San Francisco BYOB Hot Spots

Did you know that there are a lot of spots in San Francisco where you can bring your own beer or wine? Why would you want to bother going out if you’ve got to BYOB anyway? Um, because like the rest of us living in one of the most expensive cities in the country, you like to hit up the hot spots but you can’t afford to do all of your drinking at SF prices even with all of the great happy hour specials that are available. Luckily, there are lots of city kids in the same boat and San Francisco has the spots where BYOB can actually be the best way to drink. From comedy clubs and art galleries to spots with good eats, you can bring your own and drink at a super low cost.

1. San Francisco Comedy College & Clubhouse, 414 Mason St, #705 (@ Geary St.), Union Square 415.921.2051

One of the things that most broke city kids don’t get to do here is go to the comedy clubs. Sure, there are lots of them and some even have low cover prices but they’ve all got those pesky two-drink minimums that put your tab over what you can afford for a night out. Not this spot. They’ve got cheap comedy and it’s BYOB so you can drink yourself silly.

2. Shooting Gallery, 839 Larkin St. (@ Geary St.), Civic Center 415.931.8035

This is an avante garde art gallery where you can go to show off your low brow taste for gritty creativity or to rub shoulders with the down ‘n dirty artists of this city. Opening receptions are always happening and they’re always BYOB. Even better than free because the openings usually also have some sort of cheap complimentary wine that you can indulge in too.

3. Zazie, 941 Cole St. (@ Parnassus), Cole Valley 415.564.5332

Okay, so the truth is that almost every French restaurant in San Francisco has a BYOB policy for people who want to bring their own wine to dinner. So why go with Zazie? The food is great, but that’s also true pretty much everywhere in SF. It’s their outdoor patio seating that really makes this place exclusive. And it’s also one of the cheapest BYOB French spots, at least on Tuesdays, when there’s no corkage fee. Plus, if you run out of your own, they’ve got a low-price CheapSkate Cabernet Franc to hold you over.

4. Madrone Lounge, 500 Divisadero St. (@ Fell St.), Western Addition 415.241.0202

Speaking of eats, it’s not just BYOB in this city. There are spots where you can go to be hip and be so cheap that you bring your own food and games too. Specifically, Mondays at Madrone Lounge when 94117 night makes this art space / bar a home-away-from-home. There are crazy cheap drinks if you run out of your own stuff.

5. Sushi Rock, 1608 Polk St. (@ Clay St.), Nob Hill 415.345-1690

Okay, but maybe you want to BYOB because you’re a wine snob, not because you’re just broke like everyone else. That’s understandable. This is an area where you can easily be in-the-know about your wine and where we all like what we like when we like it. There’s a $10 corkage fee at this spot but you can bring the bottle that you think will go best with your sushi.