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Whitechapel
Patricia Chang

11 Places to Hide From Sporting Events

There are no TVs at these pleasant drinking places

by Eloise Porter Updated
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Whitechapel
| Patricia Chang
by Eloise Porter Updated
2 comments / new

For some, professional sports seasons are the best times of the year. From opening day of the Giants to the Super Bowl, faithful fans are out at bars rooting on their teams almost every day. However, if you choose not to squeeze into a crowded sports bar to drink Miller Light, and fist bump with the bros, you can actually have your pick of some of the most popular bars in town without the crowds (or even TVs). Check out these 11 places around town that don't even have televisions on the premises.

If you change your mind, head over to this map of SF's Best Sports Bars for some guidance on where to drink buckets of beers with your buds.

Did we miss your favorite non-sports bar place? Let us know in the comments.

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The Interval at Long Now

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Get a side of education with your Gimlet at The Interval, a bar, cafe, museum, and cultural foundation all rolled into one. The drink list reads like a book, where each cocktail is broken down by style with a brief history lesson accompanying each. The space begs for conversation, with paintings, books, and various artifacts and prototypes for the Long Now Foundation. Escape the crowds in Fort Mason and find solace in The Interval’s cozy and provocative interior.

2 Marina Blvd, Fort Mason Building A, San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 561-6582
(415) 561-6582

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15 Romolo

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Hide away at this bar tucked into a North Beach alley, and avoid the crush. You’ll find some truly stellar sherry cocktails, plus a menu of elevated bar food. On the weekends, 15 Romolo hosts “Punch Drunk Brunch,” a boozy day-long celebration. This Super Bowl Sunday, come in and enjoy a cup of fresh, adults-only punch with comfort food brunch eats.

15 Romolo Pl, San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 398-1359
(415) 398-1359

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Top of the Mark

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Enjoy a leisurely Champagne Sunday Brunch free from football junkies at the Top of the Mark, where you can get away from it all high above the city (19 floors, to be exact). Sip on bottomless bubbles and enjoy an elaborate brunch buffet (for $89 per person) as you peer down on the chaos below. A live piano player will lull you into forgetting all about the maddening crowd.

1 Nob Hl, San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 616-6916
(415) 616-6916

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Whitechapel

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Skip the beer and soak up the gin this Super Bowl Sunday at Whitechapel, where you won’t find a TV in sight. This London-style, period pub mimics an expansive underground railway station in 19th century steampunk London and houses the largest selection of gin in North America. Dig into the seventeen-page cocktail menu and you’ll find yourself immersed happily inside this bar all day.

600 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 292-5800
(415) 292-5800
Patricia Chang

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Smuggler's Cove

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What better way to avoid the sports fans than to immerse yourself in tiki culture at Smuggler’s Cove? It's way easier to rid yourself of playoff-induced stress after a few of these deceptively strong cocktails.

650 Gough St, San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 869-1900
(415) 869-1900

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ANINA

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Hide from television pollution at this cozy Hayes Valley bar, where drinks veer light and refreshing, and punch bowls can be found. No TVs, no problem.

482 Hayes St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Anina Anthony Healy-London

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Nopa

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One of the hottest restaurants in town, this bar (and the dining room) gets packed seven days a week. If the game is on, you might luck out: Pop in and grab a seat at the bar for a morning beverage or sit down to a decadent brunch with killer French toast and one of the city’s best burgers.

560 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 864-8643
(415) 864-8643
Bill Addison

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Blackbird Bar

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This neighborhood watering hole is the perfect place to sit back with a themed cocktail (currently hip hop-inspired “B-Sides”), peruse art from local artists, and shoot a game or two of pool. Hidden off the corner of the Castro and Duboce Triangle, you’ll likely avoid the crowds if you duck into this dark, unassuming bar. Bar Manager Matt Grippo shakes up a mean cocktail and you can hide out here all day from the frantic multitude.

2124 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94114
(415) 503-0630
(415) 503-0630

Also featured in:

Foreign Cinema

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You’ll usually encounter hours-long waits at this Mission brunch hotspot, but on big game days you can (probably) snag a table in no time. Order a Bloody Mary and sit back for a relaxing afternoon on their back patio. Soak up the sun and stay far away from the TVs as you feast on farm fresh brunch fare. (Their super cool movie projector doesn't count.)

2534 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 648-7600
(415) 648-7600

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Lone Palm

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Lone Palm deserves more hype than it gets — this off-the-beaten-path Mission dive boasts elegant white tablecloths, a killer dirty martini, and a crowd that isn’t your normal scene. You’ll feel like you stepped back in time to the 50s, before the sports TV took over our lives.

