The Top 5 Bars in San Francisco’s Chinatown

Certain city neighborhoods ooze with that inexplicable “only in San Francisco” vibe that people have been talking about for decades. Chinatown, in particular, offers a distinct bar hopping experience. It is both a top destination for tourists and a place of great mystery. There are not as many bars in Chinatown, as in other neighborhoods. Each bar, however, offers a unique experience. We have composed a list of our favorites. They are all in short walking distance to one another. Get together with a group of friends and create your own Chinatown Crawl.

Passing through the Chinatown Gate, feels like entering a portal to a Chinese Narnia. This is particularly true in the evening. As you leave the dimly lit downtown and start up Grant Avenue, you will be seduced by the exotic architecture, red neon lights and rows of Chinese Lanterns strung across the streets. It will feel as if you have left San Francisco and entered a mysterious and magical place. The streets are quiet at night. Hidden in the silence, a vibrant nightlife awaits. Soon you will see a bar to your left. The Buddha Lounge. And another down to the Right, Li-Po Cocktail Lounge. Within a couple of blocks all 5 of these quirky cocktail havens can be found.

Don’t be fooled by a quiet bar either. Take advantage of the moments where there is a free bar stool and an opportunity to chat it up with the bartender. Things can change fast in Chinatown. One Friday evening I entered the Buddha Lounge. There were only a handful of people sitting around drinking beer. Three sips into my Tsingtao Beer, about 25 young college types came rushing in and took over. Soon there was chanting, shots being downed, dancing & loud conversation. The neighborhood attracts an eclectic mix of people, so you never know who you will meet or talk to while drinking in Chinatown. You will find locals from all over the city, as well as visitors from all over the globe. Chinatown is a popular place for hospitality industry people too. You may find yourself sitting next to a well known chef or, perhaps a local waiter or bartender. Who better to strike up a conversation with about the best places to eat in the city?

Here it is, the CrawlSF List of Chinatowns top 5 bars.

Buddha Lounge

Hospitality professionals, in the city, are the best authorities on awesome dive bars to enjoy cheap drinks in SF. When new hires are training, one of the first things they learn is where to drink after work. In 2007, I started a new job at a little restaurant downtown. One of the first bars I was introduced to was the Buddha Lounge in Chinatown. It had all the elements of a great afterwork watering hole. It was low key, chill and a little divey. They stayed open until 2 am every day. Their signature “drink” was a quirky green bottle of Beer shaped like a Buddha, with an easy drinking lager inside. The bartender was cool. It was a real San Francisco bar. How did we know? It was simple- people there played liar’s dice. It was one of those cash only places. They had a basement bathroom that required the bartender to buzz you down. For those nights when you stayed out for a few too many and started feeling adventurous, they had some mystery bottles of liquor imported from China to explore. The guys who had been there before, told us stories of the underground tunnels in Chinatown, adding intrigue and mystery, especially on our trip to the restroom.

In 18 years the joint has barely changed. You will see tatooed hipsters drinking Lucky Buddha Lager. Likely they are local chefs or bartenders. You can sit down and strike up a conversation or, perhaps challenge the bartender to a game of dice- winner buys the next beer. Maybe you would just rather sit quietly, enjoy your drink and watch the evening unfold. When the young, frisky, collegiate crowd invaded the Buddha Lounge on that Friday night, I enjoyed watching the eye rolls of the hipsters double fisting Lucky Buddha Lager in the corner by the window. When a very tipsy wayward bro tapped me on the shoulder, utterly confused by the location of the rest room, I had a good chuckle. The friendly bartender stopped by to see if everything was ok, which made me laugh a little harder. I was on my own bar crawl that night, so I did not stick around long enough to see if he made it back from the basement or accidentally found his way into one of the storied tunnels. Before I left I did try a mysterious liquor.

There was a round brown bottle with a red label that caught my eye. I asked the bartender about it and she told me it was like a Chinese Jaegermeister or amaro. I am a fan of Amaro, so I was in. The liquor was herbaceous. It was less bitter and much more dry and earthy than a typical Amari. I wondered if this could be the top secret ingredient in the Chinese Mai Tai they are famous for across the street at the Li-Po Cocktail Lounge. I guess I will never know for sure.

