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Sat / Feb 27
Party Earth Review Quiz nights, DJs, and lots of fish and chips are on the plate at Edinburgh Castle Pub, a longstanding SF institution that’s a palace of unpretentious fun. An understated façade makes it easy to mistake this place for... ... read full review
950 Geary Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
BART: Powell; MUNI F Line: Market Street & 5th Street
415-885-4074
Daily 5pm–2am
Civic Center / Tenderloin, San Francisco –
Quiz nights, DJs, and lots of fish and chips are on the plate at Edinburgh Castle Pub, a longstanding SF institution that’s a palace of unpretentious fun.
An understated façade makes it easy to mistake this place for just another cramped dive. But once inside, visitors discover a high-ceilinged room replete with Scottish paraphernalia and almost as many dark wood furnishings as there are doe-eyed college kids and grizzled barflies.
An indoor smoking patio near the front is typically occupied by students and stoners discussing the latest meaning of life, and also features a dilapidated piano that patrons regularly plunk on after their third or fourth round of British ale.
The long bar accommodates a vast range of beer lovers looking for budget-friendly Boddingtons and Belhaven or perusing the significant selection of single-malts, while the comfy booths overflow with the university crowd partaking in beer and banter.
Those in the mood for pool or darts can head up to the mezzanine, though there may be a wait on Friday and Saturday nights when the biggest crowds show up for DJs who often spin everything from dance classics to Motown.
The Tuesday trivia night is also a big draw, rounding out the array of reasons such a crazy quilt of patrons ends up at Edinburgh Castle…and probably a few crazy kilted patrons, too.
First daters, packs of rowdy college kids, skinny-jeaned hepcats, trivia fanatics, dance fiends, UK expats, blue-collar old farts, 20s to 40s+.
DJ nights include Club 1964 for 60s dance music on second and fourth Wednesdays, regular dance classics on Fridays with rotating DJs, old-school hip-hop on first Saturdays, and Nightbeat Motown on fourth Saturdays. All events start at around 9pm.
Jukebox stocked with an eclectic mix of indie, folk, and 80s hits. Free-to-use piano in the smoking room.
Pool table and dartboards.
Quiz night on Tuesdays.
Fish and chips served daily 5–11pm. Designated indoor smoking area. Happy Hour daily 5–8pm.
Cover charge $2 for Club 1964 and Nightbeat, otherwise no cover charge apart from infrequent special events. Fish and chips $5–$10. Beer $3.50–$6, wine $5.50, cocktails $5–$8.
Anything goes: button-downs, sneakers, t-shirts, skinny jeans, blazers, shorts, boots, granny jumpers, summer dresses.
Club 1964, held on second and fourth Wednesdays, is a must for anyone looking to break out their dancing shoes and join boozed up merrymakers for a night on the tiles, while regular Friday and Saturday nights are pumping, with a DJ spinning from 9pm and the dance floor heating up around 11pm. Trivia nights on Tuesdays also promise a big crowd.
Ha-Ra Club (875 Geary Street) is a nearby dive that touts a jukebox heavy on Waylon Jennings and the Kinks, walls awash in vintage boxing photos, and an ornery owner known for booting preppy patrons in favor of cantankerous old locals and clans of cool creative types.
Edinburgh Castle Pub User Reviews