Civic Center-Tenderloin

In the 50s and 60s this used to be a famous jazz club called the Blackhawk. Today it is a cutting edge underground venue with DJs and live music. The Blackhawk was actually at 200 Hyde St, which is now a parking lot.

If you haven't already guessed from the name, "Aunt Charlie’s" is a transvestite dive bar. It hosts a wide variety of entertainment shows and drag shows that are popular with gays, lesbians, transsexuals, and indeed straight patrons. Cheap, stiff drinks accompanied by endearing, harmless, and vocal co-drinkers, provides for fantastic people-watching.

This colorful transexual nightclub/bar has three floors of bars, drag shows, and erotic dancing. It attracts a lot of transgender people and that is what the shows predominantly showcase, but everyone is welcome. It advertises itself as "the premiere transgender nightclub on the West Coast."

Progressive, upscale Tendernob Hip-Hop and dance club with a modern earthy decor. It features live music and DJs, and executive table service if you can afford it.

Ruby Skye is one of the premiere clubs in the area and has become a "place to be seen." Some of the top DJs in the world have played here including Paul van Dyke, Pete Tong, and Sasha. It's 15,000 square feet of Hip-Hop, House, and Techno over multiple floors; one of the floors at the top has a private smoking lounge and cigar bar.

Hanaro

Just across from the Edinburgh Castle is a shadowy hole-in-the-wall festooned with Korean lettering: Hanaro. Though the bar is wallpapered with "No Smoking" signs as California law demands, you need only loiter outside the bar for a few minutes with a cigarette before you are beckoned inside and offered an ashtray. In fact, Hanaro's great charm is it that it's accommodating in every respect; stay for a bit and you will be offered various bar snacks, and there is usually a hostess on hand whose only job is to chat with the patrons. This is done, however, with taste and tact; if you wish to drink in silence, you won't be disturbed. The jukebox is stocked with Asian pop singles.

21 Club

Old time dive bar that has been around since the time the neighborhood was full of sailors. They have a HUGE window that overlooks the Turk/Taylor intersection, and it probably delivers more entertainment than any TV you'll ever buy, showing all kinds of Tenderloin action going down; like prostitutes milling about, ambulances flying around, and Vietnam Vets just looking for a break. They serve cheap drinks and the patrons range from surly full time alcoholics, to friendlier neighborhood personalities... but hey, that's the 'Loin!

This hard to find cocktail/spirit themed bar is a throwback to the prohibition days of the 1920s — this address used to be an thriving illegal "speakeasy" known as the "JJ Russell's Cigar Shop." Inside it's ornately decorated with dark woods giving the place a real cozy feel. It being a prohibition themed bar, they also have some strange house rules posted on the walls like "no photography" and "Please speak easy" They have an exhaustive selection of spirits and cocktails.

The Brown Jug

Another classic dive-bar in the 'Loin. Again, a friendly atmosphere permeates throughout, and it's got its own set of die-hard locals who come down for a bit of fun and some cheap booze. It has an internet juke box and a small pool table to liven things up.

Deco lounge is a gay bar in the Tenderloin that has three floors. It's close to the Civic Center and a good place to go if you're in town to see the Pride celebrations.

Expatriates from the British Isles are often to be found at this Scottish pub, which on Thursdays through Saturdays becomes a hipster mecca. The interior is warm and shadowy, a comfortable place of dark wood and golden lantern light, and the beer selection is good; you can get pints of Belhaven or Newcastle as well as the ubiquitous Guinness, and it's all available by the pitcher. The Edinburgh Castle also has a relationship with a local fish and chips fryer, so you can order from their menu and have it delivered to you at the pub. The jukebox is well stocked with punk rock, Irish folk/rock, and American roots music, and live bands also play regularly which can unfortunately make it impossible to carry on a conversation. A trivia contest is held on Tuesday nights. And on Burns Night January 25th, the Edinburgh Castle is the place to be, with ribald poetry readings, music, and a public haggis.

The Gangway

This nautically-themed dive bar is home to a group of chatty regulars, mostly gay middle-aged men, who are friendly to newcomers of any age, gender, or sexual orientation. Many of them have lived in San Francisco for decades, and they have great stories.

Upscale, lush, candlelit bar in the Polk Gulch. It's dark and romantic and they have a good selection of cocktails... try the strawberry margarita. They also have free pizza on Monday nights.

Ha-Ra Club

Standard but friendly dive-bar in the Tenderloin that serves cheap drinks. It was co-founded by pro-wrestler Hank Hanastead and boxer Ralph Figari. Great place if you're into the 'Loin's no nonsense dive bars.

Situated in the area known as the "Polk Gulch," this ever entertaining little rocker bar has a music room in the back where rock-and-roll bands play. It's nicely decorated wooden interior makes it feel cozy and inviting and they also have a heated smoking lounge.

The Nite Cap

If you are looking for an authentic Tenderloin dive bar experience with cheap drinks, questionable drinking partners, scarey looking bar snacks, in a "no-frills" environment — bingo, the Nite Cap is your thing!

R Bar

A rumbly, simple dive-esque bar in the upper Tenderloin neighborhood. Popular with the bar crawl crowds that make their way around the corner from Polk Street.

A small, quiet upscale bar that's great for conversation and relaxation after a long day of wandering around San Francisco. What used to be a dive bar with walls adorned with tacky owl memorabilia, is now another upscale watering hole in the 'Loin, where cocktails have replaced draft beers as the drink of preference. There's still a mosaic owl on the outside though.

Vertigo Bar

Fun and trendy bar in the Polk Gulch. It's exotically decorated and attracts mostly partying twentysomethings looking to get enebriated on strange cocktails. They have DJs, dancin, a smoking patio, and are known for their lengthy happy hour which runs until 9PM.

Ariana Cafe

A mellow, basic spot in the Loin along the Geary corridor.

Very tiny spot with one large "farm table" thus the name and limited outdoor seating/standing bars. They serve coffee from nearby Santa Cruz roaster, Verve and have their own delicious sweets and other foods that they make daily. Very popular with the locals.

Nicely decorated modern spot along the Polk corridor with good coffee and tea selections.

Just a stones throw from the performing arts buildings, it's a great place to grab a cappuccino just before the overture.

Decent, but basic spot for a cup of coffee where a lot of locals in the neighborhood go, especially while using the laundromat next door.