List of LGBT bars

See also: List of lesbian bars

An LGBT bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) clientele. Bars and nightclubs have historically served as centers of gay culture due to their role as some of the few places people with same-sex orientations and gender-variant identities could openly socialize.

While many LGBT bars have historically catered specifically to men, lesbian bars cater exclusively or predominantly to lesbian women. Some bars of both types are now considered "queer" bars, welcoming LGBTQ+ people of all genders.

This is a list of notable LGBT bars worldwide. This is not a complete list.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.

Africa

Bar	City	Country	Year opened	Year closed	Notes

Asia

Bar	City	Country	Year opened	Year closed	Notes
Aiiro Cafe	Tokyo	Japan
Dragon Men	Tokyo	Japan
Sunee Plaza	Pattaya	Thailand	1996 (Crazy Pub)		Area known for LGBT nightlife, including more than 50 institutions [1] [2]

Australia

Bar	City	Country	Year opened	Year closed	Notes

Europe

Bar	City	Country	Year opened	Year closed	Notes
Admiral Duncan	London	England	c. 1832 (possibly earlier)		One of the oldest gay pubs in Soho [3] [4]
The Backstreet	London	England	1985	2022
The Black Cap	London	England	1751 (as Mother Black Cap)	2015	Known for drag cabaret [5] [6]
Café 't Mandje	Amsterdam	Netherlands	1927	1982	One of the first gay bars in the Netherlands. Closed in 1982 and reopened in 2007 [7]
			2007
The Coleherne	London	England	1866	2008	Known as a popular landmark leather bar during the 1970s and 1980s [8] [9]
Comptons of Soho	London	England	1986		Known as "The Grand Dame of Queer Street" [10]
Cruz 101	Manchester	England	1992		One of the most popular and longest-running gay clubs in Greater Manchester [11]
DTM	Helsinki	Finland	1992	2025	Formerly the largest gay club in Northern Europe [12]
The George	Dublin	Ireland	1985		One of Ireland's oldest and largest gay bars, and the most popular in Dublin [13]
The George and Dragon	London	England	1716		Historic venue [14]
Heaven	London	England	1979		Superclub with major influence in the development of London's LGBT scene [15]
Hercules	Helsinki	Finland	2000		Most popular gay club in Helsinki [12]
The Joiners Arms	London	England	1997	2015	Central to the East London gay scene [16]
London Astoria	London	England	1976	2009	Home to G-A-Y until 2008 [17]
The New Penny	Leeds	England	1953		First gay venue in the UK to open outside London [18]
The Queen Adelaide	Hackney, London	England	1834		Inherited furnishings from the closure of the George and Dragon in 2015 [19] [20]
The Queen's Head	Amsterdam	Netherlands	1998		[21] [22]
Pan Club Copenhagen	Copenhagen	Denmark	1970	2007	One of Europe's largest gay clubs and the biggest in Copenhagen [23] [24]
Pantibar	Dublin	Ireland	2007		Run by drag queen and activist Rory O'Neill [25]
Royal Vauxhall Tavern	London	England	1862		South London's oldest surviving queer venue [26]
The WayOut Club	London	England	1993		One of London's best known transgender venues [27]
XXL	London and Birmingham	England	2000	2019	Nightclub catering to the bear sub-group [28] [29] [30]

