The Mission District bar Mother, in the former home of Esta Noche, has put itself on the map by making Bon Appetit’s “11 Best New Bars in the US” roundup.
There's a big reason to celebrate the start of Pride Weekend for the lesbian-centric queer bar Mother. The bar opened in February 2023 at 16th and Valencia streets, the former home of Esta Noche (though it had more recently been Bond Bar), under the ownership of Thee Parkside owner Malia Spanyol. It is not to be confused with Mothership in the former Virgil’s Sea Room space, or Mother, the longtime drag show from the late Heklina that replaced Trannyshack, which ended its SF run in 2019 when Heklina moved out of town.
But Mother’s all-Pride Weekend “No Covers” parties will take on an even bigger significance. As SFGate reports, Mother was named to Bon Appetit’s 11 Best New Bars in the US list that was just released Friday.
“In the middle of San Francisco’s Mission District, the bar is relatively bare,” writes Bon Appetit’s Elazar Sontag. “With its worn wood floors, tasty but unfancy $13 cocktails, and a custom-built photo booth, the bar isn’t concerned with reimagining the old-school queer dive as a stuffy cocktail lounge or trying to update the concept for a new generation. Mother does something even more exciting: revive a precious piece of community that came too close to being snuffed out.”
“There are fewer than 50 lesbian bars left across the US,” the publication adds. “And though this one welcomes queer people and their friends of all stripes, it is a space for women and femmes. That’s a distinction worth protecting.”
Spanyol told SFGate, “What a way to kick off Pride Week!” and added, “We feel incredibly honored, as a Mission District queer bar, to be on Bon Appetit's list.”
Related: Mission District’s Bond Bar (the Former Esta Noche) May Become New Lesbian-Centric Queer Bar [SFist]
Image: Andre C. via Yelp
