The best rooms in San Francisco for live music: the places where the music is actually part of why you go, not a background feature. The Saloon in North Beach has hosted blues and rock since 1861. Bix runs jazz in a supper-club setting. Hotel Utah Saloon books indie and folk acts most nights of the week. The Make-Out Room covers local bands and comedy in the Mission. Madrone Art Bar in NoPa brings eclectic programming and a rotating arts installation. Keys Jazz Bistro is the pick for straight-ahead jazz over dinner. El Rio has outdoor patio shows that run well past sundown.
North Beach · 56 Gold St, San Francisco, CA 94133, USA
A two-story supper club in Jackson Square. Fluted columns, mahogany paneling, plush banquettes, white-jacketed bartenders, and live jazz every evening. The cocktail list runs classic, the menu modern American, and most …
North Beach · 1232 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133, USA
The oldest bar in San Francisco (wooden, dark, and completely unchanged) with live blues and jazz most nights and cold beer at prices that have not kept pace with the neighborhood. Bring cash; the jukebox covers the qui…
SoMa · 500 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA
An 1908 SoMa saloon where a worn front bar opens into a live music room running most nights of the week. The kitchen stays simple. Wings, tacos, the Hard Hat Special (beer, shot, and burger). And the drinks are stiff en…
Mission · 3225 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA
Dark booths, a low-lit stage, and a no-drinks-on-the-dance-floor rule keep the focus on the music. Cumbia nights, hip-hop DJs, indie live acts, and disco cycling through six nights a week. The martinis are the thing to …
North Beach · 498 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133, USA
Low-lit room on Broadway with nightly jazz, rotating from Bay Area regulars to national names and covering the range from organ trios to full sextets. Shows are ticketed; the lineup resets weekly, so it's worth checking…
NoPa · 500 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA
Rotating gallery shows line the walls, live music and DJ nights fill most of the calendar, and the room runs from quiet art opening to full dance floor within a few hours. Specialty cocktails, a full bar, an outdoor par…
Mission · 3158 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA
A queer community bar on Mission Street with a giant back patio that runs from punk shows on Friday nights to salsa orchestras and drag on the weekends. Free oysters land on the deck every Friday at 5:30pm, and the hous…