If you are looking for things to do in Chinatown like cheap drinks & a chill vibe or just want to want to chat it up with the locals, the Buddha Lounge will fit the bill.

Buddha Lounge
901 Grant Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94108

Li-Po Cocktail Lounge

“Godamn, I love Li-Po Lounge”, wrote Stuart Shuffman, in a 2022 article he wrote for SF Gate. Shuffman, better known by locals as “Broke-Ass Stuart”. He is a Bay Area writer. who has been blogging about how to live cheaply in San Francisco, for over 2 decades. The 20th Century gave us the late, great Herb Caen, writer for the SF Chronicle., He was the ultimate authority on top things to do in San Francisco. He could not resist mentioning Li-Po Lounge, in his famous column, from time to time. The 21st Century has Broke-Ass Stuart to keep us in the know. He reminds us how very San Francisco this legacy bar is, in some of his columns. You should definitely look up his stories of nights he spent at the Li-Po in his younger days.

Li-Po Cocktail Lounge was one of the first bars to open in the city following the repeal of prohibition. Its unique neon sign, shaped like a hexagonal Chinese lantern, has been enticing people inside for 88 years. In the 1940’s the famous sign caught the eye of Orson Wells. Wells was one of the greatest directors in film history. He was best known for the film ,”Citizen Kane”, which is still considered to be the greatest film of all time. The famous director put the Li-Po, in some of the scenes, of his 1947 film, “The Lady From Shanghai”. The movie also featured actor Wong Chung, a Chinese American actor, born in San Francisco in 1880, in the unaccredited role of Li.

In the early years, Li-Po was an underground gay bar. The gay social scene was also underground in the early 20th Century, leading into World War II.Certain Bars located in Chinatown and North Beach, advertised in San Francisco Guide Books as “exotic” cocktail lounges, became hubs for the LGBT community. Venues, such as the long gone “Forbidden City” and “Rickshaw”, put on shows that combined western entertainment with oriental culture. Some of the performances included men dressed in elaborate costumes to look like women. These were among the earliest drag performances in the city. They were not publicized as such. At the time it was illegal. The war brought people from all over to San Francisco. Among them were many gay and lesbian members of the military, who would seek out these bars, where they could be themselves. Li-Po was among them. Eventually, due to police raids that shut down nearby establishments, Li-Po had to be a little less open about accepting certain clientele and allowing certain homosexual acts from being permitted in the bar.

Li-Po Cocktail Lounge has always been an eclectic place, with a diverse clientele. They survived the raids and thrived because they were a Chinatown destination for the people in the neighborhood, locals, tourists, soldiers and more. The bar cannot truly be labeled. You will encounter people of all ages, all walks of life and from all over the world.

In the mid-20th Century, a drink was invented at Li-Po Cocktail Lounge that would make the quirky little dive bar famous world-wide. The time line is murky. It is unclear who exactly invented the drink or on what specific date. I spoke with my bartender there one evening. He was a nice young Chinese American fellow and a native born San Franciscan. He claims that sometime in the 50’s a drink, now known as the “Chinese Mai Tai” was invented at the bar. It was a fruitier, sweeter and a much more potent Mai Tai than the one Victor Bergeron introduced at his famous Tiki Bar. Bergeron, aka “Trader Vic” invented the original Mai Tai at his namesake bar in Oakland. The “Chinese Mai Tai” was not advertised on the menu for decades, as it contained an ingredient that was not legally imported into the United States at the time. The ingredient was a mysterious Chinese Liquor. Today the mysterious Chinese Liquor is still a secret, even though the Chinese Mai Tai has been on the menu officially since the 1990’s. It is rumored to be a Chinese Wine or possibly, a sorghum based spirit that is potent, with a fruity taste and a backbone of earthiness and floral characteristics. This mystery ingredient adds a signature flavor to the drink that is familiar yet exotic and hard to place. The cat was really out of the bag, after Anthony Bourdain made his way to Li-Po. Today the bar is a destination for people to try this unique San Francisco cocktail. In 2013 the recipe was trademarked.

