Powerhouse Bars & Clubs in San Francisco – GayOut Guide
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Powerhouse

Google (184) 4.2
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84
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GayOut Score
G4.2
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Address
1347 Folsom St, San Francisco, CA 94103
📞
Phone
+1 415-552-8689
🌐
Website
powerhousebar.com
💰
Price Range
$

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About this place Powerhouse

Powerhouse sits on Folsom Street in SoMa — the street that gives the Folsom Street Fair its name and that was the centre of San Francisco's leather and fetish scene from the 1970s onward. The bar is what a Folsom Street leather bar should be: dark, unpretentious, with a darkroom and a crowd that has no interest in performing for an audience. The themed nights rotate through the leather community's sub-categories — rubber nights, uniform nights, bear nights, fetish dress codes — and each draws the specific crowd for whom that theme represents home rather than costume. Powerhouse is not a tourist bar. It is a working community venue for San Francisco's leather-identified gay men, and the atmosphere reflects the mutual understanding of a regular clientele. Located on Folsom Street between 9th and 10th, the bar is in the heart of the SoMa leather geography that also includes The Eagle a few blocks away. During Folsom Street Fair in September, the entire neighbourhood becomes the world's largest outdoor leather event and Powerhouse is one of the central gathering points for the week's programming.

Upcoming events at Powerhouse

Opening Hours

Closed
Monday 16:00-02:00
Tuesday 16:00-02:00
Wednesday 16:00-02:00
Thursday 16:00-02:00
Friday 16:00-02:00
Saturday 14:00-02:00
Sunday 14:00-02:00

Features

Gay Bears Leather/Fetish Fetish / Kink nights Gay (mostly men) Mixed LGBTQ+ Local favorite Sex-positive Dive bar Themed parties Darkroom Cruisy atmosphere

Insider Tips

Community Reviews

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Google Reviews

Verified by Google
4.2
184 reviews

Based on 184 Google reviews.

Sean S
Sean S Jul 2026
PupJustintime
PupJustintime Jul 2026
Osval AA
Osval AA Jul 2026

I came here 5 nights in a row from Spain. First 4 nights were perfect. On night 5 the bartender treated me with absolute disrespect and kicked me out like I was nothing. Reason: I didn’t have my physical passport. I’m a tourist. I explained I don’t carry it at night and showed him a photo. He didn’t care. For 4 days no one asked me for ID. Not even to other customers. But on day 5 he decided to humiliate me in front of everyone with the worst attitude possible. “Yesterday was yesterday, today is today.” Zero professionalism. I took an Uber to get here just to be treated like trash. Powerhouse: You can ask for ID. You cannot treat paying customers, especially tourists, with this level of arrogance and rudeness. Completely unacceptable. I will not be back and I do NOT recommend this place because of how staff treats people. I took an Uber to get here just to be treated like trash. There is no excuse to treat a tourist, and especially a repeat customer, this way. This is supposed to be an LGBTQ+ bar. A safe space. To be treated this way by staff is shocking and completely goes against what the community stands for. Powerhouse: You can ask for ID. You cannot treat paying customers with this level of arrogance and rudeness. Completely unacceptable. I will not be back and I will NOT recommend this place to my friends. Or maybe it was racist because I'm from Spain and was speaking Spanish.

Charles-Montgomery Ratcliff
Charles-Montgomery Ratcliff Jun 2026
Dejan Markovikj
Dejan Markovikj Jun 2026

Powerhouse is institution in the kink community so definitely recommend it and it’s always a blast!

Julio Lopez
Julio Lopez Jun 2026
James Chang
James Chang Jun 2026

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Last updated on 23 September 2026

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