La Patrona Beach Club, one of the best bars in San Pancho
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The 9 Best Bars in San Pancho (San Francisco, Nayarit)

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Are you visiting this San Francisco Nayarit, for the first time? You might be wondering, ‘where are all the bars in San Pancho?’ especially if you’ve come from lively Sayulita.

This sleepy surf village is low-key compared to its neighbor to the south and doesn’t have the wild nightlife scene of Sayulita and in fact, many of the best bars in San Pancho close up shop by 10:00 pm. But despite closing earlier, you can still find a number of great bars in town to wet your whistle.

San Pancho’s laid-back vibe extends to the bar options in town which mostly consist of bar restaurants. Places where you can sit down to enjoy a quality meal alongside quality beers and cocktails. However, you will also find breweries serving up delicious craft beer, local bars hosting weekly salsa nights, and beach bars perfect for sunsets.

Hopefully, you can find what you are looking for in this list of the best bars in San Pancho.

The Best Bars in San Pancho for Beer Lovers

In our opinion, Mexico has some of the best domestic lagers and pilsners in the world. Find me a local beer better than Model Especiale or Pacifico and I’ll … well, I’ll drink it. But despite a thriving domestic beer scene, Mexico is not getting left behind in the craft brews either, and this is no exception in San Pancho.

Here are the San Pancho bars where you can expect to find good craft beer.

Cerveceria Artesanal San Pancho

Cerveceria Artesenal The 9 Best Bars in San Pancho (San Francisco, Nayarit)

Cerveceria Artesanal may not be brewing their own beer, but these guys know how to find it. Rotating taps from craft breweries located in nearby cities such as Santa Sabina in Guadalajara and Cerveceria Bahia de Banderas in Bucerias are the stars of the show here.

Live music is featured on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays showcasing local talent and delicious bar food round out the experience here at Cereceria Artesanal San Pancho.

The Cerveceria is a great place to enjoy a couple of quiet beers with friends or family.

Arigato Bake and Brew

Arigato Beer and Brew The 9 Best Bars in San Pancho (San Francisco, Nayarit)
Arigato Bake and Brew’s beers are some of the best along the Riviera Nayarit

This unassuming cafe in a set-back street in San Pancho is quietly brewing the best beer on the Riveria Nayarit. Arigato Bake and Brew is a microbrewery just producing enough beer to supply a couple of their own rotating taps. When we visited, a delicious stout and subtle hazy pale ale were available. Prices here range between $60 pesos – $80 pesos depending on the size and brew of choice.

Friendly and helpful staff add to the low-key vibe found at Arigato Bake and Brew.

The unique menu combining dishes from the owners’ respective home countries (Argentina and Japan) are also delicious and great accompaniments to their outstanding beers.

MezCalerias and Cocktail Bars in San Pancho

The cocktail bars in San Pancho may not be quite as fancy as the cocktail bars in nearby Sayulita, but they are every bit as delicious. Mix it up a little and swap your Cerveza for a marg, after all, you are in Mexico, the home of tequila!

cocktail wild iris sayulita The 9 Best Bars in San Pancho (San Francisco, Nayarit)
Mix it up with a delicious, fruit margarita!

La Baba del Diablo

This small and stylish Mezcaleria about one kilometer north of the main town is one of San Pancho’s more unique and interesting bars. Enjoy a variety of mezcals by the glass, or better yet grab a few friends and order a bottle. The mezcal is served with different house-made sales (salts) and citrus. La Baba is also one of the two places that stay open until midnight if you are looking for a ‘late’ night without leaving San Pancho, La Baba del Diablo is your best option.

Punto Las Olas

A newcomer on the scene (so new you can’t even find them on Google yet), they haven’t been around long but their inviting bar, friendly staff, and their happy hour special of 2 for 1 margarita make stopping by here after a day at the beach easy. Throw in delicious food and cheap beers and you’ve got a winner.

  • Address: Calle Cuba #2, 63732 San Francisco, Nay.

The Best Beach Bars in San Francisco Nayarit

You can’t come to San Pancho and not grab cerveza or a cocktail on the beautiful beach. Here are our top picks for beach bars in San Pancho, Nayarit.

La Perla

La Perla, one of the best beach bars in San Pancho
La Perla, one of the best beach bars in San Pancho

Life doesn’t get much better than beers on the beach. For a drink by the water, La Perla is a great option. La Perla also has a large TV near the bar for those who aren’t quite ready to leave the beach but want to watch the game

Surprisingly, this beach bar also serves up some of the best seafood in San Pancho which, to be honest, came as quite the surprise to us after a recommendation from our hotel.

Beer prices are slightly higher here at $35 pesos (compared to $30 pesos), a premium for the best view in town.

La Patrona Beach Club (Tierra Tropical Beach Club)

La Patrona Beach Club, one of the best bars in San Pancho
You won’t find many bars in San Pancho as swanky as La Patrona Beach Club

For a premium bar experience, La Patrona Beach Club is the place to be for relaxing, day by the pool, by the beach. Located at the far end of Playa San Pancho, this beach bar stands out amongst its peers. An infinity pool, large palapa, comfy loungers, gym, shower, the list of amenities, and onsite restaurant at this posh beach bar put it in a league of its own here.

Open from Thursdays to Sundays from 10:00 am – 8:00 pm, you are going to want to make a full day of it here. Day passes cost $500 pesos (~$25 USD) and exclude the cost of drinks and food you will surely want to enjoy here.

If you are looking to treat yourself for the day, then La Patrona Beach Club is a great option.

Local Bars in San Pancho Worth a Visit

One of the best ways to experience a town is to live like a local and there is no better way to do this than with a pint at the local pub.

El Gallo

This popular Mexican restaurant cranks it up a notch on the weekends with live music. Salsa dancing on Fridays also adds a bit of fun to your evening and is the place to be for nightlife in San Pancho on Fridays.

The onsite bar serves local pulque, an alcoholic drink made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant that originated during the Mesoamerican period around 2,000 years ago.

El Gallo is one of our top picks of restaurants in San Pancho for enjoying quality, local Mexican food at reasonable prices.

Billar San Pancho – TEMPORARILY CLOSED

The local sports bar, Billar San Pancho, complete with TVs and pool tables, you will have to get a little off the beaten path for this one. Expect to find Billar San Pancho full of mostly (if not all) locals and some of the cheapest beers in town.

The Best Sports Bars in San Pancho

Just because you are on holiday, doesn’t mean you want to miss your favorite team. Here are the best San Pancho bars for sports.

San Pancho Marino

A safe bet for sports lovers, San Pancho Marino regularly projects your favorite hometown heroes on the “big screen” ensuring you can still root on your favorite sports team from afar.

We watched the Georgia Bulldogs bring home the national championship title in 2022 here, and these guys even stayed open late ensuring we could finish watching the game.

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So, did you find a bar in San Pancho that tickled your fancy? Let us know which one is your favorite of all the San Pancho bars in the comments below!

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