June has arrived, which means San Francisco is now firmly in the grip of the exultant Pride spirit, a spirit that will manifest in the myriad parades, parties, and other jubilant events slated for the latter half of this month. If you investigate more thoroughly, though, you’ll find Pride being celebrated in all sorts of less overt fashions; look no further than the Pride-themed cocktails overtaking the city’s bar scene.
We’ve gathered a list of the best San Francisco restaurants and watering holes, some historically queer and others proudly in the ally territory, at which to sample festive cocktails and luxuriate in the Pride spirit.
See also: The Ultimate Guide To The Castro's Gay Bars & Clubs
One Market
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1 Market St / website
Sitting just across from the Ferry Building is an upscale American eatery and bar aptly named One Market; its address is, you guessed it, 1 Market Street. They’re ringing in Pride Month with a custom cocktail, the Harvery Milkshake, that pays homage to the legacy of legendary local queer activist Harvey Milk. The Harvey combines homemade vanilla ice cream, vodka, prickly pear, and creme de cacao, resulting in a decadently thick, sumptuously sweet treat. If the Harvey needed to be made even more enticing, a portion of the profits will be donated to PFLAG, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ youth and students across the nation.
Jolene's
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2700 16th St / website
Once a more old-school bar, Jolene’s has ascended to the upper echelons and become one of the city’s hippest LGBTQ+ nightspots. The Raingurl is a rum and coconut libation inspired by the innovative queer artist Yaeji that is sure to get the Pride juices flowing. If the light blue hues of the curacao make the Raingurl feel insufficiently Pride-y, check out the more colorful cocktail Disco Tits, which adorns a strawberry gin and tonic mix with pink glitter.
Foreign Cinema / Laszlo
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2534 Mission St / website
Foreign Cinema is a swanky culinary and filmic experience that boasts cute outdoor patio dining, an ever-changing menu, craft cocktails, and a movie screening paired with your meal to boot. Both Foreign Cinema and its annex bar, Laszlo, have strutted their Pride stuff in past summers with custom cocktails like the Lady Chablis (a dry white wine and elderflower concoction) and the positively prismatic Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (which, thanks to the combination of sparkling lemonade and butterfly pea flower with vodka, shifts its color as you drink it).
Until these famed drinks return on Pride Weekend at the end of June, enjoy their mango and mezcal delight Heat of the Moment.
Canela Bistro and Wine Bar
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2272 Market St / website
Canela offers modern takes on classic Spanish dishes, providing inventive tapas and craft cocktails right in the heart of the Castro. For Pride, Canela offers the deliciously fruity Rainbow Pride Prunch (with grapefruit, cherry, peach, and rainbow dust) as well as a stunningly prepared Rainbow Grazing Board, a massive charcuterie plate featuring nibbles of all the colors of the rainbow.
You can order the Rainbow Grazing Board online and pick it up later at their Castro location.
Toad Hall
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4146 18th St / website
Toad Hall is one of the Castro’s gay bar mainstays. This summer, they’re serving an unapologetically pink drink named, fittingly, the Pink Margarita, which will fit perfectly into a delightfully debaucherous evening of bar-crawling and cocktail sampling in the Castro.
Charmaine’s
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45 McAllister St / website
Nestled 120 feet above Market Street is Charmaine’s, a ritzy rooftop lounge and bar that, thanks to its location on a roof overlooking Market, definitely earns a cool-factor bonus. Charmaine’s will embrace the Pride spirit this June and offer the Big Cat, a velvety concoction that smooths out its rum base with passion fruit and vanilla.
Additionally, a portion of the profits from each Big Cat sold will be given to the Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation, a local nonprofit offering HIV services, hunger programs, and resources for houseless and disenfranchised youth.
Midnight Sun
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4067 18th St / website
Midnight Sun is a staple video bar in the Castro with an unabashedly queer atmosphere. Thankfully for us, they boast a craft cocktail menu. Even more thankfully for us, they boast a summer cocktail menu, on which the creative concoctions Espresso Martini and Summer Spritz will be sure to attract your attention.
If you want to maximize your Pride vibes, though, check out the summery Bee Yourself, which marries Tanqueray Sevilla Orange with honey syrup and lemon.
El Techo
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2516 Mission St / website
El Techo is another rooftop restaurant with picturesque views and reimagined versions of Latin American street food. El Techo has always earned its spot on the Pride Spirit Train with the craft cocktail El Orgullo, which is offered annually towards the end of every June.
The proceeds gained from El Orgullo sales have historically gone to the ALRP, a local nonprofit which offers free/low-cost legal services to those living with HIV/Aids.
Beaux SF
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2344 Market St / website
Beaux is one of the premier gay night hotspots in San Francisco (and even ranked in the #1 spot on our list of Castro bars and clubs). They offer a suite of impressive custom cocktails, including the salaciously sweet VAMPtini. In the spirit of Pride, though, we recommend their fruity take on the Old Fashioned, historically the paragon drink of traditional masculinity. Their reworked version spices up the bourbon with apple juice, lemon juice, and cinnamon reduction.
E&O Kitchen and Bar
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314 Sutter St / website
The upscale E&O serves modern Asian cuisine right in the heart of Union Square. It’s safe to say Pride is very much in full swing at this dining spot, for two menu items have been added to herald the occasion. After the Baby, I Was Tossed This Way Salad, have a sip of the Big Gay Frose, an extragavently indulgent ode to the Pride season with Rose wine, coconut vodka, aperol, and fresh watermelon.
The San Francisco bar and restaurant scene is in no way slacking for Pride this year, and will be sure to please even the pickiest of cocktail savantes.
See also: Find Your Perfect Pride Outfit At These Best Castro Fashion Shops
Photography by: Andrew Jay/Unsplash