Chinatown has had a history as wild as the rest of the Barbary Coast. In the early years, prostitution, slave trade, gambling, opium dens and gang wars were common in the neighborhood. There were a series of underground tunnels in Chinatown, where law breakers once escaped the police. The basement of Li-Po is rumored to connect to the Chinatown underground. Some say most of the passageways have been filled in. When I first arrived in San Francisco, nearly 30 years ago, the basement was accessible to guests. I do not know if they still have parties there. Broke-Ass Stuart has a great story, in his blog archives about his first party in the Li-Po basement more than 20 years ago. One thing is for sure, the place has barely changed in almost 90 years. It is quirky and divey in the best way. Once you pass through the red doors to Li-Po, you just know something magical is about to happen.

Li-Po Cocktail Lounge
916 Grant Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94108

Bow Bow Cocktail Lounge

Bow Bow has been on Grant Street since the late 1960’s. It was originally named the “Ting -A-Ling Cocktail Lounge”. This quirky little bar became a favorite haunt of locals after “Mama Candy” bought the bar in 1986. Mama Candy is the nickname of Taiwanese immigrant and entrepreneur, Hsiu Mei Wong. Sadly, following covid shut downs, 71 year old Mama Candy decided to throw in the towel and retire. She turned the reigns over to long time bar tender, for over 20 years, Jenny Han. Han has been keeping the legendary bar’s legacy alive ever since. Now you are likely to bump into Mama Candy on the other side of the bar.

Over the years, Bow Bow became known as the spot for cheap beer, Chinese Whiskey and karaoke. The combination of these three things is the recipe for an epic night out. Bow Bow is always packed. The place has very friendly service and a great vibe. You will find people of all ages in the bar. It is particularly popular with the Gen Z crowd, who loves to end the night there after bar hopping in nearby North Beach.

Bow Bow has that perfect dive bar ambiance. It is dark inside with Christmas lights strung through the place year round. It has some decor reminding you that you are in Chinatown, such as the Chinese Oil Painting and a Lucky Cat behind the bar. There are little Tchotchkes around, reminding you that it is a San Francisco bar, such as a Matt Duffy Giants Bobblehead from 2012. They take care of you there. First they serve you Chinese Whiskey then they give you some peanuts to soak up the booze. The staff there is genuinely nice to people, goes out of the way for regulars and it is a big part of why locals flock to the place on the regular. When in Chinatown, you cannot pass up this quirky karaoke lounge.

Bow Bow Cocktail Lounge
1155 Grant Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94133

Red’s Place

During late January and early February, I get at least one big scare that rivals the days of the infamous San Francisco Bushman. The Bushman, a well known joker, who would hide himself in branches and leaves, was known to dwell in tourist areas, waiting to pounce on unsuspecting tourists and scare their pants off for a good laugh. He only got me once. The fireworks in Chinatown have gotten me over a dozen times over the years. Fireworks make me think of Red’s Place, an often overlooked dive bar that once was located on the main route of the Chinese New Year Parade and had an annual firework tradition, in the street out front. If you look the joint up on you tube, you will discover many videos of fireworks being fired off in front of Red’s Pace, with the ground so heavily coated in firework debris, it looks like snow.

Red’s Place is not as eye catching as Li-Po with it’s famous neon sign, or Bow Bow with the sounds of karaoke trailing into the street, cutting through the quiet of Grant Street at night. It is, however, the penultimate dive bar in the area. The drinks are simple, stiff and cheap. The barkeep is friendly. The clientele is local and not just local to San Francisco. If Billy Joel were a Piano Man at Red’s he would sing about an old Mandarin speaking Chinese man sitting next to him, making love to his cognac and Tsingtao. The place is family owned. It has changed hands over the years. The bar is said to be the oldest in Chinatown. It is nicknamed the “Cheers” of Chinatown.

The building is even older than the bar, which opened in the early 30’s. There are photographs of the place as a cigar shop from 1927. It is said it was a barber shop prior to that. Being that it is so old, and located in the heart of the seedy Barbary Coast, the place has history. Illegal Gambling saloons were scattered throughout the areas we know as North Beach, The Financial District, Union Square and Chinatown today, back in the late 19th Century through the early half of the 20th Century. There are many tales of underground gambling in Chinatown in particular. In the basement at Red’s Place, there are still items, untouched from the illegal gambling den that once thrived there. The basement is not open to patrons, so I have to take the word of the journalists who published this information. I am planning to reach out to a tour guide who is rumored to take locals to certain places off the beaten path of her weekend tours to visitors. Perhaps CrawlSF will be able to make an instagram post of these off slices of history soon.

