The Cafe
The best gay nightclub in the CastroAverage Reviews
About
Located in the heart of the Castro, The Café represents the best of the 21+ Castro bar scene, demonstrating the next generation of San Francisco entertainment.
The Café's multimillion dollar remodel has created an atmosphere that can only be described as “The Café Experience.”
The Café has been a staple of the Castro night scene for years, and now with its recent renovations, has become one of the most unique venues in San Francisco, let alone the Castro. The Café has always been proud to be an inviting place for all to enjoy.
The Café's multimillion dollar remodel has created an atmosphere that can only be described as “The Café Experience.”
The Café has been a staple of the Castro night scene for years, and now with its recent renovations, has become one of the most unique venues in San Francisco, let alone the Castro. The Café has always been proud to be an inviting place for all to enjoy.
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Reviews
Based on 460 reviews
Max J.
17:59 28 Mar 24
The bouncer yelled at a person vaping in line to get in and everyone was confused because we were outside we understand no vaping inside the club, but we...Claire Denman
19:05 29 Feb 24
I give this place a 4-star rating, mainly due to their cash-only policy. However, as someone who typically doesn't carry cash (except for the cover charge), this stood out. Rating the music feels unnecessary because, well, it's The Castro—where we trust the gays with that Vivian Vasquez
08:05 18 Feb 24
They denied my partner entrance into the bar stating that her identification looked "off" when her identification is perfectly legal, meaning that they likely took issue with her ethnic features (she is the only visibly Latina person the white and Asian group we were with) or her Florida identification. If you are Latina or from Florida (emphasis on Florida) you might be discriminated against at this bar.0Eric Curry
16:58 31 Jan 24
In my opinion this place destroyed their reputation by forcing a Pride month grand opening back in 2019- they’ve never recovered, and it might have to do with the fact that the remodels weren’t finished….? I mean at least sweep the saw dust off the floor? And where on earth do you get off charging cover though 💀Santiago G.
00:31 21 Jan 24
I was trying to clarify that with one of the security how the line works as there were other clubs without lines and with just as good vibes. Marco(s?), the...Claire Denman
09:55 12 Dec 23
This club ranks as the second best in The Castro (in my opinion). I give this place a 4-star rating, mainly due to their cash-only policy. However, as someone who typically doesn't carry cash (except for the cover charge), this stood out. Rating the music feels unnecessary because, well, it's The Castro—where we trust the gays with that The BacDoc
01:59 06 Dec 23
I used to love this place. I lived in the Castro in the mid-nineties, my roommate and I, along with two of our friends who lived above us, in an old Victorian house that was converted into a half a dozen apartments used to live at that place almost every weekend. Three out of four of us worked at Nordstrom SFO center. One was a store operator, the other worked in men's Shoes.I can remember standing in that same line along market street, waiting to get in. There was no cover back then. It was all cash 💸 even back then to, that's how must of us used to pay...lolThey played the best music, and all the hot younger guys ( mostly twenties and some thirties) used to frequent that place.This was before they served Food to. It was open seven nights a week back then. I remember having this crush on a hot Asian 🔥 bartender with black hair to.I was such a regular even on Monday nights that one of the female bartenders ( white lady with a Huge afro) used to have my first two drinks already ready when I walked up to the counter. It was a shot of Yager and a rolling rock. I would religiously tip a buck or two for every drink, and they really appreciated it to. Those bar tenders used to make Bank.This was most definitely the good Ole days. I moved out of San Francisco in 1999, and have never been back since. This place however gives me fond memories of San Francisco.Juliana N.
19:36 29 Oct 23
Security is a joke and would not recommend going at all !!! Literally had a girl in a chokehold for having COKE ZERO on her hat as a costume!!! Literally...Christian B.
