My pride in SF

The best places to celebrate San Francisco Pride in a city of year-round partying

Here at GayCities, contributing editor and San Franciscan Tony Taylor is busy building 2018 Pride Guides and sizzling summer content.

Now that San Francisco Pride is upon us, it’s time for this Bay Area boy to let loose.

Check out these GayCities favorites for San Francisco Pride 2018

What makes San Francisco Pride special?

It’s the international LGBTQ mecca where the rainbow flag was first conceptualized and unfurled for the first time in 1978. San Francisco, to me, is year-round Pride.

Photo Courtesy: San Francisco Pride

Pride party must?

Juanita MORE!‘s rooftop party at 620 Jones on Sunday and we must support our queer family at the Friday night Trans March.

Favorite spot to watch the Parade?

Inside the barricades with all the action, floats, and marchers. Media access is the best access.

Related: Cleve Jones on how San Francisco sparked gay liberation

Favorite gay bars?

  • Finn Town – Literally the best craft cocktails and bar bites in Castro, and I absolutely love the colors of their leather tufted furniture. It’s a gastropub where the bar stools are the best seats in the house to sip cocktails and chow down.
  • Mix – The crowd is laid-back and the outdoor patio is a good place to meet new friends who know where the good after-parties are.
  • The STUD – Campy, kitschy drag venue with one foot in the ’70s and the other in a pile of glitter. It’s such a fun time here, plus it’s close to the cruisier, darker Folsom Street bars.

Best places to eat?

Finn Town, which I mentioned before. Red Jade is the best cheap Chinese lunch in all of Castro and Orphan Andy’s is the perfect greasy spoon to keep the fun going after the bars close.

Favorite hangout?

Aunt Charlie’s Lounge isn’t hidden, but it’s certainly a diamond in the rough. A time warp into San Francisco gay history.

Photo Courtesy: San Francisco Pride

Sunday brunch?

Go to Stacks’ and order the blueberry pancakes. You’re welcome.

Best Pride cocktail?

Palomas forever. Respectable tequila, freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, a splash of Aperol and a squeeze of lime.

The place to see-and-be-seen?

I love Beaux Bar because it’s a balance of stand-and-pose boys and IDGAF dancing queens under strobe lights. Plus, the street-facing windows allow you to scope the Market Street eye candy strolling by outside.

Best cruising spots?

There’s lots of hanky panky at Hole in the Wall Saloon on Folsom Street.

Follow Tony on Instagram for all the San Francisco Pride festivities.

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