Twin Peaks Tavern

J C

Loved the bartenders. Felt safe here as a trans person. Albiet I was surrounded by bears with no other trans gals in sight. Really fun customers, cheap (but strong drinks) and an extra floor of seating. Will be coming back here.

MICHAEL LEE

The Twin Peaks Tavern is the first LGBTQ bar in the world to have oversized windows making its patrons visible from the street outside. This happened in 1972 when two local lesbians purchased what had been an Irish Pub since 1935. Historically, gay bars had no windows, to protect the anonymity of the patrons and for safety and security, as gay bars could be a target of vandalism or other violence. It's saloon days go back to the gay nineties, i.e., the 1890s. It is a designated SF historic landmark at the corner of Castro and 17th street. One of the best people watching spots in the Castro. You never know what you'll see on Castro Street in front of the bar. It nearly closed during the Covid Pandemic, but a Gofundme campaign raised over $100,000 to keep it open. There's a documentary short film, "Through the Windows," about the historic and beautiful bar.

Jose Paz

Our favorite bar in The Castro. The vibe there is really relaxed. Shoutout to Steven for making great drinks and being really nice. We’ll definitely go back on our next visit to San Francisco.

Daniel R

Great bar in the Castro, good prices and service. It is located between Castro and Market St. They have big windows to watch people. Sometimes they have tables outside. It usually gets busy in the afternoon with locals and tourists. I have been going there for years and love it.

Patrick travers

Been going to San Francisco for years and never walked in to this bar . This week past i finally got to experience this amazing happy and welcoming establishment. Felt very welcome and the drinks were absolutely amazing . The staff welcoming and engaging as well. I had champagne and a Espresso martini yummy and made with love . Thanks for being a great part of the community and I’ll definitely be back next month . Also one more note the collection of Nut crackers is absolutely Impressive it’s add such unique atmosphere to this already amazing bar

Dirk Hopkins

Loved Twin Peaks! Such a friendly place. Very crowded when we went but made it easy to meet new people. Good drink prices and great location. Cash only fyi! Bonus: it's right next to a bakery and it smells amazing.

Captain Stanley J Howard IRS Enrolled Agent

Aloha travelers and San Francisco residents I first walked into Twin Peaks in 1973! Changes Yes, this is a place for coffee, drinks and socializing. Had a great time there and talked with 3 people from out of town. Great drinks and wonderful atmosphere! Captain Stan Howard E.A

Sydney Martinie

This adorable neighborhood bar is cute and clean and smells like cookies (Hot Cookie is next door) and has a super friendly staff with a very LGBT friendly vibe. Not fussy, the cocktails, beer, and wine are reasonably priced but bring cash! The bartenders voted I looked like a cross between Julia Roberts and Posh Spice soooo of course I love them for life 🏳️‍🌈❤️

Joan Crowley

We were there on a Sunday night in November. The bar is a beautiful vintage bar that was salvaged from an old hotel in San Francisco after the big earthquake. They do not serve food. They had 2 TVs on and we were able to watch football. Aaron was the bartender. He made great Irish coffees! We talked for about an hour about life and traveling. He was so nice and attentive. He made our night a great experience. We hope to return to hear about his travel experiences in Vermont and beyond!

BJ Owensby

It's one of the CASH ONLY bars in the city and yes they have an ATM upstairs if you need to get some. It's mainly the older crowd with a few twinks scattered about. The bartenders are handsome and the drinks are perfect. If they have never heard of the drink, just tell them what's in it and they will fix it. I highly recommend it for the 40 and up crowd. Twinks are always looking. They places location give you a view of the Bart station and Market Street and all the people who are coming and going.

Place is ok, a bit dated but still a cool hang out venue. Coffee is really good but really small. Staff is very friendly and accommodating.

+6

Great spot to have a beer and either socialize or wait until your seat is ready at a nearby restaurant. Is cash only, so, bring cash or use their "conveniently located" ATM upstairs

Legendary gay bar on a Saturday afternoon was like a party good times good friends great day.

My wife and I stopped in on a Saturday. I had an old fashioned (tasty but they didn't have a big ice cube). She had an Irish coffee. It's the kind of place that SF yuppies might bring their relatives visiting from a less excitiing 'Burb. Tastefully, appropriately cozy. And definitely SF Castro, but mature.