Being that San Francisco is a town lousy with ghost stories, it only makes sense that Red’s Place is said to be haunted. On one of those paranormal, ghost hunter web pages, I read that the place has dozens of spirits. Some have reported seeing these spirits sitting at the bar waiting for a drink. Apparently spirits tend to linger where there are objects from the time they were living. The basement is said to produce strange sounds of yelling, fighting, throwing of chairs and tables, you know, the sounds of angry gamblers. I have never encountered any of the ghosts of San Francisco, not even at Red’s Place. The stories are still a lot of fun to hear.

Red’s does not offer entertainment or live music but they do have a juke box. They are not a spot with an elaborate cocktail menu or a famous drink. Cognacs, like Hennessy and Remi Martin are the most frequently ordered drink, as well as beer. The beer list includes some decent local offerings, such as 21st Amendment beers , as well as Chinese Lagers, such as Tsingtao. The regulars are friendly there and may have some great suggestions on things to do in Chinatown and good places for Dim Sum or Peking Duck.

If you are in the market for a stiff drink, a conversation with locals or a spot to catch a game, Red’s Place will not disappoint.

Red’s Place
672 Jackson Street
San Francisco, CA 94133

Lion’s Den

In 1949, Herb Caen coined the term, “Baghdad by the Bay”, referring to San Francisco. Caen was referencing certain similarities between the two cities at the time, such as both being port cities where you could get products from all over the globe, the diversity of the people, the vibrant nightlife and the bustling economy. Had Caen been a few years older, or had he arrived in San Francisco sooner, perhaps he would have coined the term “Shanghai by the Bay” instead. The 30’s and the 40’s were the height of the jazz age. Both San Francisco and Shanghai were among the great jazz cities at the time. Shanghai was a place that celebrities flocked to, from all over the globe at the time. It was a popular haunt of Josephine Baker, Louis Armstrong, Marlene Dietrich, and Charlie Chaplin, among others. While there, they enjoyed the finest booze, the most modern luxury cuisine and listened to the world’s greatest jazz. Shanghai, Havana, New York, Chicago, New Orleans and San Francisco were all destinations for the best music of the era.

Being that San Francisco had the biggest Chinatown, outside of Asia, with the most dense asian population outside of Asia, the Shanghai Style entertainment has significant influence on the type of nightclubs popular in the era. Americans, particularly GI’s were very intrigued by Asian Culture at the time. This made San Francisco’s Chinatown a particularly popular place to enjoy the nightlife in the 1940’s war era. Clubs with Chinese Cuisine, exotic cocktails, asian dancers and entertainers and live jazz were popping up all over and were the hottest night life destinations. Unfortunately this form of nightlife entertainment eventually started to disappear from the city, with the rise of the 1960’s disco’s and the era of topless and bottomless entertainment on Broadway.

In recent years, there has been a revival of some old businesses from the 1930’s and 40’s Jazz Era. Future Bars recently revitalized an old jazz club downtown called the Dawn Club. In 2021, an old Chinatown nightclub, “The Lion’s Den” was brought back to life. It had originally opened in the 1940’s, inspired by the nightlife of Shanghai, with a Chinese menu and Jazz Performances by some of the eras greatest musicians. Today the spot is less of a restaurant and more of a bar and nightclub that mixes history with the modern era, in the best way. Down one of Chinatowns alleys, you will come across an intriguing building, with an exterior that has red asian latticework. A sign that says “Lion’s Den” hangs above the entrance. The interior design reminds you that you are in chinatown. There are two bars. The upstairs bar is smaller, with historic photograph on the walls. This is a place to sit and talk and imbibe. Downstairs is a second larger bar, a dance floor and a stage. There is always live music. Some nights the Lion’s Den features Jazz Musicians, giving a tip of the cap to its past. Some nights there is a DJ, spinning modern dance music. Some nights they host karaoke. The place is always packed. In true Chinatown fashion, it has an eclectic mix of old and young, locals and tourists and a mix of ethnicities. That is the magic of the nightlife in Chinatown. There really is not a specific “crowd”. The bars there are so intriguing that they attract an eclectic mix of people from all over.

If you are in the market for great musical entertainment, look no further than the Lion’s Den.

Lion’s Den
57 Wentworth Pl.
San Francisco, CA 94108