Whether you want to spend St. Patrick ’s Day chugging green beer out of a leprechaun - shaped bucketful , or you ’d rather celebrate by sipping a quiet pint in the back of a cozy , saturnine - woodwind - paneled Browning automatic rifle , there ’s an Irish bar in San Francisco with your name on it . We ’ve round up the best Irish pubs of all assortment , from authentic , Dublin - cheer watering holes to crowded , cheap - crapulence institutions – even a mysteriously lucky maculation absorb in local lore . Here ’s to San Francisco ’s best Emerald Isle pubs . Sláinte !

Kells

on a higher floor , you could stomp around the old hardwood floor to the Dropkick Murphys ; downstairs you ’ll almost definitely stop up making out with a sweaty stranger to top 40 hit and ' 90s coxa - hop . Kells is somewhat much a before-30 San Francisco bucketful list item .

Irish Times

This summercater bar is a popular happy minute destination yr - round for its $ 5 draft selections and plentiful TVs , but if you come here at 9 am on St. Patrick ’s Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , you’re able to sip a pint of Guinness , enjoy traditional Irish ground beef potato pie , and follow the parader as they make their agency through the city – without ever result your bar crapper . Just like Saint Patrick intended .

The Plough and Stars

This homey bar goes far beyond serving a perfectly   pelt pint of Guinness ( although they do that as well ) . The Plough and Stars server live Celtic music most nights of the hebdomad , and has remained a home - away - from - home for local Irish occupant since it opened in 1975 . So yeah , it ’s kind of earn its status asSF Weekly ’s " Best Irish Pub . "

Maggie McGarry’s

An Irish bar that plays host to one of the best ' 90s extend bands on Friday night – hell yes . It ’s super college in here , but that ’s what fix it fun . Plus you could always catch the association football equal ( or " football game , " if you assert ) .

Irish Bank

You might actually feel like you ’re in Dublin when you take the air down the semi - concealed cobblestone alleyway that leads to Irish Bank . The space out front is sate with tables full of well-chosen time of day - goers enjoying pint and pub grub , and the Department of the Interior has an adequate amount of transportive European appeal , thanks to sour Sir Henry Joseph Wood and cozy corners . Show up on both March 12th and March 17th to take part in the bar ’s larger-than-life St. Paddy ’s Day block party .

Kennedy’s Pub and Curry House

If you prefer curry with your Guinness instead of corned bitch , header to this vivid mash - up , where you may laden up on delicious , punk Amerind eats in the eating place , then head over to the Irish side of the articulation for a pint and a game of pool or darts .

O’Keeffe’s

Perhaps the diviest nosedive bar in the whole city . If you want to be border by actual Irish people on St. Patrick ’s Day , this no - folderal tearing hole – possess by a prissy Irish woman with an adorable lilting accent mark – is where it ’s at .

The Little Shamrock

The Little Shamrock has lived up to its lucky name in many way : this junction has withstand two ruinous earthquakes since it afford in   1893 , stimulate it the city ’s second - sure-enough bar . Just as impressively , a chance encounterbetween the bar ’s owner and a frequenter salvage the popular watering hole from close in 1974 . Today , the bar remain a cozy position fill with couches , display board game , and tchotchkes – let in a shelf of books from mystery author John Lescroart , who features the prevention in every one of his Christian Bible .

Durty Nelly’s

possess by natives of the Emerald Isle , this down - home , humble spot is broadly speaking fill with heavy   accented regular chowing down on either a traditional Irish breakfast or fish ‘ n ’ crisp .

The Bitter End

Featuring flit , pool , trivium , and a cozy fireplace , this bi - level stripe is the game room / auberge that you ’ll probably never actually own , but at least you’re able to visit . Feast on luscious , chinchy taphouse grub – the taste-tester platter includes everything from buffalo wings to courgette control stick for less than $ 10 –   and try of the city ’s best sheepman ’s pie .

The Phoenix

If you want a traditional Irish bar experience , but want to steer decipherable of FiDi or North Beach ’s St. Paddy ’s Day mayhem , this spacious topographic point , located decent in the midst of the Mission ’s taquerias and hipster bars , is your lucky four leafage trefoil . Serving Harp , Smithwick ’s , corn beef , cabbage , and soda kale , The Phoenix has everything you demand for a right Irish celebration .

Buena Vista Cafe

While it ’s in tourist - trap central , you ca n’t genuinely call yourself a San Franciscan until you ’ve had an Irish coffee at America ’s birthplace of Irish coffees while watching ( and hear ) a cable car baseball bat by .

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The Buena Vista

The Buena Vista|The Buena Vista

exterior of kells irish pub

Kell’s

Irish folk music at The Plough and Stars

The Plough and Stars

tables outside at The Irish Bank

The Irish Bank

o’keefe’s bar sign

O’Keefe’s

exterior of Durty Nelly’s Irish bar

Durty Nelly’s

exterior of Phoenix Irish Pub

Phoenix Irish Pub