Hey, we're neighbors. Nice bars in the TL, eh? Well, there's the ones I mentioned:
Rye (@ Geary & Leavenworth) Concrete box with loud music and awesome drinks. Hip.
Ambassador (Geary & Leavenworth) Club feel, rather upscale, maybe a line, good looking crowd.
Speakeasy (O'Farell & Jones) Quiet with fancy drinks, speakeasy theme, by reservation only. Could be romantic.
Le Colonial (Taylor & Post, down Cosmo alley, in the middle of the block) Fancy French/Vietnamese restaurant with bar upstairs. They have a
list of entertainment on their website. Really stylish. Super cool.
And many others:
Swig (Geary between Jones and Taylor) A no-cover dance club. It mostly sweeps up the tourists that want to dance and don't want to pay the cover at Ruby Skye a block away, but it can be fun. Kinda a meat market.
Bambuda Lounge (Eddy & Larkin) Super-hip SF lounge. Everything from tables, to beds, to a nice patio, DJs, and topped off with tasty and strong drinks. Nice place.
Red Room (Sutter & Jones) A bar with everything inside being red. Kinda a one trick pony, but its suave and the drinks'll get you loaded.
Lush Lounge (Polk & Post) Low-key gay bar. Might catch sight of some trannys leaving Divas across the street. Was super cool when they had live music, but now its just a nice mellow place to get a drink. Fruity cocktails, especially. There's a cool punk bar called Hemlock across the street too, but that might not be your friend's kind of thing.
Edinburgh Castle (Geary between Larkin and Polk) Brit-style pub, a real Guiness, Harp, fish and chips kind of place. There's a hidden room upstairs where they have rock bands play. Fun.
Clift (Geary & Taylor) Hotel bar, real chic decor and real high end. Wouldn't be surprised to see a celebrity in here. Access will be the issue. The doormen get real uppity about who they let in later in the evening when its crowded, saying hotel guests only, but if you look good enough or maybe grease him a little you can probably get in, or just go early and hang around until it fills up. Swank.