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St. Louis has a thriving gay scene that really comes alive at night. Numerous LGBT exclusive and friendly establishments exist, perfect for mingling with singles, dancing the night away or having drinks with friends. For in the mood for a laid-back St. Louis gay bar, Grey Fox Pub offers great drinks to the refined patrons and the weekend nights feature one of the best drag shows around. The Complex in the downtown loft district is an incredibly popular gay bar that features five bars, a large dance floor and a full menu of eclectically gourmet food. The Alternative Music Pub is one of the classiest gay and lesbian bars that St. Louis has to offer. The lounge-like atmosphere and great music have kept this one of the top gay bars in St. Louis.
Absolutli Goosed Martini Bar
3196 S. Grand Blvd., Saint Louis; Tel. 314.772.0400
Martinis are a specialty at Absolutli Goosed in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Washington University professors and students bump elbows at the bar while looking over the menu of over 120 drinks. Happy hours are generous at the St. Louis location going until 8pm on weekdays and Sundays with great half-off prices on appetizers and drinks. Absolutli Goosed is a bar for all types of folks from gays to straights, manly men to cross dressers. Anyone and everyone are welcome to the cardinal red walls of this St. Louis bar. |
Alternative Music Pub
4199 Manchester Ave., St. Louis; Tel. 314.652.5267
The Alternative Music Pub, fondly known as AMP, is one of the nicest gay and lesbian bars in St. Louis. Cushy couches give those who are tired of dancing a place to take a seat and chat with new and old friends. TVs behind the bar show music videos to go with the music pre-selected by a video DJ with a new theme each night. Darts and pool provide more activities to St. Louis gays who aren't into dancing to the "chick rock," electronica, retro or rock music being played each night. |
Attitudes
4100 Manchester Ave., St. Louis; Tel. 314.534.3858
Geared mostly toward a lesbian clientele, gay and straights are also welcome to this St. Louis bar. The club is sectioned off for a café, bar and dance area which makes it convenient to wander around to scope out the crowd without anyone knowing. Each night features a different activity from darts and pool to karaoke and country line dancing. St. Louis gays and lesbians come every night to enjoy the live DJ spinning great dance music after all the events end in the early evening. The drinks taste good and are strong at the same time, plus there's a cage to dance in. Those two things might not seem to go together, but give the drinks a try and it will make sense. |
Bad Dog Saloon and The Attic
17 S. Vandeventer, St. Louis; Tel. 314.652.0011
St. Louis gay men who are interested in a kinky bar with mature gay men do not need to look any further than the Bad Dog Saloon and The Attic. Bad Dog Saloon is a gay bar situated on the corner of the block that has live entertainment as well as pool tables, darts, pinball and more to keep the boys busy while drinking. The braver men can go upstairs to The Attic on Friday and Saturday nights for a whole other world of gay bars. The Attic also has games and drinking, but they also feature alternative rock, leather, bear and cruising. The Bad Dog Saloon and The Attic are straight up gay bars, if that's even possible. |
Bastille
1027 Russell Blvd., St. Louis; Tel. 314.664.4408
The bar at Bastille is a historic landmark in Soulard because Anheuser Busch built it during the unfortunate Prohibition days. That makes it worth a visit right off the bat! Bastille is geared towards a gay male crowd but everyone is welcome to the trendy St. Louis bar. The Cobalt Grill serves up a small selection of classic American grill fare and a game room is usually not crowded for those who get antsy. Bric-a-brac fills the walls of the Bastille adding even more character and making it stand out from the surrounding Soulard bars. If anyone ever has a hard time finding this comfortable St. Louis bar, just look for the giant parrot perched on a Busch sign in Soulard and you're there. |
Boxers 'n Briefs
55 Four Corners Ln., Centreville, IL; Tel. 618.332.6141
The East Side of St. Louis has the Midwest's only full nude, 18 and over live male strip club. Everyone is welcome to the club from gays to straights, men and women. They have a shower in the middle of the main bar for wet shows, lounge rooms for private dances, and semi-private VIP rooms for lap dances or conversation. Of course there's also a dance floor where the male strippers put on the show, and they are more than willing to pull bachelorettes or birthday girls and boys onto the stage for a little humiliation. There is a full bar with a selection of liquor and beer and customers who sit at the bar will get a better view for when the dancers perform on the bar. All types are welcome to Boxer 'n Briefs for dancing and a good show. |
Bubby & Sissy's
602 Belle St., Alton; Tel. 618.465.4775
