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After hours, the city’s business folk and workers give way to costume-clad partygoers, hippies and hipsters, downtown divas, frat boys, and those who prefer something a little more clothing-optional. Downtown and the Financial District remain pretty serious even after dark, and Nob Hill is staid, though you can't beat views from penthouse lounges, the most famous being the Top of the Mark (Hopkins). Nearby North Beach is an even better starting point for an evening out.
Always lively, North Beach's options include family-friendly dining spots, historic bars from the city's bohemian past (among them Jack Kerouac's old haunts), and even comedy clubs where stars such as Robin Williams and Jay Leno cut their teeth. In SoMa there are plenty of places to catch a drink before a Giants game and brewpubs to celebrate in afterward. SoMa also hosts some of the hottest dance clubs, along with some saucy gay bars. While Union Square can be a bit trendy, even the swanky establishments have loosened things up in recent years.
Heading west to Hayes Valley, a more sophisticated crowd dabbles in the burgeoning "culinary cocktail movement." Up-and-coming singles gravitate north of here to Cow Hollow and the Marina. Polk Street was the gay mecca before the Castro and still hosts some wild bars, but things get downright outlandish in the Castro district. Indie hipsters of all persuasions populate the Mission and Haight districts by night. Keep in mind, though, that some of the best times San Francisco has to offer are off the beaten path. And a good party can still be found in even the sleepiest of neighborhoods, such as Bernal Heights and Dogpatch.
The music changes nightly at the venerable DNA Lounge, with Monday Night burlesque and comedy shows, themed weekend dance parties, and a wide range of music styles each evening. Multiple dance floors and bars across two levels mean that the festivities are rarely uncomfortably crowded and always huge amounts of fun.
If you like megaclubs, then you'll dig this industrial-chic two-story club, which doubles as a gallery and performance venue. Live acts have included Mos Def, the Dandy Warhols, and Def Jux artists. The crowd is generally mixed, straight and gay. If the jam-packed dance floor (which can accommodate nearly 1,000 people) overwhelms you, head upstairs to the quietish mezzanine lounges to converse or to ogle the sexy crowd.
During Prohibition, one of the city's more notorious speakeasies was accessible only via a secret-wall passage and a 15-foot slide that whisked patrons into the basement "restaurant" known as Coffee Dan's (it wasn't really a restaurant). That space has been reclaimed, restored, and aptly renamed Slide. A swanky, modern version of its former self, the place still has a slide, though stairs are also available. On the weekends, DJs spin a mix of hip-hop, downtempo, and Rat Pack–era hits from a 1920s baby grand piano that has been converted to a DJ booth. Like similar-themed bars within the city, the facility is completely unmarked.
With an all-night (and most of the morning) dance party starting at 10 pm on Saturday, the EndUp is SF's most popular after-hours place, with possibly the best sound system in the city. Weekends often see day parties that make it so 3 am and 3 pm seem to blur together. It can be a bit of a meat market, but this San Francisco institution doesn't adhere to any particular scene, with DJs playing a variety of music styles. Said sound system is cranked. Even the cool kids wear earplugs.
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