGrande,
the sassy, saucy waitress and longtime performer who takes no nonsense.
Divas
1081 Post St.
Crowd: Trans women, drag queens, cross-dressers and the people who admire them.
Hot time: Late nights are when the real scene begins.
Dress code: At a place called Divas, a little excess is always encouraged.
Don’t miss: The talent onstage for any of the numerous live performances.
MISSION DISTRICT
El Rio
3158 Mission St.
Crowd: A true mix of all the LGBT letters with a healthy helping of straights. Hot time: Most weekends, it’s wall-to-wall people by 11.
Dress code: A mix of hipster uniforms then and now.
Don’t miss: The live performances most nights of the week.
SOUTH OF MARKET
SF-Eagle
398 12th St.
Crowd: Leather men.
Hot time: Weekends on the
patio.
Dress code: Your Tom of Finland favorite chaps and a motorcycle jacket. Don’t miss: The overall Kenneth Anger retro biker vibe.
Powerhouse
1347 Folsom St.
Crowd: Leather, punk, jock, neighborhood guys — a real gay variety.
Hot time: When isn’t it a hot time? Most nights you’ll break a sweat (which some patrons are into).
Dress code: If you have some kind of apparel-related fetish, this is the place to bring it out of
the kink closet.
Don’t miss: Tuesday night’s ink-and-metal dollar-off drinks for bar-goers with tattoos and/ or piercings.
Lone Star Saloon
1354 Harrison St.
Crowd: Mixed ages and sexes.
Hot time: Fridays and weekends.
Dress code: Go a little Western (either rugged or rhinestone variety) as a nod to the “saloon” spirit. Don’t miss: Chatting with the super-friendly bar staff.
The Stud Bar
399 Ninth St.
Crowd: Studs, twinks, goths, queens, trans, lesbians, one of the best melanges in SoMa, now the first worker-owned-collective nightclub in the U.S.! Hot time: Performance nights, of which there are many!
Dress code: A great bar to let your freak flag fly, whether your look is haute or homemade.
Don’t miss: The decor, the altmusic nights, the people-watching.
Asia SF
201 Ninth St.
Crowd: The performers may be trans women and drag queens, but the crowd is usually straight bachelorettes and tourists. Nearly family-friendly fun for those new to drag performances. Hot time: Saturdays during the run-up to wedding season.
Dress code: Given the excess of bachelorettes, a white veil and tiara.
Don’t miss: The new season of the Asia SF-set reality show “Transcendent” on Fuse.
Hole in the Wall Saloon
1369 Folsom St. Crowd: For gay bikers by gay bikers.
Hot time: Weekends.
Dress code: Your best greasemonkey onesie.
Don’t miss: The totally selfieworthy mechanics decor.
Oasis
298 11th St.
Crowd: Drag and cabaret fans and alt-indie types tired of the squeaky-pop Castro.
Hot time: Showtime! Oasis is home to many regular performance events hosted by and starring co-owners D’Arcy Drollinger and Heklina.
Dress code: Dress as your favorite “Golden Girls” or “Sex and the City” star, depending on which sitcom is getting the drag treatment that night.
Don’t miss: The decor in the exotic fez room, the roof deck.
OMG
43 Sixth St.
Crowd: As the name implies, mostly Millennial and younger. Hot time: Friday and Saturday nights.
Dress code: Something you don’t mind breaking a dancerelated sweat in.
Don’t miss: The light show.
The EndUp
401 Harrison St.
Crowd: Techno fans and insomniacs who are looking for afterhours fun (the EndUp is open until 4 a.m. most days).
Hot time: After other bars have closed at 2 a.m.
Dress code: At that hour, who
cares?
Don’t miss: A chance to re-create the infamous “tighty whities” scene from the gay classic “Tales of the City,” which was set in the bar.
OTHER BARS
Trax (Haight) 1437 Haight St.
Crowd: Dive regulars and college kids from not-too-far USF.
Hot time: Weeknights attract as good a crowd as weekends.
Dress code: When on Haight Street, do what the hippies do. Just kidding; jeans and a hoodie are fine. Don’t miss: Their highly recommended Bloody Marys.
The Wild Side West
(Bernal Hill) 424 Cortland Ave.
Crowd: Neighborhood locals and people from out of the area cool enough to know about this hidden gem. Hot time: Sunset, for the views from the garden.
Dress code: Neighborhood casual or neighborhood fabulous, a mix.
Don’t miss: The whimsical garden with views and sculpture around every corner.
CANNABIS LOUNGES
Lounge 8 Four 7
847 Howard St.
Crowd: Sports fans (there’s usually a game, any game, blasting on the TV) and SoMa locals after work. Mix of ages, game time can reportedly get very bro-y. Fee/Membership: Membership required.
Don’t miss: Ask about the “pri-