Bubby & Sissy's welcomes everyone through their doors with a completely open mind. The gay bar and dance club has one of the best drag shows in the Midwest on Friday and Saturday nights at its location right outside St. Louis. Each night has a different event going on at Bubby & Sissy's dance club but there are some staples customers can find every night. Jell-o shots, good music and friendly people are ever-present at the bar in a historic building in downtown Alton. The back patio is beautiful and worth the visit. |
Clementine's Bar
2001 Menard St., St. Louis; Tel. 314.664.7869
Claiming to be St. Louis's oldest gay bar, Clementine's is open every day, and every weekday is happy hour until 7pm. Saturday and Sunday are Draft Beer Busts and the kitchen provides food on the weekends and holidays. The gay bar also is host of the Soulard Mardi Gras, a time to drink and live up the good life before Lent and easily one of the biggest Mardi Gras celebrations outside of New Orleans. Darts and pool keep bar patrons busy in the St. Louis establishment and Clementine's Bar always welcomes everyone to partake in its fabulously historic culture. |
The Complex
3515 Chouteau Ave., St. Louis; Tel. 3134.772.2645
The Complex is one of the most popular gay bars in St. Louis and has a prime location in the downtown loft district. A large dance floor attracts crowds who want to get down to the beats as a live DJ spins. The Complex also offers a game room for breaks in between dancing or people who aren't interested in working up a sweat. The St. Louis club offers five bars so even on the busiest nights everyone can still get a drink, and if just liquids aren't doing the trick, they also offer a menu for both lunch and dinner. The Complex also has a long list of special events often involving drag queens, dancing and music. All of which are too good to resist. |
Faces on Fourth Street
132 Collinsville Ave., East St. Louis; Tel. 618.271.7410
Easily one of the best gay bars on this side of St. Louis, Faces on Fourth Street offers three floors with four different environments. Down in the basement, a cruise bar for men only gives the guys a chance to meet one another without other distractions. Cherry is also in the basement and is open to men and women who want a bite to eat from the grill, coffee or one of the specialty liquors. The other two floors in this St. Louis gay bar are individually devoted to a dance floor and drag cabaret. For straights and gays who go for the drag show cabaret, take note the "female illusionists" only perform Friday nights. Faces on Fourth Street is worth the drive from St. Louis at the very least for the dancing and caged boys. |
Freddie's Bar
4112 Manchester Ave., St. Louis; Tel. 314.371.1333
The gay bars have taken over an area in St. Louis known as "The Grove" or Forest Park Southeast and Freddie's bar is an anchor of this area. The gay bar packs its weekly schedule with a variety of events from "Homo Bingo" to dance nights with show tunes or retro music. They have two nights of karaoke that are popular with St. Louis gays and the best part of Freddie's is the amazing drink specials. One of the best happy hours in this part of St. Louis, Freddie's has fabulous mixed drinks and cheap beer all night long. Men looking for all the good looking guys in St. Louis only have to go to Freddie's Bar to find them. |
Grey Fox Pub
3503 S. Spring Ave., St. Louis; Tel. 314.772.2150
The Grey Fox Pub is not one of those over-the-top balls to the wall gay bars with half naked men everywhere. No, the Grey Fox Pub is a St. Louis bar with a little more class than that. But not enough class to forgo having drag shows on Friday and Saturday nights. Just walking by, one couldn't guess that the Grey Fox Pub is a St. Louis gay bar, and perhaps once inside it would also be tough. The crowd is low-key and rarely gets out of control. Instead the atmosphere stays relaxed. The St. Louis pub's quirk is that they serve a free Saturday morning brunch, but that's not much of a quirk either. It's more of the best attraction to the place. |
JJ's Clubhouse and Bar
3858 Market St., St. Louis; Tel. 314.535.4100
It's like a forest in JJ's Clubhouse and Bar with so many bears around, but they're the friendliest bears ever. The blue-collar gay bar is a known for the parties they throw and the excellent drink specials. They support several local bear, leather and Levi clubs and other charitable causes. The main bar has happy hour drink specials and nightly events but always has pool, darts and a jukebox to entertain St. Louis bears. On Friday nights, the more leather the guys wear, the more they save and every Saturday the Clubhouse part of the establishment opens as a cruise bar. |
Novak's Bar & Grill
4121 Manchester Ave., St. Louis; Tel. 314.531.3699
One of the best lesbian bars in St. Louis, Novak's Bar & Grill is a great place to hang out no matter your sexual orientation. The bar is in the Central West End of St. Louis and fills up for Cardinals and Ram's games on the big screen TV. The satisfying menu—mostly beer burgers and appetizers—is apropos for the sports bar environment. When people aren't playing darts, pool, foosball, or pinball, they may be enjoying a live show or dancing at the bar. There's never a slow moment at Novak's Bar & Grill, which makes the St. Louis bar worth a visit. |
—St. Louis Bar and Club Reviews by Alanna Lee and Ryan Osterbeck
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