We recently asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about the best gay bar they've ever been to. Here are some of their faves.
1. Mad Myrna’s — Anchorage, Alaska
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The staff is welcoming and friendly, the drinks are tasty, and there’s loads of entertainment; from annual musical stage shows like Little Shop of Horrors and Rocky Horror to drag shows to karaoke nights.
2. The Chapel at The Abbey — Los Angeles, California
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If you visit West Hollywood, you absolutely have to go to The Chapel. It’s always super crowded, but it’s quite the experience.
3. Urban MO’s Bar & Grill — San Diego, California
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It's a cornerstone of our community. Every visit is like coming home.
4. Lone Star Saloon — San Francisco, California
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It's a bear bar that's super low-key and not pretentious. Both the staff and the clientele are nice AF. Such a change of pace from typical/mainstream gay bars that expect a certain body type.
5. Wang Chung's — Honolulu, Hawai'i
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Quite possibly the best gay karaoke bar on the planet. The food is great, the bartenders are amazing, and it's impossible for me to go there and not have a great time.
6. Roscoe's Tavern — Chicago, Illinois
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Roscoe's in Chicago is SO good!!
SOOOO FUN!!! Britney night is the best!
7. The Back Door — Bloomington, Indiana
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It's literally the back half of another bar; you get to it via an alley. I'm an ally of the LGBTQ community, and I have gone to The Back Door many times for drag shows. They are some of the best forms of entertainment I've ever seen. Everyone there is so supportive, and they work hard to showcase different artists and their various talents. It's an absolute fucking BLAST to visit!!
8. Café Lafitte in Exile — New Orleans, Louisiana
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I've stopped by many times to have a drink and relax when I'm in NOLA because of the awesome chill vibe. It's magical. Everyone is just so nice; it feels like a quirky neighborhood pub that just happens to be an ancient gay bar.
9. Jacques Cabaret — Boston, Massachusetts
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It has inexpensive but STRONG drinks, the best Friday night drag queen performances on the East Coast, and Kris Knievel as a consistently badass and sassy AF host.
10. Gigi's Cabaret — Detroit, Michigan
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Great bar upstairs with music and dancing, plus drag shows on Saturday nights. They also do a great toys fundraiser during the holidays.
11. Gay 90's — Minneapolis, Minnesota
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There’s like at least six different bars all within the same building, and each room is completely different! One room has a full stage, and there are drag shows every night. Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area.
12. The Omaha Mining Company — Omaha, Nebraska
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They have drag shows every weekend, and it’s just such an amazing place to go. The people are always friendly, and the drinks are always flowing. I love it there.
13. The Stonewall Inn — New York City, New York
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Look call me old fashioned but: Stonewall. I live in NYC and it's my go-to bar. It's broken up into two floors. The upper floor hosts events (drag shows, bingo nights, etc.), while the ground floor is the iconic bar. It's normally very low-key and relaxed — a good place to have a drink without the music drowning out your conversations. You can also see the sign saying "Raided Premise" right by the door. It's honestly THE stop on any LGBTQ+ pilgrimage.
14. YBR — Tulsa, Oklahoma
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It's a hole-in-the-wall lesbian bar (although it's open to all of the LGBTQ+ community) full of delightfully tacky Wizard of Oz decorations. The drinks are ridiculously cheap, and the clientele is amazing. It's off the beaten path, but it's my happy place. I moved away five years ago and always have to make a visit to YBR (short for Yellow Brick Road) when I'm in town. I miss it every day.
15. Crush — Portland, Oregon
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Crush is an amazing LGBTQ bar. It’s actually been voted best gay bar in Portland a few times. It’s just a fun bar with great events for everyone — especially their burlesque shows!
16. Blue Moon — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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They are always hosting events throughout the week, such as open stage nights, drag shows, and karaoke! Every time I'm there I feel like I'm part of a big family where everyone is just super gay. It helps that they also have incredible staff members who work hard to take care of all of their patrons. There's no better place to be!
17. The Dark Lady — Providence, Rhode Island
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The bar has a really inclusive, friendly atmosphere so you feel welcome right away. They host block parties all summer including a really incredible one for Providence Pride. Even though Rhode Island is the smallest state, their Pride celebration is ranked as one of the best in the country, and it’s in large part because of The Dark Lady!
—mjb7
18. Pony — Seattle, Washington
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It's a great little dark bar that has a huge outdoor patio with fire pits. When I was there they had go-go boys on the bar dancing away. Great entertainment, cool vibe, heavy pours. Met some awesome folks on my one visit in 2011, and we're still friends!
19. Trade — Washington, DC
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It welcomes AND represents all LGBTQ people, supports local drag artists and famous queens, and supports local LGBTQ groups with special events (like the live recording of the Two Beer Queers podcast)! I’ve never felt more comfortable and welcome, and I’ve made so many friends there. AND they have an inflatable shark named Sharka Khan.
20. Delta Beer Lab — Madison, Wisconsin
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They have one giant bathroom where all the stalls are gender neutral and painted the colors of the rainbow. Everything about the bar is inclusive. It’s pretty too! It looks like a fancy chemistry lab.
21. Mary's Poppin — Adelaide, Australia
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Mary's Poppin is the first gay bar I went to. And it's the best. As a rural girl I was astounded by seeing real-life drag queens, gay people holding hands, and unisex toilets. An amazing and welcoming place.
22. Halfway to Heaven — London, England
I have always adored Halfway to Heaven near Trafalgar Square. There's a chilled bar upstairs, but as you descend into the basement bar the place is always fucking riotous! Drag shows, cheesy pop tunes, Skittle bomb shots all round, and the loveliest people.
23. Trúnó — Reykjavik, Iceland
Trúnó Café and Bar is one of my favorites in the world!! Really!! Not only is the staff super friendly, their cocktails are delicious, their glitter coffee tastes fabulous, and you can snuggle up in a corner to read queer literature. Plus their hangover Sunday parties are legendary!
24. Club NYX — Amsterdam, Netherlands
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I celebrated New Year's Eve there last year and I loved every second of it. I have never felt so safe in a club as a woman; everyone was so nice. There were many drag queens and extravagant people who could just be themselves freely.
25. Kremlin — Belfast, Northern Ireland
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It's spacious, so I found that even when it was crowded there were places to hang out. People were friendly and would actually talk to me when I wasn't on the dance floor (and could actually hear). Plus the name comes from its Soviet theme, which is pretty interesting.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and clarity.
UPDATE
A bar with an anti-trans accusation has been removed from this list.
