This sexy bartender is here to show you the hot spots in San Francisco’s fabulous Fruit Loop

Meet Jeremy Romero, a thirtysomething bartender at the popular Hi Tops sports bar in the Castro.

With a decade of experience behind the bar and a reputation as a man about town, the devoted dog dad, Lower Haight resident, and sports fanatic possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of San Francisco’s queer nightlife.

From his perch in the heart of the gay mecca with its three distinctly, wonderfully queer ‘hoods–Castro, SoMa, and Polk Gulch–Romero shares his tips exclusively with GayCities to help you have the perfect night out in the City by the Bay.

The Castro

Pack your bags, we’re going on an adventure

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the best LGBTQ+ travel guides, stories, and more.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

The Castro is the epicenter of San Francisco’s community, located in the heart of the city. The area became a magnet for gay people in the late 1960s and 1970s with the rise of the Gay Liberation movement, when activists such as Harvey Milk began organizing the growing community to take the fight for their rights to San Francisco City Hall. In fact, you can still check out the historic location of Harvey’s store, Castro Camera, where he made a living and launched his political career. 

A vibrant neighborhood of bars, restaurants, advocacy organizations, and arts venues helps the neighborhood live up to its reputation as the world’s singular gay mecca. The Castro is the site of multiple street fairs, annual Pride celebrations, and Frameline, San Francisco’s International LGBT Film Festival, the world’s oldest, founded in 1976 and held annually at the historic Castro Theatre movie palace at the center of the neighborhood.

Today, Romero works just around the corner, where he is a welcoming sight behind the bar at Hi Tops — the OG location of the popular sports bar franchise — for more than a decade. The sporty venue occupies a sprawling space on Market Street in the Castro District.

When he’s not bartending, Romero says he likes to start his weekend nights out at a new addition to the neighborhood, Bar 49.

“It’s a fairly new bar, from the former manager of Hi Tops. It’s just a chill spot. It has late-night eats, good cocktails, a nice vibe, and good people-watching. But it’s a great place to start the evening, have a couple of cocktails, maybe grab a snack.”

Romero’s go-to drink: Cazadores Reposado, the aged Tequila.

“Always a favorite,” he says.

This inspires an appetite for the Vegan Queso Borracho, served with house-made tortilla chips, at The Lookout bar, located across Market Street.

“Obviously, it’s called The Lookout so that you can hang out on the balcony, and you can just see that huge intersection at Noe and Castro streets and just people-watch. It’s really fun.”

The fit barkeep says he works off those tortilla chips in his home gym, and with a 35-pound Australian cattle dog “that requires several miles of walks a day,” he says.

After taking in The Lookout view, Romero says the next stop in the Castro is for dancing.

“Everyone really likes to go to Badlands since they reopened,” Romero shares.

The San Francisco landmark, originally opened in 1975 in the early days of the “Gay Liberation” movement, closed down in 2020 but reopened triumphantly three years later.

“It’s got club vibes,” he says. “It’s all about the dance floor.”

If you get sweaty, head outside to the sidewalk, Romero says, where you’ll find yourself in the thick of the Castro’s bar scene, between the world’s first video bar, the Midnight Sun, and one of the neighborhood’s oldest taverns, Toad Hall, which opened in 1967.

Around this time, Romero is ready to Waymo about 10 minutes to the South of the Market area, home to San Francisco’s historic Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District.

SoMa

For over a century, the South of Market area was the industrial hub of San Francisco, characterized by railyards, factories, and warehouses. It was also home to immigrants seeking affordable accommodations, as well as city residents in search of less-than-reputable entertainments that were unwelcome in other parts of the city.

In the 1970s, gay bathhouses sprang up across South of Market, following biker bars that gave rise to a thriving leather culture. That scene led to the area’s designation as the world’s first Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District in 2018.

While still maintaining its industrial roots, development over the last decades has transformed South of Market — rechristened SoMa — into a hub for tech start-ups, condominiums, travel-worthy bars and restaurants, and distinct neighborhoods within the neighborhood.

