Finding your idea of a comfortable bar has a lot to do with picking a neighborhood filled with your kind of people and investigating that area. There are hundreds of bars throughout San Francisco, and although many are obscurely located and can't be classified by their neighborhood, the following is a general description of what you'll find, and where:
Chestnut and Union Street bars attract a postcollegiate crowd.
Young alternatives frequent Mission District haunts.
Upper Haight caters to eclectic neighborhood cocktailers.
Lower Haight is skate- and snowboarder grungy.
Tourists mix with theatergoers and thirsty businesspeople in downtown pubs.
North Beach serves all types.
The Castro caters to gay locals and tourists.
SoMa offers an eclectic mix.
Unless otherwise noted, the bars do not have cover charges.
