From Folsom to ferry building, the SoMa gayborhood is a San Francisco treat
RIDE ALONG | This trolley, which runs along Market Street, is more popular with tourists than locals, but that’s what a vacation is for, as is a visit to the ferry building, opposite. (Arnold Wayne Jones/Dallas Voice)
Encompassing a vast, architecturally and demographically diverse tract of central San Francisco that extends from the Mission District to the bay, SoMa — defined as the area south of Market Street — is an urban swath containing everything from shiny new loft condos to vintage refurbished warehouses, you’ll find a vibrant stretch of waterfront on the bay, the culturally dynamic Yerba Buena Gardens complex, stylish hotels, the heart of the city’s leather-and-Levi’s queer scene, established gay dance clubs in the country, and trendy eateries.
Day or night, there’s plenty to see and do in SoMa. Although LGBT tourists often look to the Castro as San Francisco’s must-see gayborhood, SoMa’s gay scene — concentrated around Folsom and Harrison streets near the confluence of the 101 and I-80 — has been humming along for even longer, and it offers an impressively eclectic, creative and edgy vibe that appeals to everyone from queer artists to sophisticated foodies to leather-and-fetish aficionados.
At the upper (northeastern) end of SoMa, closer to the Financial District and waterfront, the neighborhood is more touristy and traditional. It’s anchored by the mammoth Moscone Convention Center, named for former mayor George Moscone who was assassinated in 1978, alongside gay rights activist Harvey Milk. Travelers are drawn to the several museums, upscale shopping malls, and luxury hotels in this area.
It’s about a 2.5-mile walk (allow 45 minutes to an hour) to get from the bay to southwestern SoMa’s border with the Mission District, and the section in the middle (from about 4th to 8th streets) can be a less interesting (though still safe). At night, consider cabbing it to the gay-bar and hip dining district.
SoMa sightseeing
Right where Market Street ends on the bay, at Embarcadero, you’ll find San Francisco’s Ferry Terminal Building, which contains a slew of great restaurants and food shops. The gorgeously restored 1898 building overlooks San Francisco Bay — ferry boats to Oakland, Sausalito, Tiburon and elsewhere still leave from the piers behind the building. Inside, you’ll find merchants and restaurants proffering a dizzying variety of mouthwatering morsels, including wines, olive oils, sausages, cheeses, coffee and tea, sweets — you name it. There’s also a terrific farmers market early on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Across street, stop inside the small but very interesting San Francisco Railway Museum, which contains exhibits on the city’s famed cable cars and F-line streetcars.
Yerba Buena Gardens comprises terraced gardens and waterfalls, sculptures, an arts center with performance halls and art galleries, cafes and an ice-skating rink/bowling center. Taking up two large city blocks, this complex also contains the huge and modern Metreon shopping mall and movie plex, and several intriguing museums: the Museum of the African Diaspora, the Cartoon Art Museum, the Contemporary Jewish Museum and the California Historical Society.
SoMa drinking and dining
SoMa’s upper reaches abound with noteworthy restaurants, many located in the upscale hotels mentioned below. In the Ferry Terminal Building, don’t miss Gott’s Roadside for delicious burgers, seafood, and garlic fries; and the Slanted Door for upscale Vietnamese cuisine.
Many of the top tables in SoMa are down in the lower end, however, amid the neighborhood’s gay bars. A culinary high point is Radius San Francisco, a stylish high-ceilinged storefront space specializing in gorgeously plated, locally sourced California cuisine and fine regional wines — on warmer days, dine on the patio. With vintage photos and framed Life Magazine covers on the wall, old-school Rocco’s is a lively, gay-popular spot for well-prepared classic red-sauce Italian fare, from linguine with sautéed calamari to chicken marsala. Along buzzy 11th Street, check out Bergerac, a glamorous space with craft cocktails and creative small-plates snacks (Asian duck tacos, shrimp fritters) — and Bar Agricole, known for stellar mod-American cooking.
