The  Cafe
2367  Market  Steet  (upstairs,  cross  street  is  Castro)
San  Francisco
415/861-3846

This is the former Cafe San Marcos,  and in those days it was mostly a women's bar,  but over the years it's gotten more men...  go early if you want a lot of women,  there are more men as it gets later...  but go,  this is the best bar for people watching,  at least before it becomes very crowded,  I've seen this place with a line of people going out to the sidewalk,  waiting to get in.

There are other bars in the Castro that have some women,  and at one time this was a good place for women's bars,  but times have changed.

Between the Castro and the Mission districts, in the Valencia Street area, this is the one place you can truly call a women's bar in San Francisco, there used to be a pool table but it was gone the last time I was here... there are seldom men here, and those that do come seem to be friends of some of the patrons, or they are known well by the staff... but many times there are only women... Melissa Ferrick sometimes comes here.

This is not a bar, it's a Café...  I mention it because (1) it's very close to Lexington Club,  (2) it's patrons are mostly women,  and (3) it has some great music (mostly women musicians) every Friday.

This is an unusual place... first of all, this is a neighborhood Latino bar, often with a sports program on the TV, sometimes in Spanish, and the bartender speaks fluent Spanish, this is usually in the front of the bar...  but this is  also  a popular  women's bar,  usually the women are towards the back...  there are also a few cool men, and often music, always local bands...  Melissa Ferrick has been here...  I like this place a lot!

Many women moved further south of the El Rio,  in the Bernal Heights district,  a small cozy friendly bar that has a long history as a women's hangout,  yet attracts a wide mixture of people...  it has a pool table and a fireplace for chilly winter evenings,  a patio with a garden,  and a backyard space that rambles on longer than you'd expect,  with lots of secluded nooks decorated with oddball sculptures and adornments.

The former CW Saloon (that also atracted some women) this is a cool club that has mostly women but always some men, and a mixture of DJ's and live music, usually the more hardcore music groups.

• Club  Q
  177  Townsend  St    @ 3rd St
  415/647-8258

  The first Friday of every month at Club Townsend,  mixtress Page Hodel spins her charm at this girls club and the Club Q dance troupe struts their stuff...  this packs in the largest women's dance crowd in San Francisco,  and women from miles around trek to "Q".




• The  EndUp
  601  6th  St    @ Harrison
  415/337-4962

  Every week the  EndUp  used to have  Kandy Bar  for women who like a regular Saturday scene playing house and hip-hop,  I don't know their current schedule.




• The  Stud
  399  9th  St    @ Harrison
  415/252-STUD

  The bar used to have a women's night once-a-week,  I don't know their current schedule.




• There are probably several other bars that hold women's events on certain nights,  these have changed a lot since I was going out to the clubs,  best bet may be to ask the folks at the  Lexington Club,  they should know the latest scene.

Club  Savoy
3546  Flora  Vista  Ave
    (near  Lawrence  Expy  and  El  Camino  Real)
Santa  Clara
408/244-6909

This is truly a women's bar,  I rarely see men here but they're welcome if they behave,  they always seem to come with some women friends,  there is live music sometimes (always women),  otherwise DJ's...  I live near this place so I've been here often,  I was once an "extra" in a gay film done here...  the address can surprise you because this is on a town's border,  adresses sometimes start over when the town changes.

BTW, the film is called  Intentions  by Luane Beck,  principal actors are Deidre Kotch and Katherine Lee,  I think the film premiered in 2003 and has been sold out in several gay film festivals around the world... the film is finally available on DVD from  Wolf Video  and some other sources.

Check Sisterspirit Bookstore in the Billy DeFrank Center and ask them if they know other women's bars.

I do not personally know of any woman's bars in the East Bay (Oakland, Berkeley, etc), but there is a large community of women living in Oakland and Berkeley... there used to be a bookstore called Mama Bear's that also had music, and they were a great resource for LGBT things in the East Bay, but it's gone...

There is the Montclair Women's Cultural Arts Club in Oakland, but it's a music venue, not a bar.

The best resource for all things LGBT in the East Bay is http://www.eastbayvoice.org/

Velvet    (A Bar For Women In Oakland 7 Days A Week)
3411  MacArthur Blvd  @ 35th Ave
Oakland
510/531-3321
Website:  http://www.velvetoakland.com/    (under construction,  23 Aug 2007) Email:  VelvetOakland@gmail.com

The only East Bay bar for women I know about is in Oakland, this bar opens every day at 6pm.

Famous source of vibrators and other sexual supplies.

Hot tub and sauna refuge for women.

The Women's Building is the only place in San Francisco that offers both the physical and emotional space for women, regardless of age, sexuality, race, or class, to build their own community.