Nightlife in San Francisco
Where San Francisco goes out — handpicked bars, clubs, live music rooms and late-night eats for any kind of night.
Top spots in San Francisco
Ferry Building Marketplace
Food & DrinkEmbarcadero
Saturday farmers market with the bay's best oysters and bread.
Best nightlife in San Francisco
12 hand-picked bars, clubs, live music rooms & late-night eats.
Bourbon & Branch
$$$Speakeasy · Tenderloin
Password-required prohibition bar.
Trick Dog
$$$Cocktail bar · Mission
Themed menu changes twice yearly.
ABV
$$Cocktail bar · Mission
Casual, no reservations, serious drinks.
The Independent
$$Live music · Western Addition
500-cap indie venue, perfect sightlines.
1015 Folsom
$$$Club · SoMa
Five-room SF club institution.
DNA Lounge
$$Club · SoMa
Two-floor club since 1985, eclectic nights.
The Fillmore
$$Live music · Western Addition
Historic 1912 venue, free posters & apples.
Charmaine's Rooftop
$$$$Rooftop · Tenderloin
Proper Hotel rooftop with fire pits.
El Techo
$$$Rooftop · Mission
Pan-Latin rooftop over Lolinda.
Bar Agricole
$$$Cocktail bar · Mission
James Beard-winning cocktail bar.
Yamo
$Late-night eats · Mission
Burmese counter open late.
Sam Wo
$Late-night eats · Chinatown
1907 Chinese-American diner, late jook.
Where to eat
Tartine Bakery
$$Bakery · Mission
Country bread + morning buns that started a city-wide craze.
State Bird Provisions
$$$Dim sum-style new American · Fillmore
Stuart Brioza's dim-sum carts of inventive small plates.
La Taqueria
$Mexican · Mission
James Beard winner — order the carnitas burrito 'dorado'.
Swan Oyster Depot
$$Seafood · Polk Gulch
18 counter stools, Dungeness crab and clam chowder since 1912.
Zuni Café
$$$California / Mediterranean · Hayes Valley
The famous brick-oven roast chicken for two — a 1-hour ritual.
Live & on stage
Outside Lands
Golden Gate Park · Aug 8–10 · Indie / Mixed
Stern Grove Festival
Stern Grove · Jun – Aug · Free / Mixed
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass
Golden Gate Park · Oct 3–5 · Bluegrass / Free
SF Jazz Festival
SFJAZZ Center · Jun 12–22 · Jazz
Frequently asked
- Standouts include Ferry Building Marketplace. The list mixes cocktail bars, live-music rooms and dance floors so you can build a full night without leaving the neighbourhood.