3394 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 648-0109
(415) 648-0109
Lone Palm/Facebook

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The Royal Cuckoo

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Dark lighting, kitschy decor, and killer cocktails make this a perfect bar to lay low. Thumb through the massive collection of vintage records that’ll distract you from the sports fanatics parading outside.

3202 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 550-8607
(415) 550-8607
Royal Cuckoo

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The Interval at Long Now

2 Marina Blvd, Fort Mason Building A, San Francisco, CA 94123

Get a side of education with your Gimlet at The Interval, a bar, cafe, museum, and cultural foundation all rolled into one. The drink list reads like a book, where each cocktail is broken down by style with a brief history lesson accompanying each. The space begs for conversation, with paintings, books, and various artifacts and prototypes for the Long Now Foundation. Escape the crowds in Fort Mason and find solace in The Interval’s cozy and provocative interior.

2 Marina Blvd, Fort Mason Building A, San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 561-6582
(415) 561-6582

15 Romolo

15 Romolo Pl, San Francisco, CA 94133

Hide away at this bar tucked into a North Beach alley, and avoid the crush. You’ll find some truly stellar sherry cocktails, plus a menu of elevated bar food. On the weekends, 15 Romolo hosts “Punch Drunk Brunch,” a boozy day-long celebration. This Super Bowl Sunday, come in and enjoy a cup of fresh, adults-only punch with comfort food brunch eats.

15 Romolo Pl, San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 398-1359
(415) 398-1359

Top of the Mark

1 Nob Hl, San Francisco, CA 94108

Enjoy a leisurely Champagne Sunday Brunch free from football junkies at the Top of the Mark, where you can get away from it all high above the city (19 floors, to be exact). Sip on bottomless bubbles and enjoy an elaborate brunch buffet (for $89 per person) as you peer down on the chaos below. A live piano player will lull you into forgetting all about the maddening crowd.

1 Nob Hl, San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 616-6916
(415) 616-6916

Whitechapel

600 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Skip the beer and soak up the gin this Super Bowl Sunday at Whitechapel, where you won’t find a TV in sight. This London-style, period pub mimics an expansive underground railway station in 19th century steampunk London and houses the largest selection of gin in North America. Dig into the seventeen-page cocktail menu and you’ll find yourself immersed happily inside this bar all day.

600 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 292-5800
(415) 292-5800
Patricia Chang

Smuggler's Cove

650 Gough St, San Francisco, CA 94102

What better way to avoid the sports fans than to immerse yourself in tiki culture at Smuggler’s Cove? It's way easier to rid yourself of playoff-induced stress after a few of these deceptively strong cocktails.

650 Gough St, San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 869-1900
(415) 869-1900

ANINA

482 Hayes St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Hide from television pollution at this cozy Hayes Valley bar, where drinks veer light and refreshing, and punch bowls can be found. No TVs, no problem.

482 Hayes St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Anina Anthony Healy-London

Nopa

560 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117

One of the hottest restaurants in town, this bar (and the dining room) gets packed seven days a week. If the game is on, you might luck out: Pop in and grab a seat at the bar for a morning beverage or sit down to a decadent brunch with killer French toast and one of the city’s best burgers.

560 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 864-8643
(415) 864-8643
Bill Addison

Blackbird Bar

2124 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94114

This neighborhood watering hole is the perfect place to sit back with a themed cocktail (currently hip hop-inspired “B-Sides”), peruse art from local artists, and shoot a game or two of pool. Hidden off the corner of the Castro and Duboce Triangle, you’ll likely avoid the crowds if you duck into this dark, unassuming bar. Bar Manager Matt Grippo shakes up a mean cocktail and you can hide out here all day from the frantic multitude.

2124 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94114
(415) 503-0630
(415) 503-0630

Foreign Cinema

2534 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110

You’ll usually encounter hours-long waits at this Mission brunch hotspot, but on big game days you can (probably) snag a table in no time. Order a Bloody Mary and sit back for a relaxing afternoon on their back patio. Soak up the sun and stay far away from the TVs as you feast on farm fresh brunch fare. (Their super cool movie projector doesn't count.)

2534 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 648-7600
(415) 648-7600

Lone Palm

3394 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Lone Palm deserves more hype than it gets — this off-the-beaten-path Mission dive boasts elegant white tablecloths, a killer dirty martini, and a crowd that isn’t your normal scene. You’ll feel like you stepped back in time to the 50s, before the sports TV took over our lives.

3394 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 648-0109
(415) 648-0109
Lone Palm/Facebook

The Royal Cuckoo

3202 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Dark lighting, kitschy decor, and killer cocktails make this a perfect bar to lay low. Thumb through the massive collection of vintage records that’ll distract you from the sports fanatics parading outside.

3202 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 550-8607
(415) 550-8607
Royal Cuckoo

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