North America

Bar	City	State	Country	Year opened	Year closed	Notes
3 Dollar Bill	New York City	New York	United States	2018
The 19 Bar	Minneapolis	Minnesota	United States	1952		Oldest gay bar in Minneapolis
Atlantic House	Provincetown	Massachusetts	United States	1798		Contender for oldest gay bar in the United States [31] [32]
Axis Nightclub	Columbus	Ohio	United States	c. 2001		Staple of Columbus nightlife [33]
The Abbey	West Hollywood	California	United States	1991		Called the "Los Angeles equivalent to the Stonewall Inn", central to LGBT culture in Los Angeles [34]
Badlands	Portland	Oregon	United States	2024		Operating in the former location of Embers Avenue
Black Banana	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	United States	1971	1990s (early)	European-style nightclub [35]
Black Cat Bar	San Francisco	California	United States	1906	1921	At center of early legal fight establishing protections for gay people in the United States [36]
				1933	1964
Black Cat Tavern	Los Angeles, Silver Lake	California	United States	1939		Site of one of the first demonstrations in the United States protesting police brutality against LGBT people [37]
Cafe Lafitte in Exile	New Orleans	Louisiana	United States	1933		Claims to be the oldest continuously operating gay bar in the United States [38] [39] [40] [41]
CC Slaughters	Portland	Oregon	United States	1981		Two locations in Portland, OR, USA [42] and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico [43]
Club Universe	San Francisco, South of Market	California	United States	1994
Diesel	Seattle	Washington	United States	2011		Bear bar
The Double Header	Seattle	Washington	United States	1934	2015	Upon closing, one of the oldest operating gay bars in the United States [44] [45]
Down the Street	Asbury Park	New Jersey	United States	1988	1999	At close, was the oldest and longest-operating gay disco in New Jersey [46] [47]
The Eagle's Nest	New York City	New York	United States	1970		First gay bar to operate under the name "The Eagle" [48]
El Rio	San Francisco, Mission District	California	United States	1978		First gay bar to debut queer salsa in San Francisco [49]
Embers Avenue	Portland	Oregon	United States	1969	2017	Former gay bar and nightclub [50] [51]
Esta Noche	San Francisco, Mission District	California	United States	1979	2014	First Latino gay bar in San Francisco [52] [53]
Hobo's	Portland	Oregon	United States	c. 2002	2020	Restaurant, gay bar, and piano bar [54] [55]
Hunters Palm Springs	Palm Springs	California	United States	1998		[56]
Jewel's Catch One	Los Angeles	California	United States	1973	2015	Longest running black gay dance bar in Los Angeles [57]
Julius	New York City	New York	United States	c. 1867		Oldest continuously operating gay bar in New York City and site of the 1966 Julius Sip-In [58]
The Leather Stallion Saloon	Cleveland	Ohio	United States	1970		Oldest continuously operating gay bar in Ohio [59]
Madison Pub	Seattle	Washington	United States	1986		Gay sports bar
Neon Boots Dancehall & Saloon	Houston	Texas	United States	1955 (as Esquire Ballroom)	1995	Largest LGBT country and western bar in Texas [60] [61]
				2013
Paco's Ranch	Puerto Vallarta	Jalisco	Mexico
The Paddock Club	Greenville	North Carolina	United States	1973	2003	At time of closing, oldest continuously operating LGBT club in North Carolina [62]
Pony	Seattle	Washington	United States
Pulse	Orlando	Florida	United States	2004	2016	Site of the Pulse nightclub shooting [63]
Purr Cocktail Lounge	Seattle	Washington	United States	2005	2018
The Q	New York City	New York	United States	2021	2023
Queer Bar	Seattle	Washington	United States	2017
Red Cap Garage	Portland	Oregon	United States	1987	2012	One of three interconnected bars [64] [65] [66]
San Francisco Eagle	San Francisco, South of Market	California	United States	1981		Formerly Eagle Tavern, a leather bar [67]
Santé Bar	Portland	Oregon	United States
The Saloon	Minneapolis	Minnesota	United States	1977
Scandals	Portland	Oregon	United States	1979		Among Portland's longest-running LGBTQ+ bars [68] [69]
Silverado	Portland	Oregon	United States	2000s		Portland's only gay bar and strip club until the opening of Stag PDX [70]
The Silver Platter	Los Angeles, Westlake	California	United States	1963		[71] [72]
South Beach	Houston	Texas	United States	2001		Voted Houston's Best Gay Bar [73] [74]
Stag PDX	Portland	Oregon	United States	2015		Second all-nude gay strip club on the West Coast, after Silverado [75]
Stonewall Inn	New York City	New York	United States	1930		Site of the 1969 Stonewall riots [76]
This Is It!	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	United States	1968	2025	Prior to closing, oldest continually operating gay bar in Wisconsin [77] [78] [79]
Three Sisters Tavern	Portland	Oregon	United States	1964	2004	Hub of Portland's gay nightlife [80] [81]
Toad Hall Bar	San Francisco, Castro District	California	United States	1971	1979	featured in the movie Milk (2008), the bar reopened at a nearby location in 2009 [82]
The Tool Box	San Francisco, South of Market	California	United States	1962	1971	Leather bar [83]
Twin Peaks Tavern	San Francisco, Castro District	California	United States	1935
Union	Seattle	Washington	United States	2018
White Horse Inn	Oakland	California	United States	1933		Said to be the oldest continuously operating gay bar in the United States [84]
Woody's	Toronto	Ontario	Canada	1989		Featured in Queer as Folk [85] [86] [87]
Ziegfeld's	Washington, D.C.		United States	1980	2006	Dual-themed nightclub with drag queens and male strippers. Closed in 2006 and reopened in a new location in 2009. [88] [89]
				2009	2020

South America

Bar	City	Country	Year opened	Year closed	Notes
Amerika	Buenos Aires	Argentina	2000		Largest LGBT nightclub in Buenos Aires [90] [91]
Theatron	Bogotá	Colombia	2002		Complex of LGBT nightlife, the largest gay nightclub in Latin America [92] [93] [94]

See also

• List of lesbian bars
• List of gay bars called The Eagle
• List of leather bars
• Leather bars and clubs
• LGBTQ-owned business

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Further reading

• Mattson, Gregor (2023). Who Needs Gay Bars? Bar-Hopping through America's Endangered LGBTQ+ Places. Stanford University Press. ISBN   9781503629202