Channel Your Inner "Wednesday Addams" At These Chic SF Gothic And Alternative Spots

By: Kyrie Sismaet By: Kyrie Sismaet | January 9, 2023 | Food & Drink, People, Lifestyle, Style & Beauty, Parties, Wine and Spirits, City Life, Culture, Neighborhoods, Shopping, Clubs and Bars, Music, Celebrity, Trends, Women of Influence Latest, Television, Entertainment, Local, List - Entertainment, List - Restaurants, List - Shopping, Apple News,

Fashionably dark, captivatingly broody, and charmingly witty, Wednesday Addams is (and always has been) an inspirational icon. With Jenna Ortega marvelously portraying the most recent adaptation in the new Netflix hit "Wednesday," her talented performance has sparked an enthusiastic interest in all things grim, goth, and ghoulish. As a city so esteemed and encouraging for its thriving alternative and punk scenes, San Francisco is the perfect place to flourish such aesthetics and scenes.

From monstrous cocktails, to Victorian-chic bars and stylishly macabre home decor, here is our playfully shuddersome guide to living your best "Wednesday" life in San Francisco.

Clothing:

Five and Diamond

510 Valencia St / (415) 255-9747 / Website

Firstly, to start your look off right, you'll want to stop into Mission's Five and Diamond, a woman-owned and operated small business that specializes in bold, inclusive, and empowering avante-garde and punk-inspired outfits. Replicate all of Wednesday's legendary enthralling all-black ensembles with any of this helpful store's inventively defiant and gorgeously eye-catching statement pieces, all at positively ghastly affordable prices.

Music Shopping:

Thrillhouse SF

3422 Mission St / (415) 826-0223 / Website

"Wednesday's" killer soundtrack is fueled not only by Danny Elfman's orchestral precision, but also by a reverence for 70's punk, 80's new wave, and modern indie. To properly obtain records to tantalize at your next gathering (or bloody prom), Thrillhouse's expansive collection is your ultimate go-to. This is a cozy shop brimming with genuinely kind and highly-knowledgeable service, electrifying live performances, vibrant decor, and of course, a diverse stock of alternative and classic music akin to "Goo Goo Muck."

Home Decor:

Paxton Gate

824 Valencia St / (415) 824-1872 / Website

Looking to spruce up your manor with all things lavishly macabre, morose, and mystifying? Paxton Gate on the ever-bustling Valencia Street is a massively popular boutique that's absolutely overflowing with curations of real animal bones, preserved insects, Victorian-style taxidermy, carnivorous plants, and so much more! You'll certainly want to become a recurring character at this eclectic landmark as you peruse every awe-inspiring shelf and begin to collect their gorgeously gothic oddities for unique conversation pieces.

Activities:

Halberstadt Fencers' Club

621 S Van Ness Ave / (415) 863-3838 / Website

Whether you're more of a Wednesday or a Bianca, you can certainly match both of their fencing skills at the Halberstadt Fencers' Club, San Francisco's oldest and premier fencing school. Regarded as "The Birthplace of Bay Area Fencing," this historic Mission cornerstone has established in 1942, and has since been a well-trusted institution for personalized, kind, and engaging programs for all ages and experience levels. With their fencers and coaches having been medalists and even Olympians, you can guarantee you'll receive fun and careful lessons to hone your skills just like you're in Nevermore Academy.

Bottom Of The Hill

1233 17th St / (415) 626-4455 / Website

If you truly want to dance, dance, dance with your hands, hands, hands above your head, head, head like Wednesday did, come to Bottom of the Hill! Known for its dark and intimate space and exclusive performances of alternative, rock, and punk bands big and small, this lowkey Potrero pantheon is where you can freely mosh, hang out with the devoted community, admire the legendary acts that have visited throughout its history, and even meet the musical acts, all at petrifyingly affordable ticket prices.

Cocktails:

Curio

775 Valencia St / (415) 551-7306 / Website

Adjacent to The Chapel's revamped cathedral venue is Curio, a Victorian-style bar with inventively playful cocktails inspired by fascinating cryptids and mythological monsters. Their spicy Chupacabra with habanero, mezcal, grapefruit bitters, and cinnamon is always a shocking hit, as well as their tropical rum and coconut Banshee, and fruity Mermaid with peach aperitif. Pair this with their impeccable dinner menu out on their trendy patio when there's live music for an elegantly magical night that will make you feel like the main character.

From January 11 to February 8, definitely don't lurch away from their exclusively refined three-course Fernet-focused menu by esteemed Chef Jason Raffin, which boasts a Radicchio & Red Leaf Salad with Burnt Orange Vinaigrette and Fernet Gastrique, Braised Short Rib with Fernandito Jus, an irresistible Fernet Tiramisu for dessert, and of course, divine specialty cocktails like the Fernando Old Fashioned and Carpano Spritz.

Blackbird

2124 Market St / (415) 872-5310 / Website

Marked by a swanky emblem of a vintage plague doctor on the outside, you know you're in for a fun treat at Blackbird's rustic and intimate speakeasy-type lounge. Their award-winning Happy Hour is to die for, as well as their exquisitely complex cocktails of spiced London Holiday, their Brandy and Corn Liqueur-forward Catch Me if You Can, and their Red Eye Getaway with Bacon Fat-Washed Rum. Their interior is cozy, warm, and ideal for striking that old-fashioned, yet elegant, feel.

Alchemist Bar & Lounge

679 3rd St / (415) 746-9968 / Website

The Alchemist just off of Oracle Park is a literally elevated steam-punk paradise. By simply taking the stairs up to its second-floor oasis, you are instantly transported to a Victorian lounge with dazzling light displays, well-executed decor, and a dastardly delicious food and drinks menu, all with a casual and glamorous atmosphere. By sipping on their Black Dahlia, Monstera, or Valley of the Voodoo Dolls cocktails while comfortably lounging in their lavish sofas and watching their films illuminated on their exposed brick, you'll feel like you've been invited to the most alluring party right at the Addams mansion.

As we anticipate the return of Jenna Ortega's stellar performance in "Wednesday's" second season, you can continually revisit these SF hotspots for a hauntingly enjoyable time!

Photography by: Courtesy of Charley Gallay / Stringer / Getty Images

Search Our Site