When the sun goes down, though, SoMa still retains its gritty appeal for visitors.

Romero’s advice: start at the Eagle, a San Francisco Designated Landmark located at Harrison and 12th streets, featuring a hopping outdoor patio and bar. The vast bear and leather bar has been going strong since 1981, with a uniform of chaps, harnesses, 80s-era flannel, or nothing at all for over 40 years.

 
“Love the Eagle,” Romero explains. “Great crowd. There’s indoor, outdoor, and you can hang out there for a whole night if that’s your vibe.”

If you’re looking for Sunday day-drinking vibes, head to SF Eagle’s notorious beer bust. You’ll know it’s finally time to eat when the “Tamale Lady” rolls through with her red cooler.

After checking out the Eagle’s chaps, roll a block north to Folsom Street, site of the annual Folsom Street Fair in September.  

Several gay bars populate Folsom between Seventh and Tenth streets. The legendary Stud bar just opened in its third incarnation off Langton Street, while the gay biker bar Hole in the Wall is squeezed between industrial buildings near Tenth.

Romero’s favorite is Powerhouse, another leather bar, which allegedly started life as a brothel sometime in the last century.

Situated right on Dore Alley (site of the Folsom Street Fair’s “dirty little brother” of the same name), Powerhouse has dancing and plenty of “debauchery”, according to Romero.

The darkroom is legendary, he says without a trace of shyness.

Polk Gulch

The area is just east of the city’s broad Van Ness Avenue. Polk Gulch was once home to single-occupancy hotels where immigrants and sailors gathered, and it became a destination due to the many bars lining Polk Street. By the 1960s, the area evolved into the city’s first “out” gay neighborhood; San Francisco’s first official Gay Pride Parade marched down Polk Street in the early 1970s.

Romero recommends Cinch Saloon, founded in 1974. It’s right next door to Hot Cookie on Polk Street, where late-night snacks await. 

“In the back room, it’s Star Wars themed, so for the nerds like myself, it’s great,” Romero says.

Last Call

When it’s time to wind the night down, Romero heads back to the Castro to his very favorite “hidden gem,” the Last Call Bar.

A few blocks away from peak Castro vibes, “it’s this little dive bar,” Romero explains. “It has a great jukebox, just the drinks you’d expect from a dive bar, but it’s a chill vibe. And there’s a little fireplace.”

“It’s close enough to where it’s in the Castro, but it’s just far enough to where you’re not in all the hustle and bustle. And that’s usually where I end up. Go leave all the dancers and be like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna go chill and sit at my favorite bar, have good conversations with some chill people.”

Honorable Mentions

Romero is a fierce competitor and loves the pool table and chess boards at Castro Bar and Game Stop, The Detour.

At the end of his GayCities chat, Romero says he almost forgot to mention his favorite “main spot” on Market in the Castro.

“Once a week, I go to Detour to play chess. It’s a gay video game bar that features tons of arcade games, Smash Bros. tournaments, and a full bar and food service.

“And, of course, pool games and a nice patio.”

He recommends the Pilsner Inn, with its great outdoor patio, pool tables, and relaxed, local vibe..

Romero’s favorite nights when he’s working at Hi Tops are Thursdays, when “Gym Class” is in session.

“We have guys lifting weights on the TVs, and oil wrestling, all climbing all over each other. There are go-go dancers in jock straps and boys handing out free shots. It’s the full package with kind of a club vibe, so on Thursdays, usually, everyone starts there.”

Lastly, Romero wants to give a shout-out to Rikki’s, the new women’s sports bar that’s right next to Hi Tops.

“They just opened, they’re really sweet, and that’s a great place for women to go,” Romero says. “It’s great to have a place for the girls. Whenever people are visiting, they’re like, ‘Where can I go, as a lesbian, in the Castro, and I’m like, ‘I actually don’t know,’ and I feel bad, right?

“Well, finally, you’ve got one.”

Join the GayCities newsletter for weekly updates on the best LGBTQ+ destinations and events—nearby and around the world.