6 Cities, 6 Gay Bars: A Look at Gay Bars in Philly, LA, London, NYC, Baltimore, & Chicago

February 18, 2022
TOMMY

Six cities and a seemingly infinite amount of gay bars from which to choose! I’ve had the incredible luck of having lived in six different cities around the world: five in the states and one in Europe. Each city has a different vibe, a different pace, and a different aesthetic. And because of those variances, each city offered a multitude of options for the guys lookin’ for guys. I’m not saying these are the BEST bars; that’s entirely too subjective. But here is my rundown of one gay bar I love from each of the cities. Tell us about the gay bars you love the most by nominating them for the 2022 Cybersocket Awards' Gay Bar of the Year.

No better place to start than my hometown of Philadelphia. The City of Bro Love (I may be paraphrasing the city motto)! Philadelphia has a small, but outstanding gay scene, affectionately known as The Gayborhood. With rainbow patterns on all of the street designations in the area, The Gayborhood has everything from dive bars (The Bike Stop) to your average go-to bar (U-Bar) to sports bars (Tabu). But for me, my favorite go-to bar is Tavern on Camac. The downstairs is a piano bar with some of the smoothest voices in the city, and the upstairs is a perfectly-sized dance club. And unlike Woody’s, all of these are still actually gay bars (*side-eye*).

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On to Baltimore! If you love eating crabs, you’re in luck! If you don’t want to get crabs, you’re also in luck! Unfortunately, since I left Baltimore, some of the city’s most popular gay establishments (Grand Central and The Hippo) have since closed. One issue is definitely that as LGBTQ+ people become more and more accepted in the mainstream, our spaces are being watered down and straightified (again, side-eye to Woody’s in Philly). But one establishment has held strong in Baltimore for decades: Leon’s in Baltimore (in the 1890s, the bar was called Georgia's Tap Room). Leon’s is the perfect spot to go for cheap, but strong drinks, and to kick it with Baltimore’s local LGBTQ+ community. You’ll learn quickly that Baltimore has the no pretense/no bullshit attitude of the North East, and the Southern hospitality that comes with being below the Mason Dixon Line. If you find yourself in Baltimore, definitely check out Leon’s!

Do you have a big Cockney? Is your ass bigger than the Biggest of Bens? Then head across the Pond to London, where I lived right after I graduated college. If you’ve never been, London is essentially Europe’s older New York. It’s fast-paced, fashion-forward, architecturally stunning, and filled with some sexily accented homos. This is a cheap answer I’m about to give, but I’m going to say it anyway: G-A-Y. A stone's throw from the West End, London’s most famous gay bar, G-A-Y has hosted Madonna, Lady Gaga, and countless other gay icons. It’s huge, there’s tons of space to dance, the music is loud, and anyone can be free to be themselves. I have no doubt that there are plenty of great local haunts, but because I spent my fresh-out-of-the-closet post-college time in London, I have some wonderful memories of dancing shirtless with my boyfriend at the time (we'll just ignore for a minute the recent article about their health standards issues). Cheers, Queers.

From London I made my way to Chicago which, much like Philly, has a specially designated and titled gay neighborhood called, Boystown. But right above Boystown is a cute little neighborhood called Andersonville. The area used to be known as Lesbianville, but by the time I moved to Chicago it was essentially Boystown 2.0. I used to call it “Boystown, without as much coke.” Andersonville as a neighborhood is one of the most wonderful neighborhoods in which I’ve had the pleasure of living. In fact, even if Chicago isn’t my #1 city on the list I’ve lived in, Andersonville is probably my favorite specific neighborhood. When I lived there, my favorite gay bar was probably Hamburger Mary’s, before it became a national chain. It was the perfect watering hole, with good greasy bites, and bar staff who always knew your name, some of whom I am still friends with today. Alas, it has since closed down, but Chicago also has the largest gay bar in the country, Sidetrack. It has three floors, the bottom of which is a lesbian bar, and with so few spaces as their own, Sidetrack really is a bar for everyone. So if you’re looking for a massive space with multiple bars contained within, then you should definitely check it out to go to let loose.

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Oh Los Angeles. You beautiful, sunny, kale-infused city. I spent four amazing years in LA, where I met some of the most amazing people I’ve had the privilege of calling friends, a number of whom I consider a part of my chosen family. LA has enough gay bars to make Richard Simmons homophobic. I’m going to list two bars here: my favorite gay bar, and the best gay bar to go to if you want incredibly strong drinks. My favorite gay bar in LA was Silver Lake’s Akbar. A quintessential local watering hole: small, friendly, a dance space, and great drinks. Silver Lake is called the “Brooklyn of L.A,” so if beards and tattoos are your vibe, Silver Lake is the place to be.

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My bonus second rec is where to go if you want a drink so strong I used to call it poison (the good kind). West Hollywood’s Mother Lode pours some of the strongest drinks I’ve ever had, and to this day I’m in search of “the Mother Lode” of other cities.

Finally, we have the city that never sleeps (odd, given how many men I’ve slept with here). Everyone knows the gayest neighborhoods are the West Village, Chelsea, and Hell’s Kitchen. But with a population the size of New York City, the variety from which to choose is almost unmatched. If you want to find a daddy go to The Townhouse in Midtown East; if you want to see history you can go to the famed Stonewall Inn (home of the modern LGBTQ+ movement); and if you want to have sex in the bar… well… you can really go anywhere, but I personally would recommend The Eagle or The Cock. Now my favorite bar? The bar that consistently has the best vibes, the most diversity in clientele, and the most to offer in terms of amenities? Williamsburg’s Metropolitan. At Lorimer and Metropolitan, off the G and the L, Metro has a large footprint, a few bathrooms, reasonably priced drinks, a pool table, a small stage where bands play, and a huge outdoor patio space that hosts drag shows and BBQ’s alike.