A fun place to dine out with friends, Fondue Cowboy offers a novel take on the old-school dining classic. These aren’t your typical fondues — try the Quick Draw (Manchego cheese, white wine, roasted red pepper, roasted garlic) or High Noon (white chocolate with balsamic-strawberry puree). Fans of Asian cuisine should check out Basil Canteen, serving contemporary Thai food (grilled coconut-marinated pork skewers and stir-fried skirt steak with a chili-brandy sauce) in a handsome warehouse space with exposed-brick walls. Also notable is Izakaya House, a convivial late-night option for first-rate sushi and Japanese fare.
SoMa’s lower section is home to some historic gay bars, including the End Up, which has been going strong since 1973 — it was famously featured in Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City series. The crowd these days is a catch-all: queer and straight clubbers of all ages, from college aged to those who may well have been here on opening night. Also legendary is The Stud, nearing its 50th birthday and justly famous for its Meow Mix gender-bender Tuesday variety shows and fun for dancing on weekends.
The neighborhood has long been one of the world’s leading hubs of gay leather culture — it plays host to the infamous Folsom Street Fair each September as well as the Up Your Alley fetish fair in late July. The San Francisco Eagle, which shuttered for a time and was nearly redeveloped as an upscale restaurant (causing a huge community kerfuffle), reopened early in 2013 and is as dark and saucy as ever, if less strictly leather-oriented than it used to be. These days you’ll find a diverse crowd, including otters and bears, hipsters, leather daddies … and even some twinks! Other good bets along Folsom include the ultra-cruise-y Powerhouse, with such creative theme nights at Nipple Play and Kink Salon, and the venerable Hole in the Wall Saloon, which has long billed itself “a nice little queer bar for filthy bikers and loudmouth punks.” Nearby, the Lone Star Saloon is a beloved neighborhood bar with a good-size patio, great happy hour drink specials and a furry all-ages crowd.
11th Street between Folsom and Harrison has gradually become SoMa’s hippest bar-hopping block, with a slew of cafes, lounges and clubs, including the gay nightspot BeatBox, an eclectic space for dancing from country music on Tuesdays to Tea-Rex T-dances on Sundays; and DNA Lounge, a huge dance and live-music clubs with a mixed crowd and adjacent 24/7 pizza joint.
Nearby, the massive 1015 Folsom nightclub has some highly popular circuit-style parties and raves — check the calendar for details. Cat Club is another cool dance space with different theme nights, many with a strong queer following — Throwback Thursdays and Wednesday’s Bondage-a-go-go are two of the city’s better midweek clubbing adventures.
SoMa accommodations
Across from the Ferry Terminal Building, the sleek Hotel Vitale is part of the stylish Joie de Vivre chain; many of its airy rooms overlook the bay, and there’s a great little urban spa on-site. Just a block away, occupying part of a historic YMCA building, is Harbor Court, one of two SoMa hotels in the gay-popular, San Francisco-based Kimpton brand. This 131-room property has a large ground-floor “living room” off the lobby with a fireplace and comfy armchairs — it’s a lovely spot to spend an afternoon. The design-driven W Hotel rises 31 stories above Yerba Buena Gardens, its rooms chockfull of cushy amenities, and its TRACE restaurants drawing a see-and-be-seen crowd for drinks and dining.
One of the better deals in the neighborhood, the gay-popular Mosser Victorian is a smartly renovated redbrick beauty right in the heart of the neighborhood. Next door is Kimpton’s dapper Palomar San Francisco, which has a decidedly plush and modern vibe, its rooms outfitted with gourmet minibars and iPod docks.
Closer to gay nightlife are several mid-range chains, the best being the Holiday Inn Civic Center and the retro-decorated Best Western Plus Americania. Next to the latter, the arty, eco-conscious Good Hotel is, indeed, a good place to lay your head for the night. And you can’t beat the location for SoMa nightlife.
— Andrew Collins
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition March 14, 2014.
