225 Church Street
San Francisco, Califonia 94114
(415) 621-7058
PilsnerInn.com
Status: LGBT Bar
In Their Own Words: Since 1980, Pilsner Inn has been entertaining and quenching the thirsts of San Francisco’s gay (and straight!) community. Over the years we have maintained a deep commitment to many of our community’s sports teams, including softball, bowling, pool and many more. Voted Best Beer Selection in San Francisco several years by AOL/Citysearch, we proudly boast 30 draft beer selections served ice cold from a state of the art draft system! Our full bar selection offers our cocktail drinking patrons a vast choice of liquors from around the world. Enjoy your libations while cheering on a game inside on one of two widescreen televisions or simply relax outside on our peaceful garden patio. We look forward to seeing you soon!
History
Summary
| Name | Dates of Operation |
| The Pilsner Inn | 1980 – present |
Details
The Pilsner Inn opened as a gay bar in 1980 by Pat Conlon and two other owners, and has retained its name and gay bar status ever since, “outlast[ing] all its former local gay bar competitors: The Transfer (now Churchill), The Expansion Bar (now Blackbird Bar), Piano Zinc (now The Residence) and the Crows Nest (defunct bar within Church St. Station/Home Restaurant)” (Palmer, Dec. 4, 2013)
The bar is famous for its 30 draft beers on tap, for sponsoring numerous local LGBT sports teams, and for many years was arguably the closest thing the Castro had to a gay sports bar until Hi Tops opened. 7×7 Magazine described it as a gay bar unlike most gay bars, “a neighborhood bar whose neighborhood happens to be the Castro.” It boasts a smoking patio, pool table, dart board, and music from a juke box rather than a deejay.
In January of 2013, the Pilsner Inn responded to complaints about smoking in its outdoor patio by removing some of the patio’s overhead cover and moving the smoking section farther from the back door.
In April of 2013, Pilsner Inn bartender Steve Dalton was named Best Bartender by readers of the Bay Area Reporter. The Pilsner also won in four other categories: Best Bang for your Buck; Best Bar with a Patio; Best Neighborhood Bar; and Best Bar with a Pool Table.
The Pilsner closed briefly in late 2013 for renovations, reopening in early December with new beer taps and a new bar countertop made from resin-covered slabs of wood from a bowling alley lane.
Sources
Barmann, Jay, “First Look at Hi Tops, S.F.’s First Gay Sports Bar, Now Open in the Castro,” Grub Street SF, December 3, 2012.
“Best of the Gays: People/City Living,” Bay Area Reporter, April 4, 2013.
Flanagan, Michael, “Besties: Bars,” Bay Area Reporter, April 3, 2013.
Kilduff, Tom, “Gay tobacco opponents aim at secondhand smoke,” Bay Area Reporter, January 31, 2013.
McKenzie, Roy, “Pilsner Inn reopens with bowling alley bar,” The Castro Biscuit, December 12, 2013.
Palmer, Waiyde, “Pilsner Inn Remodeling – Reopening Date Pushed,” The Castro Biscuit, December 4, 2013.
Schuffman, Stuart, “The Weeknighter: The Pilsner Inn,” 7x7SF, September 12, 2012.
Location
225 Church Street, San Francisco
When was The Expansion a gay bar? I know it’s history pretty well and, as far as I know, it wasn’t a gay bar. Just for accuracies sake.
Hi Mark,
Yes, true, it wasn’t a gay bar when it was The Expansion. That’s why we say in the description of what is now Blackbird: “Though it [the Expansion] was not officially a gay bar, it did have a drag show towards the end called Addiction, organized by Artemis Chase.” I went to that drag show many times and have lots of photos from it. But yes, it was not a gay bar even then, and including The Expansion in the table that describes its iterations as a gay bar is confusing. The first true gay bar at that address was when it became The Metro in 2007. We’ll adjust the table.