Full of voyeurs and the more adventurous leather men in the anything-goes back patio. It’s friendly, but expect to be cruised and know what you’re getting into.

This is more pub than bar, complete with pool tables, darts, and a back patio. It’s a great place to chill and grab a beer without the loud music.

This bar is almost inexplicably popular and crowded most nights of the week. It tends to be a good place to meet before diving into the full Castro experience.

This bar opens very early, so it’s more a spot for regulars (read: alcoholics). The back patio is the real reason to go and plan to keep moving.

A piano bar that’s on the edge of the Castro, but far from the madness. It can be romantic or raucous depending on the mood of the crowd.

A bar for real men; bears and those who love bears will love the Sunday Bear Busts. The outdoor patio makes happy hour even more fun.

Lime serves scene, drinks, and food, in that order. It’s often packed on weekends. Sunday brunch serves bottomless mimosa, if your liver can take it.

Most will be scared away by the look of this biker dive bar. But if you venture in, you’ll find friendly staff and cheap drinks that make it worth your trip.

A great meeting spot to grab a few drinks or food and watch the gay spectacle pass you by. It’s usually chiller than the chaos going on at this corner.

The oldest gay bar in SF is showing its age. But if you can brave this section of town, you find cheap drinks and characters as colorful as the flag outside.