The Riptide is the see-and-be-seen Outer Sunset/Parkside dive bar, and it’s fostered a deep community among locals — so much so that when it burned down some years ago, the whole neighborhood was distraught. Fortunately, it’s back and better than ever, with a killer bingo night, competitively priced drinks, and a “locals-only, but maybe you, too” attitude.

Inside this Richmond watering hole is a tropical oasis, from the drinks to the worn rattan furniture. Knowing bartenders will provide seafarers with drinks like scorpion bowls, sugary mai tais, and Miller Lites, while old dudes at the bar scream at the Giants game. It's dark, it's divey, and it's perfect for any occasion.

This Western-ish bar couldn’t be more oddly placed in a neighborhood dominated by Asian markets and boba tea spots. It’s still managed to assemble a cast of regulars in the decades since it opened.

Weirdly carpeted and dimly lit, the Page is the neighborhood curmudgeon who's invited you over for a Miller High Life. It has a great jukebox, foosball, torn up leather stools, and the ghosts of many beers past, kind of like a basement rec room from the late ‘70s. In other words, it's a national treasure.

It’s really the only bar for the Glen Park neighborhood, but when you have Glen Park Station, you don’t need anywhere else. There’s a fireplace, few lights to speak of, cheap beer, and a general musk that’s somehow pleasant.

This dive bar with good beers and a punk-leaning juke box is one of the good ones. And though there's a cat on the sign, pups often hang out while their owners slug PBR and craft brews. When the weather’s nice, enjoy those well drinks on the side patio. Get in there before its gone.

The 500 Club’s neon sign — with flickering lights glittering like bubbles in a glass — gives patrons a warm, fuzzy feeling. So do the drinks. The company, though not necessarily warm or fuzzy, is great, too: The bar has been a longtime favorite of bike messengers and longtime Missionites, and it still gathers to it a great collection of locals.

Drink beer, play darts and Pac Man, and generally luxuriate in Kilowatt's low-key surroundings. It's not romantic, and it's ready for your cold, black heart to listen to metal all night long. Decent beers on tap and a full bar don't hurt.

Still here, still queer, the Cinch is a relic of the Polk corridor’s long career as a gay nightlife neighborhood in the years before the community coalesced in the Castro. Day in and day out, the Cinch continues to draw a smattering of hard-drinkers, and its gallery of gay-themed art — including a notable depiction of a lion and a man in some sort of romantic position — is worth a visit alone.

Clooney’s opens, frighteningly, at 6 a.m., the earliest it can in accordance with local liquor law. That’s theoretically to serve folks getting off their night shift, and it’s also, in practice, to serve those whose main vocation is drinking at Clooney’s. There is no nobler calling.

Though the San Francisco institution has moved to a new location blocks from its original spot, it maintains all its divey charm. Wander to the end of the narrow bar and back again in search of love, or just grab a seat at the bar and order bourbon on the rocks. Either way, Doc's has the medicine you need.

A true neighborhood saloon, Shotwell's has a residential feel in the middle of the Mission. Inside you'll find a pool table, tables, TVs, a full bar, and lots of locals: All the makings of a true neighborhood dive.

A beautifully bedraggled, dive-y drag bar in the Tenderloin where experienced, mostly queer drinkers gather for the kind of drag shows that repel bachelorette parties. Aunt Charlies, est. 1987, is a downright institution, and one of San Francisco’s few LGBT joints outside of the Castro. Celebrate it in all its gritty glory.

Though Li Po rocketed to fame when the late Anthony Bourdain deigned to grace it with his presence, it's always been a shabby, boozy establishment worthy of a special trip to Chinatown. Make sure you get one of its famous Chinese mai tais.

A dive bar with a great covered patio, food, and metal bands on rotation. Hang in the back for a more "au natural" dive experience, or sidle up to the shadowy inside bar for a pint and a shot. Dogs are welcome here. There's also a cute little coffee window facing the street, providing the uppers to the bar's downers.