Æbîlēne HNrs

Place is ok, a bit dated but still a cool hang out venue. Coffee is really good but really small. Staff is very friendly and accommodating.

Ruben Romero

My wife and I stopped in on a Saturday. I had an old fashioned (tasty but they didn't have a big ice cube). She had an Irish coffee. It's the kind of place that SF yuppies might bring their relatives visiting from a less excitiing 'Burb. Tastefully, appropriately cozy. And definitely SF Castro, but mature.

Twin Peaks Tavern is one of those places that’s more about the experience and history than anything else. It has a classic San Francisco feel and definitely holds its place as an iconic spot in the city. The vibe is relaxed and very neighborhood-oriented. It feels like a place with a lot of regulars and a strong sense of community, which gives it character and makes it feel authentic rather than polished or trendy. Drinks are straightforward and exactly what you’d expect, nothing fancy, but dependable. One thing to note is that they only accept cash, so be sure to come prepared. Service was fine overall. Friendly enough, but not especially warm or memorable. Everything functioned smoothly, just without much of a standout moment. Twin Peaks Tavern is worth stopping into, especially if you’re exploring the area or appreciate places with history and personality. It’s not somewhere I’d go out of my way for, but it’s a comfortable stop and a good representation of an old-school San Francisco bar.

Joshua Michael

Twin Peaks Tavern is one of those places that’s more about the experience and history than anything else. It has a classic San Francisco feel and definitely holds its place as an iconic spot in the city. The vibe is relaxed and very neighborhood-oriented. It feels like a place with a lot of regulars and a strong sense of community, which gives it character and makes it feel authentic rather than polished or trendy. Drinks are straightforward and exactly what you’d expect, nothing fancy, but dependable. One thing to note is that they only accept cash, so be sure to come prepared. Service was fine overall. Friendly enough, but not especially warm or memorable. Everything functioned smoothly, just without much of a standout moment. Twin Peaks Tavern is worth stopping into, especially if you’re exploring the area or appreciate places with history and personality. It’s not somewhere I’d go out of my way for, but it’s a comfortable stop and a good representation of an old-school San Francisco bar.

Devin

Clearly a gay bar, NOT a queer bar - as in, maybe not the vibe for queers who aren’t white cis gay men…. Absolutely love the history of the bar and I think it’s such an incredible historic landmark that holds deep importance for our community - which is why my friends and I wanted to visit. However, from the moment the three of us (all queer women) walked in, the vibe was ICY. It’s like they forgot women can be gay too lol. The bartender was pretty unfriendly, which, after reading some reviews I’ve come to see probably was less about us than about his overall demeanor, but the clientele made it clear who the bar really caters to. Bar was pretty full when we showed up, and idk, maybe it looks vastly different at other times, but I kid you not when I say every single person in the bar was a white, likely cis or cis-passing man over the age of 50. And the stares we got from them as soon as we entered made it clear we were not welcome as part of the community. We took our drinks outside and left pretty quickly - a shame bc any gay bar truly honoring its history should be making itself clear as a welcome space for BIPOC queers, trans folks, lesbians & queer women, and the community as a whole. EDIT: this is even crazier to me upon learning that the whole reason Twin Peaks was the first gay bar in the country to have windows to the public is due to the decision of the two LESBIANS who owned it and chose to take off the covers in 1972!! Shoutout Mary Ellen Cunha and Peggy Forster y’all deserve better than a gay bar that makes queer women feel unwelcome :/

If you want to feel like an intruder, order a drink from Steven. The most aggressive barman I've evere met!

I hate to write this. Weeknight bar staff can easily ignore blatant/obvious sexual harassment from one customer to another, even with loud verbal altercations, but they have eagle eyes for plastic water bottles in a city where, arguably, most people walk and use transit, and hence have bottles of water. I understand outside drink policies but it can be ridiculous for water in particular (which is free anyways) when most places would not enforce that AND in context of a perceived lack of observance of sexual harassment (possibly assault) of someone. Maybe it is just ignorance, or maybe that is relaxed given a lot of clientele seem to target younger folks, but they should never lay hands on people. Disappointing because I never leave reviews and this is one of the few locations in this city open late on weeknights.

