It’s a complaint that goes back to the last century: the LGBTQ2S+ scene keeps shrinking as bars and other venues close. The usual culprits: high rents, the increasing number of welcoming mainstream venues and the community using apps, rather than IRL places, for dating and cruising.
But new flowers are blooming. In the last year, many new LGBTQ2S+ bars and clubs have opened in cities around the world. These are not monthly parties or one-off events. These are brick-and-mortar businesses where people drink, dance, sing, watch, flirt and chat throughout the week.
These new players are worth visiting, even if some of them are still a little under the radar. We’ve rounded up some of our favourites to help you throw a little love their way. Here are 21 beautiful new gay bars and clubs you will soon fall in love with.
United States
Marsha’s South Street (430 South St., Philadelphia). We will publish a story soon about the growing number of women’s sports bars. Some of them are queerer than others. Founder Chivonn Anderson has set her sights on the intersection of the queer community and the sports community in Philly. Named after Marsha P. Johnson, one of the most prominent American LGBTQ2S+ activists of the 1960s and ’70s, Marsha’s opened with a bang in September 2025. It’s a place for the whole queer community, but especially women. The comfort food, including the fried bologna sandwich, makes everyone feel at home.
Spark Social House (2009 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). Spark is Washington D.C.’s first alcohol-free LGBTQ2S+ “third space.” It’s a little bit bar (without the booze), a little bit café and a little bit event space, spread over two floors and a patio—they can accommodate a pup party and a sapphic gathering at the same time, through two separate entrances. Their monthly events calendar is overflowing with stuff to do, from yoga to open mic night to dance parties.
District Eagle (1357B U St. NW, Washington, D.C.). Gay bars named “Eagle” are not part of a chain. Bars that have “Eagle” in their name are signalling a mindset—an openness to unapologetic male sexuality and perhaps leather and fetish culture. Often there are theme nights and cool music. The District Eagle, which opened in January 2025, does all that and does it very well. In fact, they are hosting a grand re-opening in January 2026 to celebrate an expansion. As the website says, “District Eagle does not police customer sexuality. Our establishment wants customers to be free to express themselves.” The dress codes for the themed nights are not strict, but it’s respectful—and more fun—to wear gear on gear nights.
Revolt DC (1359 U St. NW, Washington, D.C.). Even as the state of the U.S. government has been getting scarier day by day, the capital’s nightlife has been flourishing. Washington not only got an Eagle in 2025, it got this high-energy dance, where partying hard is an act of defiance. The club reported for duty in September 2025, with a warehouse-style dancefloor and stunning lightshow. They also host karaoke nights and Drag Race watch parties. In October 2025 the owners announced they’d be opening a new cocktail bar called Riot—the revolution is having a baby.
Rush Bar and Restaurant (2001 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). Promising art-pop aesthetics and high-energy dancing, this campy new queer bar, which held its grand opening in December 2025, fills the gap left by the Lost Society bar and joins the growing LGBTQ2S+ nightlife scene in the 14th and U streets corridor.
Oberon (196 N 10th St., Brooklyn, New York City). With comfy chairs and exposed brick, this cocktail bar/pub, which opened in July 2025, is one part basement rec room and one part loft apartment. Though an evening here might start off with a quiet drink, their DJs sets boost the energy, as do the Wednesday night cabaret-styled shows. Casual decadence.
The Little Gay Pub (102 S 13th St., Philadelphia). A spinoff of the Washington, D.C. pub of the same name, this comfy, campy multi-room space opened in May 2025. The walls are completely filled with sassy and homoerotic art—there’s a large picture of congresswoman Nancy Pelosi on the bathroom wall. Like many all-queer spaces, it can be a little gay dominated, but their regular She’s Not My Sister parties are devoted to women who are into women.
Rikki’s (2223 Market St., San Francisco). Rikki’s, which opened in June 2025, is also on the pinker side of the spectrum. Co-founders Danielle Thoe and Sara Yergovich met playing on an LGBTQ2S+ soccer team. The bar is named after Rikki Streicher, an SF trailblazer who opened Maud’s, a lesbian bar in the Haight-Ashbury neighbourhood, in the 1960s and later Amelia’s in the Mission District. Streicher was also a co-founder of the Gay Games. Rikki’s picnic-table seating makes it a perfect place to gather a group of sports fans and meet new friends sitting right beside you.
Canada
Le Weiser (1309 St. Catherine St. E, Montreal). This sports pub, located in the heart of Montreal’s Village, officially opened its doors in June 2025. They’ve got 17 big screens broadcasting various sports events, along with an arcade area offering games like foosball, air hockey, and electronic darts. It’s not just for the jocks—the crowd is easy going and friendly, and will tell you what the score is if you ask.
Le Club DD’s (3958 St. Laurent Blvd., Montreal). Montreal’s Plateau neighbourhood has always been a refuge for the city’s cooler queers, and now they have a club where they can pose, dance and let loose. Le Club DD’s, which opened in September 2025, hosts events for all corners of the community, including Trans masc night, queer cruising and drag.