11:25 22 Oct 23
Two of my friends were roofied here 10/14/23 at 11pm by a female bartender we believe. What a wonderful way to celebrate a birthday...Nope Nah
06:56 20 Oct 23
Got in at 10:30, no people, no good music (latin night, so I expected fun music) decited to leave and ask if I can get my money back since I was there for 5 minutes and was not satisfied and will not give me my money back. I paid 10$ and I didn't get a drink or anything but they won't give it back. So heads up. I might give it another try in the future but for now, 1 star (might change the review in the future)Polo Mills
22:33 12 Sep 23
Terrible! Mostly straight couples . I have a partner so I wasn’t there to pick up someone but there’s something nice about being a gay guy and being around other gay men sharing a space but instead we are surrounded by straights dirty dancing and grinding, making out, taking pictures, laughing at their bf getting checked out. I liked it better when they hated us and stayed in their own spaces. This new generation and the straight queers are problematic. I couldn’t imagine being a gay teen today!Jennifer N.
13:28 26 Aug 23
That moment when you were supposed to go home but last minute rallied to go to this club and end up staying up into the wee morning even though your body...Kevin Chang
14:16 09 Jul 23
CASH ONLY! So don’t bother coming! $7 cash only cover charge for a bar (not a nightclub). When every single bar in WeHo has no cover charge. They direct you to their ATM inside which charges you another FEE! Oh and if your ID is expired by 1 day they won’t let you in! DJ basically plays Spotify or something. Enjoy!Armando Toledo
09:21 23 Jun 23
It's a Cash Only establishment. which is ridiculous. Outside, we needed to go in the back of the line after getting cash out the ATM at the gas station next door. Once inside, we needed to step out of the bar line yet again to take cash out because they didn't except card at the bar. It's completely unacceptable. CASH ONLY. No one told us this in the first place. Inside, it was average. The music was lit. Dj was okay. But. Will not be coming back! people standing around with no drinks cause it was cash only. Yes, I asked them. There are better places around then to waste you night here.christopher thrailkill
11:12 18 Jun 23
Last night my partner and I went out to have a fun night, have a few drinks and dance. The bartender who served us was a lovely young lady ,( ill leave her name anonymous) who was so kind and welcoming!, Somewhere along the way my partner lost his wallet. We searched high and low and could not find it anywhere. After a while of searching, we finally gave up and went home and I texted the bartender and let her know that we had lost it. If they found it, please let me know and she promptly responded to me that they had. In fact found my partner's property and we were able to go and pick it up from her immediately. This level of customer service is astounding and very hard to come by. She knows who she is and I just want to make it known that you guys have a phenomenal employee!Jon L.
10:02 10 Jun 23
Music: 1 -- horrible transitions, and felt like a basement YouTuber doing music video mashups.Dancing: 1 -- this is not a place to get down or get loose....Selena S
19:16 04 May 23
Love this place! Fridays are PACKED, if you’re new to SF and feel like the city’s cold, trust me don’t carry that assumption in here. You will be stuck holding your jacket all night long, it gets HOT. Friendly people and good vibe!Justin B.
00:07 29 Apr 23
The vibe is ok, but was totally ruined by security kicking half our group out because of a "fake" ID. Save your money and go to Beaux across the street...Erik O.
11:42 23 Apr 23
The security won't let me in because my ID is expired which I understand but I showed him the temporary driver license paperwork on my phone since DMV doing...Sher W.
20:30 11 Feb 23
I love the Café! If you want a fun time and great music, then go to this place!! It is the spot to be! I love it!!Michael K.
02:27 10 Feb 23
First, the attitude must go. I watch how that Security Guy before me with another customer! Not good. I asked if an employee was working? He said "no"! I...Estefania Mones
23:16 05 Feb 23
The Cafe is my favorite bar in SF. I love how diverse the staff is and the drinks are good and priced well. Every time I’ve ever been I’ve always had the best time!I feel safe, the bathrooms are great and newly remodeled. The staff is really friendly and overall a great time.Drinks are strong, music is fun.Everyone is always having a good time.Ryan G.
15:20 05 Feb 23
I've finally decided to write a review on this place. Every time we go we have an amazing time. The security downstairs is always friendly and know what...Xander M.
