Darts Bar Near Me in Mission District: Kilowatt Bar SF

Rock-and-roll fans and pub gamers typing 'darts bar near me' in San Francisco's Mission District inevitably end up inside Kilowatt at 3160 Sixteenth Street. Housed in a cavernous former horse-drawn firehouse between Valencia and Guerrero Streets, this legendary Mission dive transformed its raised former concert stage into a dedicated dart lounge equipped with multiple bristle boards, chalk slates, pool tables, and a wall of glowing pinball machines.

Arriving by public transit takes less than three minutes on foot from the 16th Street Mission BART station at Sixteenth and Mission Streets. Walk one block west past Valencia Street toward Guerrero Street and look for the distinctive brick firehouse facade on the north side of Sixteenth Street. The 22-Fillmore, 14-Mission, and 49-Van Ness Muni buses also connect within a two-block radius.

What makes Kilowatt a premier destination for dart players in San Francisco is its multi-board stage layout. By elevating the dart lanes onto the former live-music stage, the bar separates active throwers from the heavy foot traffic moving along the main bar counter and pool tables below. Multiple steel-tip sisal boards hang side by side with dedicated lighting, meaning two or three different matches of Cricket and five hundred and one can run simultaneously without anyone bumping elbows.

Checking out a set of darts is free whenever you are drinking at the bar, though many Mission regulars carry their own custom darts for San Francisco Darts League nights and casual evening tournaments. If all boards on the stage are occupied on a busy Friday night, simply chalk your name onto the waiting list and test your reflexes on the row of Stern pinball machines or the two full-size pool tables while your turn approaches. Whether you throw twenty-four-gram tungsten barrels or borrow the bar brass, the elevated stage boards accommodate every style of play.

Drinks at Kilowatt stay true to its working-class dive heritage with fast, generous pours and wallet-friendly tabs across the entire menu. Cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon, Tecate, and Hamm's start around five to six dollars, while classic beer-and-shot combos pair an ice-cold tallboy with well bourbon or blanco tequila for nine to ten dollars. Twenty draft handles pour a strong lineup of California craft IPAs, crisp Mexican lagers, dry ciders, and oatmeal stouts for seven to nine dollars, alongside straightforward twelve-dollar highballs and rotating frozen slushy specials.

Doors open Monday through Friday in the late afternoon—typically four or five o'clock—and run until two o'clock in the morning, while Saturday and Sunday service kicks off at one o'clock in the afternoon for daytime games and weekend sports viewings. Dropping in on a sunny Saturday or Sunday afternoon between one and six o'clock lets you commandeer the elevated stage dartboards for hours in bright, relaxed comfort before the evening rock crowd arrives.

Because the Sixteenth Street corridor between Valencia and Guerrero is one of the greatest late-night food blocks in Northern California, Kilowatt welcomes guests to fuel up right next door before or between dart sessions. Step outside to grab carnitas, al pastor, or carne asada super burritos with homemade salsa verde at Taqueria Cancún or El Farolito down the street, pick up thin-crust New York slices at nearby pizzerias, or walk half a block to Valencia Street for steaming bowls of tonkotsu ramen and wood-fired tacos.

Acoustics and lighting inside the old brick firehouse strike an ideal balance between gritty rock club and neighborhood game hall. Even when a resident vinyl DJ is spinning seventies punk, Northern soul, garage rock, and classic heavy metal in the evening, the elevated dart stage gives players clear sightlines, solid hardwood footing, and bright board illumination so you never lose track of the triple-twenty ring.

Good lane manners keep the stage games flowing smoothly from happy hour until last call. Never step across the front of the throwing lanes while another player is in their backswing at an adjacent board, erase the chalkboard cleanly after your match concludes, and return borrowed house darts directly to the bartenders downstairs before you head out onto Sixteenth Street.

Exploring the surrounding Mission District before your games rewards you with iconic San Francisco sights within a ten-minute walk. Browse the natural history curiosities, fossils, and carnivorous plants at Paxton Gate on Valencia Street, hunt for independent fiction and poetry at Dog Eared Books, admire the vibrant outdoor murals along Clarion Alley, or walk three blocks west to Mission Dolores Park for sweeping afternoon views of the downtown skyline before heading down to Kilowatt at dusk.

Community spirit runs deep inside this former fire station, with the bar regularly hosting neighborhood charity benefits, competitive pinball league nights, San Francisco Darts League matchups, comedy showcases, and themed vinyl evenings that draw an eclectic, friendly crowd of visual artists, service-industry bartenders, stagehands, and lifelong Mission District regulars.

Before heading over, remember that Kilowatt is strictly twenty-one and older with a valid government photo ID checked at the front door. Both cash and major credit cards are accepted at the long bar counter, and the ground-floor main hall is step-free from the sidewalk, with a couple of steps leading up onto the rear dart stage.

For anyone typing 'darts bar near me' in the Mission District who wants multiple elevated steel-tip boards, pinball, pool, and authentic firehouse rock-and-roll atmosphere, Kilowatt at 3160 Sixteenth Street is essential. Open the Karpo APP to map out your Sixteenth and Valencia Street night out.