Bunker (Basement, 489c Church St. Toronto). First a moment to mourn Fly nightclub, which closed in 2014, the last Toronto gay club focused solely on the dancefloor and the music. Fast forward 11 years. Bunker, which opened in August 2025, is not as big a space as Fly—it’s in a basement that formerly housed a porn emporium. But it’s got the same attitude: great soundsystem, great light system and great music for dancing. Shirts off, it’s going to get sweaty here on weekend nights. And there are booths and a darkroom for those who like such things.
The Well (875 Erie St. E., Windsor, Ontario; 238 Dundas St. W., London, Ontario). The original Well (487 Church St., Toronto), opened in Toronto’s Gay Village in 2020. The cocktail bar quickly attracted crowds with its great happy hour prices, food, drag and upstairs shower shows with naked go-go boys. When something works—run with it. A second location opened in Hamilton in 2021, another one on Toronto’s hip Queen Street West in 2023, then a third in Wilton Manors, Florida, in 2024. In 2025 the owners opened two more locations: one in Detroit’s sister city of Windsor and one in Ontario’s sixth largest city, and big university town, London. Plus there’s a Well slated to open soon in Waterloo, Ontario. Might The Well become the McDonald’s or Starbucks of gay bars? Coming soon to a city near you.
Anvil (511 Church St., Toronto). Though it doesn’t have a liquor licence, this slick cruising club has its own way of breaking the ice—dark lighting, lots of cubicles, nooks and crannies, and a Gay Village location that makes it easy to stop by to see who else is up for a little action. Anvil opened in March 2025, taking over a space that used to be part of a hardware store. Insert jokes about tools and hard manual labour here.
Mexico
Sanctuary Puerto Vallarta (Venustiano Carranza 239, Zona Romántica, Emiliano Zapata, Puerto Vallarta). This new “bar for everyone,” which opened in November 2025, has big shoes to fill—it occupies the space that housed the oldest gay bar in PV, Los Amigos. On the second floor above Monzón Brewing, it’s run by Portland, Oregon, expats who have a background in running creative spots and the Burning Man Festival. Expect drag, dancing, live music and good vibes.
United Kingdom
The Roses of Elagabalus (Ground floor, 578 Kingsland Rd., London). And the award for the most arch and historical name for a bar goes to…the one named after a 3rd century Roman emperor known for scandalous behaviour, including crossdressing. The decadent, immersive queer space, which opened in the trendy Dalston area in February 2025, draws inspiration from early 20th-century Viennese and Parisian cabarets, as well as Studio 54. Each of the six interconnected rooms also has an enticing name like the Erotic Library and the Powder Room.
Coven (originally opened at Unit 4 Queen’s Yard, London, but in process of relocating to new premises in the Haggerston neighbourhood). This queer club and multidisciplinary arts venue made a splash when it opened in June 2025. It was featured in British Vogue and Dazed magazine, with all of its artsy anarchy. They’ve hosted everything from club nights and concerts to free group therapy for the trans community and a chemsex recovery workshop.
Proud Gloucester (48 Kings Square, Gloucester). Gloucester is a city in the west of England, and this café-bar, which opened in October 2025, aims to be Gloucester’s LGBTQ+ living room. Operated by a not-for-profit, it’s a place for dance parties, shows, workshops and assorted gatherings.
New Zealand
Pink Pony Club (262 Karangahape Rd., Auckland). G.A.Y. is a popular nightclub located in a basement along Auckland’s party street. (Globetrotters might note that its name connects it to G.A.Y.-branded clubs in the U.K. that are run by the Soho Group.) In June 2025, Pink Pony Club opened upstairs from G.A.Y., providing a slightly more intimate space for drinks, drag and themed parties. It’s where Club C2NT hosts its party for girls and theys.
Netherlands
Nate (Utrechtsestraat 19, Amsterdam). This coffee, drinks and eats place, which opened in June 2025, takes over the space of Café Brug34. Like its predecessor, it’s an all-day homey venue for the LGBTQ+ community. New owner Nathaniel Gtensaye, a tailor who has worked at Harrods, Selfridges and Chloé in London, and who has run another trendy Amsterdam café, named the bright uncluttered space after himself.
Bears Amsterdam (Sint Jacobsstraat 6, Amsterdam). Amsterdam’s first “bear den” opened in May 2025, taking over the space that had been The Web cruising bar. The friendly spot has a penchant for fetish events, so wearing gear wouldn’t be a bad idea—you might be able to buy some at their regular fetish flea markets. Though all bear-loving patrons are welcome, the darkroom is reserved for men (including trans men).
Coming soon
SweetWater WeHo (8869 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, California). This lesbian-owned club was declaring itself as “coming soon” in October 2025, promising “a bold, inclusive escape where music pulses, live entertainment ignites, and cocktails flow.” In December, the construction looked to be in its final stages.
Tribe 231 (231 Oxford St., Darlinghurst, Sydney). Australia’s biggest city is slated to get a new Oxford Street club. The owners caused an outrage when they announced they were calling it Pink Pony Club, after lesbian singer Chappell Roan’s song, though the club stated its preferred clientele is young gay men (i.e., a demographic that doesn’t include Chappel Roan herself). The club is now expected to open in February 2026 with the name Tribe @ 231.
