What is the best nightlife areas in San Francisco? (Richmond: condos, hotel)

[Amarino122]

Me and my girlfriend will be staying a few days in San Francisco and wanting to explore the local nightlife scene San Fran has to offer. We are staying in a hotel in the financial district, we are both in our mid 20s and are wanting to know which neighborhoods are the best for Bar Hopping. We heard a few neighborhoods like Mission District, Union Square and North Beach have plenty to offer. Can any one suggest which is the best for bar hopping?

[davdaven]

What is your scene? The stereotype is the Mission for hipsters, the Castro for gay guys, North Beach for bros, and the Marina for the white yachting sort. Lots of neighborhood spots too, such as the Inner Sunset, the Richmond, and so on and so forth. For clubbing, most of the action is in SOMA. Not too much around Union Square other than touristy spots. The edge of the FiDi (near North Beach/Chinatown) has a few nice spots, such as Cigar Bar, before transitioning into the gentlemen's club zone along Broadway. Personally I prefer the Mission. One of my favorite bars in the City is the Armory Club, but's a bit of a walk to the rest of the bar scene off of Valencia Street. Mind the poop en route.

[TashaPosh]

Originally Posted by Amarino122

Me and my girlfriend will be staying a few days in San Francisco and wanting to explore the local nightlife scene San Fran has to offer. We are staying in a hotel in the financial district, we are both in our mid 20s and are wanting to know which neighborhoods are the best for Bar Hopping. We heard a few neighborhoods like Mission District, Union Square and North Beach have plenty to offer. Can any one suggest which is the best for bar hopping?

IMO The Mission District....lively....eclectic....& lots of bars to “bar hop” on Valencia. The Duboce triangle ....Market Street where Castro, Lower Haight & the mission district all meet....has lots of small friendly bars & clubs.

I’m new to the area so I just rely on where my Bf takes me...but so far my favorites are in SoMa...like Novela, Bar Agricole & Twenty Five Lusk....but we are there for a couple hours to have a drink together or meet friends....it’s not like we are bar hopping.

[Amarino122]

I hear North Beach, Mission, Soma and the Triangle keep coming up. We will only go out one of the nights. Which of these has the highest concentration of bars

[DeanoSF]

Originally Posted by Amarino122

I hear North Beach, Mission, Soma and the Triangle keep coming up. We will only go out one of the nights. Which of these has the highest concentration of bars

It's probably best not to try to focus on "which has the highest concentration of bars" as much as what you are looking for. SF is very compact and you can easily hop from one of the districts you listed to another with a 10-minute LYFT or even a short WALK in some cases.

With that in mind:

North Beach can be fun, but also a bit rowdy. This crowd is typically (fairly) dismissed as the "bridge and tunnel" crowd on the weekends, as it's primarily made up of people who are a little more middle class from around the greater Bay Area and looking for the "party." This is also where the bachelor parties usually focus their efforts, as this is where the strip clubs are. There are dive bars, some live music, rowdy spots and a few dance clubs mixed in, with good late night food options and a lively street scene but limited "upscale" appeal (if that's what you're after) as this is also the go-to district for tourists from nearby Fisherman's Wharf, once the FiDi happy hour crowd has moved on each Friday. Nevertheless, it is SF, so there are a few excellent cocktail lounges and great restaurants to be found, as well as a vibrant Italian, Chinese, seafood, Californian, etc. selection of restaurants of all price ranges. North Beach, in certain parts, is one of the last vestiges of what natives think of as "old, authentic San Francisco."

The Mission is probably the most self-contained and truly "destination" oriented nightlife districts for locals in the City. The neighborhood is in a perpetual state of gentrification, so its gritty appearance, dark alleys and sometimes uneasy mix of demographics can be intimidating for some. Block-to-block this is a microcosm of SF, presented in nightlife form. There are spectacular, sometimes historic-level dive bars, funky live music joints, Michelin-starred eateries, local downscale taquerias, dance clubs, trendy cocktail spots, scary thug bars and more butting right up against each other in about a 3 square mile area. The crowd is a mix of locals from all across the City, bikers, hipsters, foodies, hustlers, punks, bums, date-nighters, cocktail connoisseurs, and in-the-know techies from SoMa and the Peninsula. All mix in here (mostly) comfortably. There's a seedy edge to this area and you should be on alert for some minor street goings-on from time to time. So, if city life isn't your thing, you may be uncomfortable even a block away from Valencia Street's carefully curated and polished selection of restaurants and bars.

SOMA is hard for me to define as a cohesive district. There are many individual attractions here (such as the ones listed and many are certainly worth the trip, but there are huge pockets of nothing between most of the best bars, restaurants and clubs. So, a night of moving from one spot to another is more challenging here than in other parts of the City. Much of this stems from the fact that there's still not much of a "neighborhood" here, other than the highrise condos built over the past 10 years or so. It feels a bit devoid of its own identity to me. That said, many truly great restaurants, bars and legitimate dance clubs are sprinkled across a big swath of this always-under-construction area and you can find a good time, for sure. As stated above, though, it's really more of a "meet friends and post up for awhile in one place" kind of area, though.

Duboce Triangle, by virtue of its location, is probably the most eclectic area you mention. The Castro, The Mission, Hayes Valley and good parts of Divisadero and even the edge of the Tenderloin (for those who know what they're doing) are within walking distance. This is also easily the gayest area you mentioned, if that's what you're looking for--think of it as the opposite of North Beach. That said, you shouldn't avoid this area if you avoid strictly gay neighborhoods. Gay culture mixes with straight much more comfortably in SF than in just about anywhere else I've ever seen, so you end up with a great diverse mix of people just having a good time. There are very trendy restaurants in this area, dance clubs, bars, cocktail lounges, karaoke, live music and more. Lots to do, both upscale and casual. Some spots can be raunchy, while others are polished. You'll find people dressed in anything from formal wear (proximity to the Civic Center's cultural attractions) to full-on cruising attire.

[modernist1]

Good summary. Yes, SOMA is difficult to define - anyway there's a huge difference between the 'residentially developed' east and the west. As a place to socialize, there are pockets, but for me, its principal attraction is its no there there ness - a small outpost of SF Victorians meeting freeway exits, leading to gas stations, old lots, billboards, workshops etc.