Sponsored link
Sunday, July 6, 2025

Sponsored link

Welcome to BEST OF THE BAY 2021!

Our 46th annual Readers' Poll winners are here, from Best Burrito and Best Politician to Best Sweets Shop and Best Bike Store.

Welcome to the 46th Bay Guardian Best of the Bay, hosted by 48 Hills! PHEW! What a couple years, eh? The Bay Area has stood up through it all. While we’ve lost so much, it’s important to still celebrate who we are and how we’ve pulled through together. We’re beating back the monsters every day, and embracing our Best of the Bay beasts! Thus our 2021 theme: Beast Mode.

This year’s Best of the Bay is dedicated to the indomitable Bay Area spirit, in all its freaky, oft-foggy glory. Inside you’ll find the winners of more than 100 categories, voted on by thousands of fans. This year, we’re also publishing the runners up in each category, to spread more local love. We encourage everyone to pour all they can into supporting great local businesses, institutions, organizations, and wonderful people, starting with this edition as a guide.

We’ll be publishing our Editors’ Picks, highlighting folks and orgs that have made a difference, throughout the next two months to keep the positive vibes going.

Click below to see the winners in each category. Special thank you to our terrific designer Aaron Joseph of Identafire, my Hunky Beau who has stuck with me through 16 of these, and all the readers who make the Bay Area the Best Place to Live on Earth. You can see 2020’s winners here.

CITY LIVING READERS’ POLL WINNERS: Best Salon, Best Bike Repair, Best Hotel, Best Tour, Best Gym, more

ARTS & NIGHTLIFE READERS’ POLL WINNERS: Best Nightclub, Best Art Gallery, Best Drag Queen, Best Live Venue, Best Band, more

FOOD & DRINK READERS’ POLL WINNERS: Best Burrito, Best Chinese, Best Gay Bar, Best Takeout, Best Sports Bar, more

SHOPPING READERS’ POLL WINNERS: Best Bookstore, Best Bike Shop, Best Store Staff, Best Cannabis Dispensary, Best Shoe Store, More

Marke B.
Marke B.
Marke Bieschke is the publisher and arts and culture editor of 48 Hills. He co-owns the Stud bar in SoMa. Reach him at marke (at) 48hills.org, follow @supermarke on Twitter.

48 Hills welcomes comments in the form of letters to the editor, which you can submit here. We also invite you to join the conversation on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Sponsored link

Sponsored link
Sponsored link

Latest

BIG WEEK: SF Mime Troupe, Fillmore Jazz Fest, Ant Farm, cheetah croissants….

Plus: Gamelan Seker Jaya, DJ Derrick Carter, Breadbelly's new bake, ancient Greek romance, a drum and bass trailblazer, more to do

What to see at Yerba Buena Gardens Festival this summer ☀️

Celebrating 25 years of free, accessible and artistically excellent programs in downtown SF!

Drama Masks: In ‘Aztlán,’ gripped by intense forces beyond control

Magic Theatre melds carceral to mystical. Plus: Enthralling 'The Last Goat' presents Ancient Greek tale that does much with little.

Screen Grabs: Caught up in the raptors, again

'Jurassic' holiday weekend kicks. Plus: Thomas Kinkaide's secrets, Fraenkel Film Fest, Bill Gunn and Mikio Naruse retrospectives, more.

You might also likeRELATED