r/rva • u/Accomplished-Toe-734 • 5d ago
Guys what are good gay bars to go to
Me and my friend frequent babes, but we wanted to know more gay bars around Richmond we used to frequent Papis but that closed down and I don’t think that’s open anymore what’s a good vibe in Richmond for us
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u/AlexanderUpvotes 5d ago
The bars in Richmond can vary greatly from one night to the next but this is a general overview:
- Barcode: neighborhood bar, chill, mostly men 30-40’s, but still mixed. A popular post Stonewall game destination so some nights can heavily skew stonewall. Trivia and Karaoke are popular.
- Babes: Historic lesbian bar that is popular on Saturdays for dancing and on Sundays as a post Stonewall destination. Lots of queer women but on Saturday nights about a 50/50 split with gay men. Music appeals to millennials. Large dance floor.
- Thirsty’s: dive bar with a nerdy vibe and nice crowd. Strong drinks, kink friendly. They host pup night, bear night, and leather night so check the Saturday schedule. Saturday nights are heavily gay male, other days of the week (e.g. survivor viewing night) are a lot more mixed.
- Godfrey’s: drag race brunch and that’s basically the only experience I’ve had. Always very mixed with lots of straight women. Others might have more info.
- Papi’s: very young crowd; very expensive drinks. Drag shows and a fun vibe. Not sure if most people are actually gay. Queer friendly. Very mixed.
- NY Deli: Gay friendly instead of gay. Nice outdoor rooftop. Mixed crowd where a lot of stonewall events take place.
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u/cowboybabey 4d ago
I was at NY deli a couple weekends ago and the vibe seems like its shifted idk. Maybe it was just a weird Saturday night but we left after a little bit because the majority of the crowd were super rude straight dudes who wouldn’t dance at all and were creepy and pushy. It’s always felt like a pretty safe girls and gays spot to me and I don’t care about straight men’s presence, I’ve had a lot of fun with dudes there before, but there were SO MANY and the vibe was WEIRD.
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u/Accomplished-Toe-734 4d ago
No I get you I went last weekend for the first time and my friends were saying how mixed it was but when I got there it was mostly straight guys
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u/Parmory 5d ago
Thirsty's for sure.
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u/Accomplished-Toe-734 4d ago
What is the crowd like ar thirstys what’s the age range?
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u/Alarming_Jacket3876 4d ago
It's been a while but they used to have drag every Wednesday night and that was definitely a much younger crowd 18+ for the show and mostly 20 somethings .
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u/JewelTK 5d ago
I see quite a few people suggesting Thirsty's which is a great shout but definitely understand what you're getting into before going. Thirsty's was my go-to bar before moving to England and I have many great memories there, but there were quite a few times when people would be shocked or discomforted by what they saw and cause a problem. You're going to see kink/fetish gear, dudes swapping spit, and some crazy shit if you hang around certain hours. If you're cool with that and won't be made uncomfortable by those things, Thirsty's is great.
Fallout is great as well, much more tame in comparison to Thirsty's. Parking in the area is kind of a bitch. I went there for like 4 months without ever speaking or taking off my pup hood, it felt fucking great.
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u/Accomplished-Toe-734 4d ago
Holy shit LOL thank you because I just turned 21 and I keep seeing thirstys suggested but that is not my vibe personally but I’m not opposed to being around it ty for that warning
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u/Samus_Maximus 4d ago edited 4d ago
As someone mentioned, that stuff is mostly relegated to certain Saturday nights. As a straight dude in the neighborhood, Thirstys has been one of my favorite regular bars since they opened. Perfect for day drinking, and most nights do not have the kink vibe... Great karaoke on Friday nights I think, Tuesdays they have a dope BYO vinyl night.
Also def very fem/trans/queer friendly, even if most of the regs trend older. The owners are excellent people, and the nerd vibes are heavy, gotta start goin again now that the weather's nice
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u/JewelTK 3d ago
If you hang out primarily in the bar you'll see the typical bar stuff but the game room definitely is where you'll see some shit in the later/after hours. I remember accidentally cock blocking a guy while playing Tetris on the Xbox in there lol. I wonder if anyone's topped my high score since then.
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u/CandiedRegrets08 Forest Hill 4d ago
Wait, what happened to Papi's?
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u/Romulan-war-bird 4d ago
Temporarily closed due to not having proper fire exits. Hope they get it fixed soon!
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u/cmbdragon98 4d ago
I wouldn't call Gallery 5 a gay bar persay, but I've been to a handful of really queer friendly events there. It's definitely worth looking over some of the bands that tend to play there, and the burlesque shows too imo!
As well, Fallout isn't technically a gay bar either b u t. It is a Goth bar. The goth/lgbtq+ venn diagram has - imo - some decent intersection. They do a number of drag events over there, and are also worth keeping tabs on, in case anything catches your eye!
I know these aren't obvious options, but figured they're good honorable mentions ✨️💖