I went in here with my friends majority of whom are Black. The bartender immediately started harassing us. He spoke to us so condescendingly that we started to leave because we were so uncomfortable. He then began yelling at us that he wasn’t being rude. We felt very unsafe as the only POC in the bar. Definitely avoid this place!

I am deeply disappointed with the experience I had at this bar recently. The waiter with a mustache was incredibly rude and disrespectful. I needed to take an important medication and was forced to leave the premises because I wasn’t allowed to do so inside. It is unacceptable for an establishment to treat its customers with such little respect and understanding, especially when it comes to health matters. I would not recommend this bar to anyone and definitely do not plan to return.

I rarely leave negative reviews, but this experience was genuinely disappointing. My friend and I came in, bought our drinks, went upstairs, and paid for three songs on TouchTunes. This was the only TouchTunes available in the area, so we were actually excited to play a few of our own songs instead of the usual bar playlist. We waited almost 30 minutes for our songs to finally come up in the queue. The first one played, but as soon as the second song started, the bartender immediately skipped it. When the third song began, it was skipped again. I watched the bartender make a face of disgust right before hitting skip, and when I asked about it, he denied it even though it was clear what happened. We paid for those songs—waited a long time for them—and they were skipped for no reason other than personal preference. It honestly felt disrespectful. If the bar doesn’t want customers using TouchTunes, or only wants certain music played, they shouldn’t offer the service or allow people to pay for something they won’t actually get.

Axel Telkamper

I am deeply disappointed with the experience I had at this bar recently. The waiter with a mustache was incredibly rude and disrespectful. I needed to take an important medication and was forced to leave the premises because I wasn’t allowed to do so inside. It is unacceptable for an establishment to treat its customers with such little respect and understanding, especially when it comes to health matters. I would not recommend this bar to anyone and definitely do not plan to return.

maciejadams (Helios Adams)

Very disappointing experience. Bartender served us without a hint of a smile or even acknowledgement. Aperol Spritz we ordered was the worst I've ever had. $12.50 for iced water with a slight hint of a aperol taste. Stay away, it's a tourist trap.

FELIPE AZZI

This attendant was extremely clogged with me, my husband and my friend. He was rude and didn’t even know how to make a simple drink. First I asked if he had any drinks with GIN and he asked me which one I wanted!! What do you mean? You are selling and need to present me with a menu. Then I said I didn’t accept a card, then just put gin in my glass with ice and charged me for a drink. A thick one, avoid him.

A C

I hate to write this. Weeknight bar staff can easily ignore blatant/obvious sexual harassment from one customer to another, even with loud verbal altercations, but they have eagle eyes for plastic water bottles in a city where, arguably, most people walk and use transit, and hence have bottles of water. I understand outside drink policies but it can be ridiculous for water in particular (which is free anyways) when most places would not enforce that AND in context of a perceived lack of observance of sexual harassment (possibly assault) of someone. Maybe it is just ignorance, or maybe that is relaxed given a lot of clientele seem to target younger folks, but they should never lay hands on people. Disappointing because I never leave reviews and this is one of the few locations in this city open late on weeknights.

Marco Barriga

I rarely leave negative reviews, but this experience was genuinely disappointing. My friend and I came in, bought our drinks, went upstairs, and paid for three songs on TouchTunes. This was the only TouchTunes available in the area, so we were actually excited to play a few of our own songs instead of the usual bar playlist. We waited almost 30 minutes for our songs to finally come up in the queue. The first one played, but as soon as the second song started, the bartender immediately skipped it. When the third song began, it was skipped again. I watched the bartender make a face of disgust right before hitting skip, and when I asked about it, he denied it even though it was clear what happened. We paid for those songs—waited a long time for them—and they were skipped for no reason other than personal preference. It honestly felt disrespectful. If the bar doesn’t want customers using TouchTunes, or only wants certain music played, they shouldn’t offer the service or allow people to pay for something they won’t actually get.

Aasiya Norris

I went in here with my friends majority of whom are Black. The bartender immediately started harassing us. He spoke to us so condescendingly that we started to leave because we were so uncomfortable. He then began yelling at us that he wasn’t being rude. We felt very unsafe as the only POC in the bar. Definitely avoid this place!