22:19 10 Nov 22
For a metropolitan and wealthy city like San Francisco, this bar is sort of an embarrassment. They require cash only- isn't this tech capitol and Silicon...Juan José de Anda Gutiérrez (juanjosedag)
05:57 30 Oct 22
The djs are usually terrible on the weekends. The music is just bad. Man, you just can't dance to Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez.The transitions are plain BAD, dude playing Donna Summer (👌) and then playing the Chainsmokers (🤮) after doing a terrible "free dj software, scratch the vinil"... No man, no.Brooke M.
17:36 25 Oct 22
I feel terrible leaving a negative review but I have to speak out. At age 21, The Cafe was one of the first gay bars I ever went to in my hometown of San...Jad Freyha
07:31 10 Oct 22
love the space. love the renovations. I was gonna give 2 stars because the music was patchy when they tried to become the striaght gay bar. I mean who does snoop dog and 50 Cent and Kendrik Lamar. felt like a bad college party for months. They did come back to their senses, got new DJs and it is back to being coolJaime Torres
20:40 01 Jul 22
Anfernee G... seriously, stop your lying sir, when you complained about $7 and complained about it being all cash bar to get in the club, and people like you makes it look bad for the companies, just because things doesn't go your way at all. Not right to lie about people and how people do their jobs. Security is there for a reason and to take things serious for safety. I was there in line way behind you.. you do way to much, all extra stuff for no reason.Anfernee G
06:09 01 Jul 22
The bouncer that’s the bald headed black guy at the door is literally the complete worst. He takes his job WAYYYYYYYYYYYY too seriously. In the 30 minutes I was there I saw 7 (SEVEN) arguments breakout between him and patrons and can confidently say that he was in the wrong every single time. He’s rude and flat out disrespectful. This place truly has a little bit of potential but personally he’s the single reason I’ll never be backOlivia Parvin
06:06 28 Jun 22
My girlfriend and I have never felt so unsafe or unwelcome at a club. It was packed with no room to move, the crowd felt rude and noninclusive, and the music was old with bad remixes. NOT a queer-friendly space, and we will never go back. Just bad vibes overall.Rahn C.
00:12 27 Jun 22
SF Pride 2022 was underwhelming, and light weight traumatizing. In one last effort to celebrate the occasion, my family and I went to The Cafe'. I do not...Andre R.
01:44 26 Jun 22
This man Marco is the best security. He looked out for your boi. Service was excellent. Highly recommend the cafeAdrien Zheng
15:36 19 Jun 22
The bouncer refused to let us in or give our money back because we didn’t drink all the water he gave us at the door. We were pretty sober and the club after them had no issue letting us in. He asked us if we are from Taiwan when we were trying to argue the bouncer fee back. Not sure why that question is even relevant. It’s my sixth year living in the US, but it seems like I just can’t ever look local enough for people to stop giving me a hard time on random things. I felt pretty helpless since no matter how affirmative I was arguing for my own rights, they just wouldn’t take me seriously. I moved to San Francisco after college because I had a lot of faith in this place, now I’m not sure how much of that is left.Ross H
08:00 19 Jun 22
Underrated bar. Give it a go! Strong and fair priced highball. Great music and entertainment with a comfortable mix of patrons.Travon Guy Bailey
06:00 10 Jun 22
Imagine: I came here and had to pay 7$ per person and the people couldn’t even give me a receipt for the entrance? Are the covering up their revenue? Definitely! Do they speak Spanish as well as they say they do? Definitely not. If they can’t produce a receipt for their services, what are they doing?Topo Gigio
15:44 06 Jun 22
This was the first bar I ever visited on my first SF vacation years ago, I’m delighted to see it’s newly refreshed and still going strong. There’s a line but it moves quickly. All good vibes, everyone was dancing and enjoying themselves.I F
13:59 22 May 22
The black security lady is very unprofessional. She needs to go, did not let my boyfriend and I in the club claiming we were drunk.. we were not… meanwhile she let the plastered people in front and behind us inMichael H.
