San Francisco Bars and Clubs

The Parlor is a stylish new addition to the San Francisco nightlife scene. Decked out ala the early 1900s (with a rustic edge and burlesque vibes), this San Francisco lounge and nightclub treats the cads of the nightlife crowd well with a wealth of modern perks like hi-def TVs, private TVs in private booths, a sexy bar stocked with the finest rare liquors and house infusions, and lengthy bottle service menus. This nightlife haunt also features DJs and live entertainment in The Club area, as well as VIP areas like The Library and The Whiskey Room.

Blending the chic style of a gallery with DJ beats and special events, 111 Minna Gallery moonlights as a see-and-be-seen San Francisco nightspot. This gallery features live performance, fine art and film screenings in an elegantly urban 4,000 square foot space. 111 Minna Gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday during daytime hours, and it is open nightly on a rotating schedule for special events.

(Ricmond District) Giving local and international bands a club to cut their teeth in, the Rockit Room's upstairs music venue is steadily gaining fame in places outside of San Francisco. The all rock-oriented bar has a high-quality sound system for bands to blow the crowds packing the upstairs area and surrounding a full bar away. The downstairs area of the Richmond District bar feels more like a pub with pool tables, foosball, flat screen TVs and an iTunes jukebox where San Francisco hipsters can find even the most obscure albums. Various lounge areas in the Rockit Room make it possible to get in a quieter conversation before heading back to see whatever band is on the verge of breaking loose upstairs. The Rockit Room is quickly becoming one of the best small music venues in San Francisco for the talent it draws in, the drinks it doles out and the SF hipster elite lining up nightly.

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(Downtown/ Union Square) Some of the top DJs in the world have spun at San Francisco's Ruby Skye. The club and bar is located right in the heart of downtown SF off Union Square and is a decidedly high-style lounge that can host bands, fashion shows, dance nights, private events and more. State of the art lighting puts on a show of its own with the help of a top-notch sound system. Two levels, four rooms and a handful of VIP rooms draw celebrities from Los Angeles and around the world to see what the Bay Area club scene has to offer. Several full bars pepper the historic theater come premiere nightclub and locals know Ruby Skye is the place for swank clubbing in San Francisco. Whether looking for a night of hitting the bar and dancing or catching a one-hit-wonder on his or her comeback tour, Ruby Skye has it.

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(Polk Street) Another one of San Francisco's historic theaters converted into a hot music club, the Red Devil Lounge takes performances and patrons to another world with elegant red lanterns, gold patterns throughout and comfortable seating. Local San Francisco bands and outfits from around the world have performed at the intimate venue known for their strong drinks and friendly environment--two attributes in high demand throughout the SF club scene. Close to downtown hotels and restaurants, that run the gamut from hole-in-the-wall to five-star gourmet, the bar and club is not only convenient but, with live music that varies widely in genre, can accommodate any fan. Other bars and lounges may try to be like the dual-floored Red Devil Lounge, but few in the staggering San Francisco scene can come close.

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(The Haight) Cocktails with the freshest of ingredients, organic artisan Pizzettas and jazz nights at Club Deluxe are the talk of the quaint lounge's Haight-Ashbury District locale. Known for some of the best mojitos in San Francisco and a specialty Spa Collins drink—complete with fresh cucumbers—crowds donning fedoras and requisite SF vintage duds along with generic San Franciscans wander through the door nightly. An authentic art-deco façade, neon signs and pinup girls make the cozy jazz café and bar one of a kind in a bustling city full of grungy pubs and elitist night clubs. Stroll in to find comedians, jazz musicians and a handful of others on any given night of the week and enjoy a perfectly mixed cocktail over a steaming hot pizza.

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(Polk Street) What seemed at first to be a dicey proposition -- put a hipster bar in a neighborhood where few hipsters live -- has now proven to be gold. Since opening last October, the spacious Hemlock Tavern has become a beacon for jean-jacketed, bedheaded coolios who like to toss back a few drinks, eyeball each other's duds, and check out some great music by bands they've never heard of. Thanks to a very open-minded booking policy, the Hemlock's 55-person-capacity performance space has offered everything from the symphonic pop of the Shimmer Kids to the raucous garage tunes of the Flakes to the metal madness of Thunderbleed aka Blind Vengeance. It's a fair bet you'll find something of quality any night of the week, be it the twisted pop of the Foibles, the raunchy rock of Killer's Kiss, or the vaudevillian oddness of the semiregular "Unnatural Acts" showcase. The tavern also features some terrific -- and free -- DJ nights, including the Sunday afternoon country show hosted by DJ Blaze Orange and Monday night's "Punk Rock Sideshow" featuring Kut 'n Paste and the Duchess of Hazard. All this beautiful ruckus and gratis bags of warm peanuts, too.

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(Mission District) A big, cavernous club nestled at the far end of the Mission, 26 Mix is about the music. Unfortunately, the sounds system inside does not lend itself to hearing the finer points of the music that is being served up by the talented DJs that get their started there. Cheap drinks and cheap covers get people in along with the skill of the promoters who have parties there. Definitely a destination (there are not many other places around) so be sure of what you are going for before choosing it as your spot.

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(Downtown/ Union Square) Nightclubbing is about a lot of things, but mostly it's about energy, and while this city is bursting with fine disco emporiums, in our opinion, the best is 111 Minna. The vibe is just better here -- you won't be frisked upon entering, the cover charge is never steep, and once inside you'll find a decidedly non-bridge-and-tunnelish, peaceful, hip crowd, some of the best electronic music in the city, and stylish art to boot. What the place lacks in some departments (sweaty people bumping into you on nights when world-class DJs spin) it more than makes up for in others (a liberal in-and-out policy, a no poseur-infested VIP room, shaken Martinis and Cosmos, and lime-perfect Margs). The music has expanded to sooth more than house fans: rock out on Friday Happy Hour at the Steen and Dave Showe, chilling on psychadelic wood furniture with the aforementioned shaken. If you can't feel it here, you probably never will.

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