Red's Place

Chinatown, San Francisco –

A bare-bones dive in the heart of Chinatown, Red’s Place is perpetually brimming with intrepid tourists and loquacious locals – some toothless ‘n’ smoking, some dapper ‘n’ swilling – who sway to the beats from a surprisingly shiny new jukebox atop squeaking vinyl stools.

As regulars lock in for another round of Liar’s Dice, first-timers pick from the roughly three dozen brews on hand, or get more adventurous with some mind-scorching shots of Maotai, a 106-proof Chinese liquor that’d peel the paint off an engine block.

A couple of waiting room chairs, Tsing Tao mirrors, a broken payphone, and a lone poster of a sexy goth Asian gal account for most of the ramshackle décor, while a single gaming console beckons to players with Lady Luck on their side.

Midweek finds an older crowd of Happy Hour seekers hanging out at the tiny bar or selecting tracks from the eclectic jukebox. Though the music’s never pounding, a steady beat of classic rock and Asian anthems sets the tone for the scene, punctuated by a dependable din of back-slapping, guffaws, and the wet thud of bottles hitting the bar.

Fridays bring a flood of shoulder-to-shoulder barhoppers as grungy hipsters and wide-eyed suburbanites alike join the fray.

The oldest bar in Chinatown, Red’s Place has an impressive history of more than sixty years in the beer-slinging business, and offers an authentic slice of SF life without coat checks, coasters, or cheap tricks.