23:22 20 May 22
Honestly the worst bar/club in the entire city. Avoid at all costs. So many other great places to go that will treat you right and show you a good time.Khoi V.
19:51 25 Apr 22
The Café used to be my and my friends' favorite spot because it had a great setup and music was amazing. Ever since they reopened, the music has not been...jesus galvan
08:26 17 Apr 22
I had a terrible experience came out at 120 am and I payed for the entrance and the security did not let me go back in because it’s was 125 am and I payed until 145 amBrian Smith
15:49 03 Apr 22
Busy Night @ The Cafe Last Night. Overall, it was crowded and the DJ was great on the music, on point. Many times I visited the cafe, there are times where people are really intoxicated and can't hold their liquor. Amazing job to the security team who handled certain individuals for their safety. As things start opening back up, we have to think about security as well under stress situations and I was honored, to meet Isaac and Joe while the club was ending that night. Thank you sooooo much!!!Sean T.
01:18 02 Apr 22
So I wasn't kicked out but left because I was so shocked by what happened. I was sitting on a railing. Sure, I probably shouldn't have been sitting there,...Daphne M.
10:34 17 Mar 22
My friends and I came here for a friends bday and it was most of our first times in the Castro District! We went in pretty early so there was no line so we...SCP JN
09:52 12 Mar 22
I was just standing and talking to my friends and two random security guards tried to escort me out for “throwing up.” I barely even got off the plane and went straight to the bars, so I was sober and only had one drink and when I asked for explanation, they said they had “a witness.” When I asked who the witness was, they couldn’t further elaborate. Really disappointed with the service here. Being wrongly accused of something is a terrible experience. 1/5 star for the way these employees mistreated me. They were so unprofessional.Benjamin Taylor
18:25 23 Feb 22
Gets pretty busy on Saturday night. Fun shows going on, welcoming atmosphere. Great DJ too. Visiting from NY and hope to be back soon!Maribel Larraondo
05:31 13 Feb 22
Well actually I was there a long time ago .the only thing there was there more guys than woman it was my favorite but not anymore .I wish to see more ladies dancers!!!Brian Smith
16:55 11 Dec 21
To the person who commented about being denied entry at the cafe.... Well, I going to say that I've been denied entry at establishments due other reasons such as having relationship issues, being drunk which I drink a lot and don't know how to hold my liquor.. but overall, being denied is better than being banned forever. Being denied, always have a way of solving the problem of talking directly to staff. I've been denied at other clubs and bars which is considered "private"... not public and they do have a right to do so due to the establishment being not public. Hopefully, you will able to talk to the person and get back in the club to enjoy yourself. I don't always agree with some things about clubs. But the cafe is a great place to hang out and get wild lol. Based off the texts, I'm pretty sure that this can be resolved by talking to the person directly. I strongly suggest this... Because, I was denied at the cafe twice and was able to talk to staff. Hey... I'm back now and meeting new people. Come on man.... enjoy it and have fun!!!!Charles Sandidge
19:52 10 Dec 21
So tonight I tried to come to this establishment and was turned away by Head of Security because they have tried to talk to me. Amongst trying to talk to me; they haven’t completely gotten thru. Because of this; I was denied entry to a establishment that should not be built on personal morals but more so business always. I am going to reach out to so many avenues to try and rectify this because no one should have that much power outside of the owner of the establishment. It was unprofessional and sick to be denied entry simply because I would not talk to to the “head of security on a personal level”. Tonight was my first night out and I will never return back to The Castro. The head of security chose power over common sense and that is extremely bad for business. I will reach out to my attorney friends in the morning to figure if my human rights or any type of rights were violated.Jamar M.
