Classy yet unpretentious small club

Talk of the town: In San Francisco's 2012 Nightlife Awards, Monarch won the award for Best Small Club. And resident mixologist Pooky is frequently named as one of the city's best bartenders.

Word to the wise: Check out the weekday drinks specials if you're looking to save some dollars. Also, the upstairs photo booth is free fun.

This venue looks and feels like two different things. Describing itself as a mix of Art Nouveau and Steampunk, it's illuminated by chandeliers, decorated by a 15-foot mural and has a peek-a-boo hole above the bar in which burlesque dancers writhe in a suspended hoop.

But while this all sounds like it would attract a high maintenance crowd, this being San Francisco, it's low key and indie, perhaps thanks to the slightly seedy location. The downstairs dance floor has a brilliant gold sound system and plays host DJs mixing Berlin electro and underground house at the weekends, with more variation mid-week.