23:35 31 Oct 21
Went to the cafe on Halloween night. Within ten minutes of being in the establishment a customer of theirs water their drink on me. I informed the bartender...Gerardo Nevarez
09:59 31 Oct 21
For main holiday celebration entrance fee can be $20 like halloween eve today, Oct 30, we were in line and got to the door to it being $20 cover fee. The Cafe isn’t worth a $20 cover fee whatsoever. If people can afford it, it is those whom can afford it but it isn’t worth the price. Try other local bars/clubs that have much better music and better priced drinks than the Cafe. Not sure why they’d step up to being $20 cover club. This isn’t a SOMA club or Polk street club environment, was really disappointing coming to the door while waiting in line, only to find it was playing the same cards are other none popular clubs. The music and Drinks don’t represent a $20 entrance fee whatsoever. Keep it under $10, you will survive yet again.Parker G
10:36 30 Oct 21
This is a really unprofessional establishment.They yell at you and expect responses instantaneously. They try to find any excuse to be rude to you and they act as if you owe them your BEGGING desperation rather than them providing appropriate customer service.It was an extremely rude, disrespectful, and unprofessional establishment. They were extremely aggressive for absolutely no reason. I have been to numerous establishments of the exact same type of bar as this place, but they felt so entitled to treat their customers like they did not deserve respect.I would never recommend this place to anyone.Financially, it is a total rip off.Inside, it is very trashy and unkept.Put unprofessional and aggressive employees on top of that, and there is absolutely no reason you should ever visit this poorly managed establishment.I definitely will never be back.Angelica P.
16:44 04 Oct 21
They reopened yesterday after over a year of being closed. I can't say it was for the better. It's cash only and there's no ATM. Not to mention a TWENTY...Joseph V.
22:25 02 Oct 21
How are you closed for 19 months then reopen, as a cash only bar with no working atms. #ghettoCrisy G.
20:05 17 Feb 20
Is the best place to dance ur heart out.. u don't need to look fabulous to shake ur assss away.. drinks r good price.. great music from house to bump n...Priskilletz
02:06 18 Dec 19
DJ is always popping and it Pau's back to get the wristband If they offer it that night! Always have a good time here!Stacie B.
20:04 08 Jul 19
This was a must go to - from all of our friends that are locals in San Francisco! We came when it was Pride weekend and it was a great time! The drinks were...Richard Radwinski
05:40 09 Mar 19
Great dance floor that gets fun and rowdy. Often part way through the night there will also be a dance off with patrons showing off some of their best moves. The Cafe did not disappointMalachite D. Rodriguez
17:21 04 Feb 19
This is place is fun, came here for my first time visiting San Francisco & it was great. The drinks are good & the music was lit. The crowd is super friendly & there are drag queens & dancers on the little stage. It is a bit small, so its tight, but that wasn't an issue. Definitely going to be coming back!Omie A.
08:43 12 Jul 18
Karaoke Wednesday's are fun. Everyone was polite and the crowd was friendly as hell. Thank you guys, you guys, that kindness goes a long way. Thanks to KJ Cole, Remy, and bartender Sabrina and the other awesome chick who found my money that I dropped 👍Rachel Kaufman
00:46 17 Mar 18
My friends and I were really looking forward to going to The Cafe and we had heard great things about it. Unfortunately, the bouncer was a HUGE A**HOLE. My friend handed him his REAL NJ ID and the bouncer immiately said “well, well what kinda fake ID do we have here?” My friend proceeded to show him FOUR other forms of identification including his school ID, debit card and insurance card. The bouncer scanned his ID, black lighted it and bent it and obviously it passed every test because it was real and he was actually 21. After all that the bouncer threatened to take it. The major problem was that if he had taken my friends ID, my friend would not have been able to get on his flight back to NJ. After all of that, the bouncer finally gave it back but then another bouncer insisted on searching all of our bags even though we obviously were not going into the bar. It was absolutely ridiculous. I highly suggest hiring a new bouncer who doesn’t have it out for every young person coming into the bar. SF is a huge tourist place and obviously there are people coming from out of state. EDUCATE YOURSELF ON WHAT REAL OUT OF STATE IDS LOOK LIKE! I will never come back to this bar and I will advise against anyone with an out of state license coming here.Eva C.
16:08 29 Nov 17
Tell me why this place only has 3.5 stars? Excuse yall, but this is the most poppin place in Castro, and probably the city. This is my go to dance spot just...
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